She helped me put a stand up in an old oak tree and the seat was right over a fence.  You could see up and down the fence real good.  My dad bought me an old 303 British Enfield.  It had a clip that would hold I think 15 rounds.  Anyway, one evening right at dark a deer came out and was starting to cross the fence.  It looked like a doe.  Did I tell you I had been sick for about a week and had a terrible cold and stopped up nose.  Before I climbed the tree I checked my stuff out, yep I had my Vicks vapor inhaler in my shirt pocket, and one extra shell in my other pocket.  Well, up the tree I went and sat so still until that deer stepped out into the fence row.  Well, I raised my gun and shot, and hit the deer in the (I hate to say this, but remember it was my first deer) rear.  It went under the fence and was walking off.  I went to put another round in the chamber but the shell would not go in.  Seems like 15 rounds was too many to put in the clip, and the shells were so jam packed in it would not release another round into the chamber.  Well (this all happened in a matter of seconds) I looked up and my deer was walking away, I pushed down on the shells from the open chamber to release some pressure, and the clip fell out onto the ground 15 feet below.  I looked back up and my deer was getting away!  I remembered the extra shell in my pocket so still looking at the deer, reached in grabbed in and started trying to push the Vicks inhaler into the chamber.  I threw it down grabbed the shell in the other pocket, chambered it, shot and my first deer hit the ground for good.

I’ll never forget the feeling I had, in fact it is the same feeling I get today when I harvest a deer.  I stood up on the 2x6 seat and gave a big Tarzan yell that Johnny Wisemiller would have been proud of.  I knew at that moment I was hooked.  It brings a big smile to my face now as I type this some 46 years later.   It was the biggest high of my life, and to this day I just don’t understand why everyone doesn’t hunt.

 As time went by I got older and started reading and listening to any and everyone who talked about Deer Hunting.  I started trying to use scents because it seemed to be a very sensible approach to attracting deer.  I was always willing to try anything.  I even cut the hocks off a hot doe and pinned them to my pants legs.  I bet I’m not the only one who ever did this, am I?  One thing led to another and years went by hunting and using liquid scents.  And I have to say not with many results.  But because I just knew it had to work sometime I just kept on buying bottle after bottle.  What the heck, it wasn’t going to hurt anything, and maybe one day it would really work. 

            Well, I’m sorry to say, to this day I have never had a buck respond to any liquid scent I ever bought.  Maybe it was me, my hunting habits, my lack of being scent free, or something else, but it just never worked.  Finally 19 years ago I got the idea to heat the sent, and HOT TRAILS was born.  The first candle I ever made was in my kitchen.  The return air for the a/c was just around the corner and when the smell got to it, it was all over my house.  Did I say my wife and children went thru the roof and thought I was crazy.  Never did get all that smell out of my house.  

Hot Trails® has many advantages, here are a few:

1. Whether you have a wind or not, Hot Trails Candles put the scent into the air. 
2.  Considering the evaporation aspect, different chemicals evaporate at different rates, meaning liquid scents are constantly changing their odor because there chemical make up is changing all the time.  Hot Trails ® Candles are releasing their scent as the candle burns.  The same scent continuously from start to finish.  Did I say each candle will burn for up to 4+ HOURS.  That’s right, 4+ HOURS!
3.  Do you know how much scent is released in 4 Hours?  Let’s take something you can relate to, your home.  Let’s just say 2500 sq. ft.  Your wife lights a scented candle, let’s say Vanilla, in your living room.  Your house is closed up, 20,000 cu.ft. and after a while you smell Vanilla all over your house.  The candle has filled your home with scent, and the candle is still burning.  Relate this to a simple stream of scent being trailed from the candle in the wind.  We have seen deer respond over 600 yds downwind.  Now ask yourself how long does it take for 1 oz. of scent to evaporate, too fast.
4.  Hot Trails ® Candles releases a hot scent, not a cold scent like liquids.  A warm scent is more like the scent off of a live animal; it presents a better reflection of what you want the Deer to smell.  With your human nose, which do you smell best, a cold cup of coffee in the kitchen or a hot cup?  I think we both know the answer.
5. Hot Trails Candles burn for so long most of the time you have taken your trophy before they have burned out.  But if not, just blow the candle out and use the rest on your next hunt.
6. There are many scents used to cover your scent, and I make Earth and Cedar candles just for that purpose.  But when I hunt I only use the Doe-n-Heat candles.  Early on I found if I placed the candles just downwind of me, Deer can’t smell me over the strong heated deer scent.  So why throw something else in the air for the animals to have to fret about, use a scent they are familiar and most of all comfortable with.  Different strokes for different folks, if you want to use Earth or Cedar go ahead, they work, but I don’t think you can beat the Doe-n-Heat for a cover up.
7. The Hot Trails System allows you to hunt all day using fresh scent the entire day.  Attaching your pull up rope to the bail of our Camo Mini Lantern, you can pull the lantern up and replace your candle without getting out of your stand. 
8. Hot Trails Candles do not freeze, so you can use them anytime, anywhere.  It is the only scent system that will work in the snow, below freezing.
9. The scent in our candles is sealed up in the wax, so they never get old.  They are good from one year to another.
10.  Easy handling.  You never have to worry about scent spilling and getting all over you and your gear.
    

These are just some of the reasons you should try our products.  Remember when I said I was always unafraid to try something different when hunting.  It was this character trait which led me to build a better mousetrap.  I can’t say it any plainer, Hot Trails Works! If you think about the 10 reasons above you will agree, it just makes sense.   Try to be as scent free as possible and let the candles do the rest.

Earlier I said the biggest high I had was taking my first deer.  That was true, but today I have another.  Every time a fellow hunter calls me or sends me a picture telling me how great Hot Trails works for him, it gives me another great high.  To think something I came up with is helping ordinary people just like me take trophy deer all over the US, Canada, and Mexico makes me proud.

These are some of my trophy’s, all taken with Hot Trails Candles.  Hope you enjoy looking at them.