Certain bait & lure ingedients must attract deer. I did some nuisance coyote trapping in April on my property. I used some gland and call lure, urine, and predator bait. A month later on trail cam I had deer regularly coming up to sniff the spot where that set was. I thought it was the urine at first, but I don't think a urine smell would linger that long.
It may depend on the time of the year as much as it does the ingredients used in the attractant.

I've never found anything that will get cats and coyotes to work a set that deer and cattle wont sniff. They may not go out of their way to investigate it but the same locations that will produce coyotes or cats are likely to funnel deer and cattle. My trap is close enough to the scent most of the time the deer and cattle don't step on it. The ungulates do not really work the set but they will stop for a sniff.

There are some ingredients In some lures that deer are attracted to. And I believe urine to be an attractant.

And the other thing I have found that deer seem to be attracted to their own kind when used In carcass dumps.

I'm with Danny, deer are very curious animals and most smells will attract them. Whenever I test lures where there are deer they will come for a closer smell no matter what it is. I've videoed deer over coyote glands and it's funny to watch them kind of jump/flinch when they first get a smell of it then they cautiously go up to it for a closer smell. If someone tells you this one thing is attracting deer ask them what won't attract deer, get some of it, find an area with deer, setup a camera with some of it in front of it and see for yourself.

Tonquin musk is a very popular ingredient used in many lures and some baits which is an artificial deer musk, canton musk, salts and urine all deer attractants they also attract cow, sheep and horses. Some go way over board with their use and cause many fired traps as a result. Some use the over kill principal thinking more is better in a formula. Sometimes just the strong strange odor in a grazing area or pasture is always visited by hooved animals.

I avoid pasture grounds if at all possible. Larger sections if you trap them and roll the dice so to speak, every few days you can count on those cattle or sheep to be back through the area you just set up for sure. You can count on set off traps.

I use quite a few trapping essential oils in my commercial deer scents that I make. Some of the best mock scrape deer scents have Quote trapping scents in it LOL and with the deer urine ban happening now in a lot of states I am producing deer urine free deer scent that have the trapping oils as the 2nd and 3nd notes.

Seems to be a double edged sword, this coyote is only one of several that marked over a mock scrape that my son made using a product called Power Scrape . I don’t know who makes this product but every time my son freshened this scrape he had coyotes mark over it .

My neighborhood coyotes mark scrapes as frequently as the deer do. I tinctured some deer tarsal glands and it's my experience it causes the coyotes to leave droppings at the set(usually after they dig at the set)I'm assuming it's a territorial response.

I’ve seen them make kick backs but no digging . Interesting, what method did you use to tincture the tarsal glands ?

Everclear. Digging could be attributed to the other stuff it's mixed with

K9 and coon are attracted to tarsal and other deer glans, Just like deer are attracted to k9 glands. What I can't figure out is why in some areas the deer only smell the k9 glands and other areas they will not leave it a lone. Also in the pre rut, proper rut and post rut bucks, if you put k9 gland in fresh loose soil like a mock scrap the deer really come in to check. matter fact so do the k9 's lol I normally start testing new deer scent and retesting my deer scents in June, this year it will be in July till Sept, No matter what scent I use in a mock scrape the K9 will be on it as much as the deer. and even more if a doe in heat or buck in rut is in the formula.

I refuse to use urine anymore, not because it doesn't work but because deer will set off your trap almost every night when you use it in my area because of how many deer we have

Plain meat.

And even than, not a sure thing.

I found that when I use to bed my traps with salt is when I had deer fire my traps off the most. After I change to peat moss ,I do not have many traps fire by deer. But like was stated for how deer are for something different to smell. I seen when you field dress a deer that in time others will show up on it.