Abstract:
A system and method for placing game attractant in a hunting area includes a projectile containing game attractant and a launcher for launching the projectile into the hunting area. The projectile may include a wicking material containing game attractant and the method may include the steps of soaking the projectile in game attractant, loading the projectile into the launcher, and launching the projectile into the hunting area.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a nonprovisional patent application of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/593,011, filed on Jan. 31, 2012 and entitled “Scent Shotz.” The &#39;011 application is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a system and method for placing game attractant into a hunting area. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a system and method for placing game attractant into a hunting area without contaminating or disturbing the hunting area. 
         [0003]    Hunters typically place game attractant in a hunting area in order to attract desired game to the area and they typically do so by physically walking into the area to distribute the attractant. This process, however, may contaminate the area with the hunter&#39;s scent. Accordingly, there is a need for a way to distribute game attractant in a hunting area that does not suffer from this disadvantage. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention is directed toward a system and method that can be used to place game attractant into a hunting area. In one embodiment, the system includes at least one projectile containing game attractant and a launcher for launching the projectile into a hunting area. In another embodiment, the method includes the steps of soaking a projectile in game attractant, loading the projectile into a launcher, and launching the projectile into the hunting area using the launcher. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a side view of one embodiment of a projectile used with the present invention separated into two pieces. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  with each piece of the projectile filled with wicking material. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a side view showing a bottle containing game attractant and the two pieces of the projectile shown in  FIG. 2  filled with game attractant. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the projectile shown in  FIG. 1  with the two pieces snapped back together. 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a second embodiment of a projectile used with the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the third embodiment of a projectile used with the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  is a side view showing one embodiment of the launcher used with the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 8  is a side view showing a fourth embodiment of a projectile used with the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 9  is a second side view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8  showing the opposite side of the projectile. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    One embodiment of a projectile, sphere-shaped projectile  10 , used with the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . This embodiment includes two substantially similar pieces,  12  and  14 , that can be snapped together to form sphere-shaped projectile  10 . Piece  14  includes a lip  16  that facilitates snapping the two pieces,  12  and  14 , together. Although the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  is made out of hard plastic, other embodiments may be made out of pulp products, such as wood, lead, metal, composites, rubber, vinyl, glass, soft plastic, or similar materials. This embodiment also has a ½ inch diameter but other embodiments may have larger or smaller diameters and may have completely different shapes. 
         [0015]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , projectile  10  is filled with a wicking material  18 , which is used to absorb game attractant placed inside the projectile  10 . Wicking material  18  may be sawdust, as shown in  FIG. 1 , or any other material that will absorb liquid or gel, such as cotton, compressed cotton, cloth, dirt, clay, a pulp product, or a cotton/rayon rope. 
         [0016]      FIG. 3  shows a bottle of game attractant  20  and the two pieces,  12  and  14 , filed with wicking material  18  and game attractant  22 . The amount of game attractant can vary from as little as one drop to more than several drops. Although a liquid game attractant is shown in  FIG. 3 , other types of game attractant, such as gels, may be used as well. Game attractant  22  may be deer, elk, bear, hog, or predator attractant.  FIG. 4  shows projectile  10  snapped back together with wicking material  18  and game attractant  22  included inside. 
         [0017]    Another embodiment of a projectile, projectile  24 , used with the present invention is shown in  FIG. 5 . This embodiment is made out of soft plastic and includes a cotton wicking material  26 . A portion of the wicking material extends outward from the soft plastic projectile body of the projectile  24  and game attractant is applied by placing one or more drops on the exposed portion of the wicking material and allowing it to be absorbed. 
         [0018]    A third embodiment of a projectile, projectile  28 , is shown in  FIG. 6 . This embodiment includes a lead weight projectile body  30  and compressed cotton wicking material  32  disposed within an opening defined in the body  30  and extending outward from the body  30  in opposite directions. Once again, game attractant is applied by placing one or more drops on the exposed portions of the wicking material and waiting for the game attractant to be absorbed by the wicking material. 
         [0019]    One embodiment of a launcher, launcher  32 , used with the present invention is shown in  FIG. 7 . This embodiment is a conventional slingshot made by Daisy. In other embodiments, various other types of launchers may be used, such as paint ball guns, carbon dioxide (CO2) guns, bows, and other similar devices. 
         [0020]    The launcher  32  is used to launch projectiles like projectiles  10 ,  24 , and  28  into a hunting area. As a result, hunters do not have to physically walk into that area in order to place game attractant and risk contaminating the area with their scent or otherwise disturbing the area. In certain situations, projectiles may simply be tossed, thrown, dropped or placed in a strategic spot in a hunting area for easy retrieval. 
         [0021]    Projectile  10 , shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , will burst upon impact when launched by launcher  32  and release game attractant soaked wicking material in the hunting area. Projectile  24  and  28  include wicking material that is exposed to air so the game attractant scent is released automatically when these embodiments are used. 
         [0022]    A fourth embodiment of a projectile, projectile  34 , is shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . This embodiment includes a biodegradable wooden projectile body  36  having an opening defined therein. Wicking material  38 , in this case a cotton/rayon rope, is disposed in the opening. The ends of the wicking material are flush (portions of the wicking material may extend outward from the body  36  in some embodiments and from opposite sides of the body  36  in others) with the ends of the opening in this embodiment. This embodiment can be soaked in game attractant by placing one or more drops on the exposed ends of the wicking material or by placing one or more drops of game attractant in a container, such as an ice tray or egg carton, placing the projectile  34  in the container and game attractant, and waiting for the game attractant to be absorbed by the wicking material. 
         [0023]    In order to reduce human scent on the projectiles, scent eliminating wipes may be used to wipe the projectiles before they are launched into the hunting area. 
         [0024]    The above-described embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of this disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.