Success stories often start with the “Ah ha!” or lightbulb moment, or from a curiosity about something that leads to rabbit holes, investigations, trial-and-error and, ultimately, success. Usually, the rabbit holes and failures outnumber the successes, whether in industrial, tech or outdoors worlds. Such is the case with Wildlife Research Center (wildlife.com), which began more than four decades ago with mice, dimes and two curious boys.

Fast forward to the early 1980s when John and Brian Burgeson were building their Minnesota tree service business. Both loved to hunt and trap, and their boyhood curiosity still burned hard when it came to figuring out attractant scents. Fooling a deer or something at a trap site wasn’t easy. They persisted, however, and ultimately hit on a winner. You’ll have to read below to learn about it! That product sparked the creation of Wildlife Research Center, and 40-plus years later WRC still is going strong.

WRC President Sam Burgeson, the son of co-founder John, and WRC Marketing Director Paul Landberg join us this month in our Archery Business Spotlight.

AB: How did WRC get started, who started it and what’s their background? Hunters, obviously, but what else? Scientists? Garage tinkerers? Success after four decades is no easy task. 

WRC: Two brothers, John and Brian Burgeson, officially started Wildlife Research Center in 1983 when they were running their tree service business, but their journey and interest in fooling animals started long before that. When they were kids, their dad would give them a dime apiece for the mice they could catch. So, John and Brian started trying different baits to zero in on what worked best. They tried cheese, like what they show in the cartoons, and figured out that peanut butter was a far superior bait. That’s when the tinkering and experimenting first started.  As they got older, they got really into trapping and hunting.  They would read everything they could about trapping scents and figuring out what animals were attracted to. They would make hunting scents to send with their dad and his friends to try out, and later experiment with them on their own hunting trips.

There weren’t a lot of options back then for hunting scents. They figured out a number of different scent ingredients deer really liked and responded to. They tried many iterations and finally felt they landed on a superior deer lure.

When it was founded in 1983, Wildlife Research Center had a single product: Trail’s End 307. The “307” came from the fact that John and Brian, along with help from their dad, went through hundreds of different formulations before deciding that they had it right. They figured it was, appropriately, the 307th iteration.

Getting going was a long hard road. It was difficult to get retailers to try their product. They spent all the money they made on advertising and trying to grow the business. They continued to introduce new and innovative products over the years, and after more than four decades have become a household name.

Wildlife Research Center is still family owned. John’s son, Sam, has been president for about 10 years, and his Uncle Brian is still here, helping to keep the family owned business legacy going.

AB: Where is WRC located and how many employees do you have? Can you tell us a little about the home office and manufacturing facility?

WRC: Wildlife Research Center is located in Ramsey, Minnesota, and has about 20 employees.  Our offices, warehousing and on-site manufacturing are in a 40,000-square-foot facility.  We work with a lot of different vendors, packagers, independent sales reps and many other specialty services.

AB: Ballpark figure, unless you know for sure: How many products does WRC have in its lineup for scents, lures, odor elimination and other?  

WRC: It depends how you want to count things because some WRC products come in different size and packaging variations. But we have more than 200 hunting-related product SKUs (scent, scent elimination, scent dispersal) mainly focusing on whitetails, with some targeting other animals such as elk, bear, mule deer and coyotes, and even some for trapping, like our raccoon lure. We even have scent control products for athletic equipment, but the hunting scent market is our biggest focus.

AB: Is there a favorite among hunters, like the Acorn Supreme Attractant or Scent Killer Gold? What’s No. 1 at the top of WRC’s mountain?

WRC: It all depends on the hunter, time of season and what they’re trying to accomplish.  Different hunters are looking for different things. There are some good products out there, but our Super Charged Scent Killer line of scent elimination products are better and sharp priced, providing a great value. The Scent Killer Gold line is a little more expensive but gives hunters the very best in scent control. Scent Killer Gold Spray was found to be 99 percent effective at stopping replicated human odor in testing at Rutgers University, 20 days after drying. It’s great because you can pre-treat your clothes before the hunt, effectively turning your hunting clothes into a high-power scent elimination suit. Of course, we have a wide range of laundry and personal care product solutions to complement and complete a hunter’s scent control strategy.

We have a lot of different attractor scents. Sometimes hunters ask where to begin and what is the best. We like to use a fishing analogy: We have a lot of lures in our tackle box. We like to try and tinker with different things. Sometimes weI like to use something new to freshen it up a bit. But then we have our old trusties. Two of our favorites are Trail’s End #307, because it works great all season long and appeals to a deer’s hunger, curiosity and sexual attraction all at once. Another favorite is Special Golden Estrus. The fresh and premium estrus scent is dated for use this year, so you know it’s fresh. Of course there are many others. We’ve had luck with all of them at one time or another, and as we said, we love to try different things.

The scrape category is also very noteworthy. WRC offers everything a hunter needs to create “The Ultimate Trophy Buck Playground.” From the Magnum Scrape-Dripper that drips daytime-only to condition bucks to visit during daytime hunting hours, to the Golden Rope to create the ultimate interaction site, and the Active Branch to help create the perfect mock scrape location almost anywhere, we have a number of top-notch scrape and interaction scents.

AB: The masking scents are insanely aromatic. I have several older bottles of cedar scent that I horde. How does WRC nail these scents so precisely?

WRC: Again, being around since 1983 and testing and experimenting has led to some extreme-quality products, including our lineup of masking scents. We do huge amounts of testing and research on scent and scent elimination products, and work with experts in various fields to help perfect quality and performance. And, too, decades of testing on wild deer in the wild where the results really mean something.

AB: Your “Golden Rope Scent Rope,” and also the kit with rope and scent, have been out for a couple of years. What kind of response did you get from hunters and retailers? Those are quite easy to use.

WRC: The original three-rope Golden Rope Kit with Golden Rope Scent Concentrate has been very successful for hunters and retailers alike — they love it. It’s been so well received that it has spawned new products such as the Golden Rope Single Rope Kit, the Golden Rope and Magnum Scrape-Dripper Combo Kit, and the Golden Rope and Active Branch Holder Combo Kit. It is also the reason we now offer the Golden Rope Scent Concentrate as a stand-alone product and have come up with Golden Rope Spray in an aerosol can. Retailers are getting sales and hunters are getting deer — what could be better?

AB: What kind of research and feedback do you take in for updates, new products or changes? Hunters, customers, retailers, WRC employees, online sources . . . you likely have a nonstop flow of suggestions and ideas.

WRC: All of the above. We love to hear feedback from all the groups you mentioned and try out ideas ourselves. From retailers, sales people and customers, to employees, pro-staff and research, you never know where a good idea will come from. At any given time we have hundreds of ideas that we consider and look at each year when deciding to come out with new products. Developing good products that sell is not as easy as it sounds.

We have had some really big successes over the years and our fair share of products that didn’t make it. We have had a few products over the years that work incredibly well, but they just don’t resonate with the hunter. It takes a huge investment to develop a good product, get it out there, make people aware of the features and benefits, and convince them to try it. However, it is unbelievably satisfying when you hit the right combination and can provide a hunting tool that helps hunters enjoy their hunt and be more successful.  That is what it is really about.

AB: Do you have an example of a suggestion from an employee or customer (hunter) that turned into a new product, or helped change a product?

WRC: The classic story of this is how John Burgeson came up with our Scrape-Dripper. As we mentioned, he and Brian had a tree service. After a hard day of working in cold Minnesota weather, John was soaking in a hot bath in the cold, 100-year-old farmhouse he lived in at the time. As the heat and steam from the bath water warmed the air and a nearby pump shampoo dispenser, some of the soap would drip. He watched this happen multiple times and figured out that the heat was expanding the air pocket and pushing out the shampoo.

He figured if he could develop a scent dripper that worked on this same concept, it could drip during the day (daytime hunting hours) when the temperatures warmed up and not at night when it cooled down. This would help condition deer to visit during daytime hunting hours. It took lots of tinkering to develop a design and calibrate the performance. There were not really any good dripper products on the market at the time, and this was one of the products that really helped us first expand across the country.  Many other companies have tried to copy or imitate the Magnum Scrape-Dripper, but no one has ever done it well like we have.

AB: Trapping continues to gain incremental interest each year. How does your line of trapping scents do, and should retailers have them in stores?

WRC: We don’t do a lot of trapping lures like we did in the old days, but retailers can still gain incremental sales by having these products because of both trapping and hunting uses. For instance, for raccoon trapping a trapper can use the tried-and-true Hard-Core Raccoon Lure. They can also use Raccoon Urine, which can also be used as a masking scent for deer hunting.  Similarly, Red Fox Urine can be used for trapping or as a long-time favorite for deer hunting as a masking scent. We also have Coyote Juice and Coyote Urine that can be used for predator hunting and trapping.

AB: Time for two elevator pitches . . . first for retailers: Why should I carry WRC products in my store and what separates them from other products?

WRC: Carrying Wildlife Research Center products has a lot of benefits. The still-family-owned company’s rich history and track record of quality, success and innovative products equate to sales for our retailers. That, coupled with service and support — service from WRC itself and our network of salespeople and distribution but also support. We don’t know of any company that spends more on advertising and marketing in print, digital, social and TV than WRC. We really bend over backward to support our retailers. Most of all, your customers want Wildlife Research Center products. They are in high demand year after year.

AB: Elevator pitch No. 2, for hunters: Why should I use WRC products for hunting? I see all kinds of products in stores and read or hear about them online and on hunting shows. What sets WRC apart enough to get my money?

WRC: Proven track record of deer on the ground from the people whose opinion means most: our customers. Testimonial after testimonial of hunters attributing success at least in part to WRC products says it all. And, if you’ve ever had a whitetail with its razor-sharp nose walk by you downwind and not get busted or come into your mock scrape setup with our scents, you’ll understand the WRC difference. Oh, and we are competitively priced for the cost-conscious hunter in all of us. Scents are not magic, but if you use scent and scent elimination products to aid in your hunt, it can really help enhance your level of success. The more steps you take to reduce human odor, the better your odds.

AB: Promotion varies from traditional print, TV and radio to today’s social media, podcasts, online shows and more. I was in Wisconsin in late September and saw a “gas station TV” video about hunting safety, which was cool but new for me in that space. How is WRC staying on top of its promotional and marketing aspect, which helps me sell more products, with everything available from modern influencers to old-school writers?

WRC: As we all know, the marketing world is changing every day. Traditional print and TV still are important, but the digital world is expanding at light speed. WRC really supports retailers with all kinds of advertising and marketing. Our TV shows like The Crush with Lee and Tif, HeadHunters, and Deer & Deer Hunting, to name a few, provide us great exposure on TV but also act as influencers on social and digital, along with many others. Traditional print with ads and a wide range of experienced writers covering our products helps, too. And, our social media presence and advertising campaigns all combine to give great support to retail sales.

This really builds the demand for our retailers. From an in-store presence perspective, WRC goes through a painstaking process to make sure every step of our packaging, displays and marketing — both traditional and digital — are as effective as possible. We are improving and learning every day how to reach new customers and do it better.

AB: You clearly state, in bold letters, on your website (wildlife.com) that, “There is no way for a hunter to eliminate absolutely 100% of human odor.” You also say that hunting scents aren’t magic. That seems a bit counterproductive for a company selling masking scents. But it’s true, isn’t it? Why does WRC have that on its site?

WRC: Trying to be transparent. These are true statements, and our philosophy is to help hunters have more success. If a hunter thinks they can spray a couple of times and be 100% scent-free, they are wrong. Simply spraying down helps a lot, but some hunters make painstaking efforts to be scent-free. These include washing their clothes with our laundry products, using soaps and antiperspirant, wipes, and changing to clean Scent Killer treated clothes in the field right before the hunt. What we tell folks is you should do the best you can in what the time and situation allow. The more steps you take, the better it will work, and the more success you will have. We personally have had hunts where we did everything right and other times we got a bit sloppy because we were short on time or didn’t have the right things with us. There is no doubt as you add it up, the more effort you put in, the more good results you will have.

As for scent not being magic, of course they are not. You are not going to have a parade of deer to your scent wick when you put out a little scent. But if you use a good scent product and use it correctly, you will improve your odds of success. Whether trapping or hunting, nothing is more satisfying than setting up that perfect scent setup that tricks and intrigues the animal you are after and pulls them right in.

AB: Hunters seek value and, as you know, are quite selective and skeptical about things. How has WRC been able to provide value and high-quality products for so long? Forty years is cause for celebration in our industry.

WRC: We keep in mind that most hunters are just average people like us and that cost matters, and our history/experience has taught us a lot about quality. Whether they go out firearms or archery hunting one day a year to 90, hunters want good quality and good value.  We have extreme passion for what we do and how we can help hunters. Different hunters have different priorities. We offer a wide range of product sizes and values, in good, better, and best products, so every hunter should be able to find a Wildlife Research Center product that works for them.

AB: How does WRC work with retailers for in-store promotions, displays, holiday sales or other ways to showcase and sell products?

WRC: We develop great displays and packaging, which helps sell product. We also are very flexible in working with retailers with things such as co-op advertising/promotions and special promotions and deals. Being a privately owned company gives us a level of flexibility and reaction time that is hard for conglomerate-owned companies to match. We work hard with our customers to find ways to create exciting promotions and offer great deals for the hunters.

AB: Thanks for taking the time to join us this month in Archery Business. Anything else you’d like to add about Wildlife Research Center that we didn’t cover?

WRC: We’d just like to thank all our retailers, distributors and customers for all of their support and sharing our passion these past 40-plus years and wish everyone good luck this hunting season!