scent controll and big bucks (Atten GURU and other big buck hunters )

[adkmountainken]

ok another question. is the feather and string a good wind indicator? what do you use? do you move as soon as he see a change of wind or do you ride it out for a bit in case is was just a bit of wind swirl? as i stated i was/am muck like Mike, i hope for the best as i hate to move once in a stand but again ican/will adapt with so many people saying the same thing, PLAY THE WIND. i do have 2-3 three stands in my areas, i will stager them out to oppsite corners and play the wind. i love trying new things and keeping data to read over. i did this with the pee bottle oe let it fly thread. i had used a bottle FOREVER but so many people said they do not i tried it and was very happy with the results, even had many stop to smell where i went. so please keep the advice coming.

[Flatstick]

Ken,,I like to use a "puff bottle" filled with corn starch as a wind indicator. I can watch the powder as it floats away. I'll wait a good 15-20 minutes before deciding that the wind has definately made a change in it's direction. I've got that puff bottle out of my pocket constantly checking the wind. It also helps you decide when you should plan on taking a shot on an incoming deer based on it's line of travel and the direction your puff bottle tells you your scent is traveling. Again none of this is always 100% but it can boost your confidence and concentration on getting the job done.

[adkmountainken]

i agree nothing %100 but when so many people say the same thing i bet it is atleast %90!    i can and will adapt to what so many say.

[Shawn Leonard]

ken, I use milkweed, ya can see the floaters a long ways and if ya let go several at a time ya can watch what the do in the currents. I wash in scent-free soap and store all my clothes in plastic bags and tupperware bins, but nothing is as important as the wind. I know a guy who has shot a lot of big bucks and he smokes like a fiend from stand and bathes every couple a days, to be honest he smells bad at times, but he hunts the wind and has great access to his stands via an old creek that runs thru his property. I believe those are the two most important things, watching the wind and having a clean entry to your stand. Shawn

[Don Stokes]

If a deer gets into your scent stream, he or she's going to smell you. Period. We stink, no matter what.

I don't always move when the wind changes, but I probably should.

[Weekend Warrior]

Great post

I agree with the in wind in your favor.  
  But something that can't understand.
I've had deer come downind walk under my stand and never smell me. Then maybe the next day they may wind you.. With wind in the same direction and as always using scent control.  
  It may sound crazy, it seems like some days deer noses can smell better.  

I highly agree with your route in and out.

[madness522]

The scent question has been covered so I won't add my .02 there. But your question about the string and feather I can add to.  I use unwaxed dental floss and a small white goose feather.  It works very well for an indicator.  The feather is one is kinda flat and has the soft whispys in the end closest to the goose.  It works for all but the faintest breeze then I pull out the puffer.

[Biggie Hoffman]

Warrior...one word...THERMALS

[Bill Carlsen]

Milkweed pods tell me all I need to know about wind and thermals. Cost nothing, are biodegradeable and are good for butterflies.

[Slasher]

Originally posted by non-typical:
2 quarts hydrogen peroxide
2 quarts filtered or distilled water
4-8 teaspoons baking soda
12-16 drops green descenting soap
Mix it up and store in a light proof container (old bleach jug works well....

The only eliminator I've used the past 3 yrs... Been working well

I don't like cover scents... I want to smell like nothing, sound like nothing, and become invisible... The only cover scent I've liked is Humus... But its hard2find...

[blueline]

Ken Thas some good advice above I use most of it and learned from it as well.

Bill you keep taking care of those butterflies!!!!    

Well how deep do you want to get??? I never put gas in the vehicle during a hunt. I watch what I eat as much as posible on a long hunt, and I beleave in Clorafill (sp). I keep my huntin duds in a tote after I wash, I also have earth scent from my hunting area in the tote.  

stay after 'em Ken

blueline

[adkmountainken]

i definitly try not to fuel up before a hunt however today i had to, good news is i had a HUGE doe and two others walk right by me at 25-30 yards with tails twitching and feeding, just a little to far out of my comfort zone for a shot.
  Clorafill also comes in a pill you can take right?

[blueline]

Nice to hear about the excitement in the woods

Yes I take it in the pill form, I generall start take it 2 - 3 days before the hunt and continue through the hunt. 1 in am 1 in pm first few days one a day after that.

blueline

[leatherneck]

Ken,
Another suggestion that we do ALOT is place 2-stands in the same area. Each at different winds. This way if you had to move then it's very minimal. If you saw my post about my partner and the big one he just shot that was in one of those areas. Sat. he hunted one stand and today the winds changed and he hunted the other. Look at the results. They are actually only 20 yards acrossed from each other. FYI.

Mike

[Rick James]

I guess that to "play the wind" you really need to know where the deer is going to come from...my question is how do you KNOW this? I want to be a better hunter with regard to the wind but in the areas where I hunt the deer can literally come from any direction--especially during the pre-rut and the rut when there is a lot of chasing going on--How do ya'll know where the deer are going to come from??
thanks, rick

[Widowbender]

The main reason I use scent control (clothes, body wash, scent elim spray, etc.) is I believe it lessens the amount of scent put down when walking to and fro...

David

[adkmountainken]

i do know where the deer are coming from which is one of my main problems. i hunt a side ridge maybe 7 miles long. at the bottom is tall grass and a a few thick, small fields, this is where the deer bed. for an afternoon'late hunt they come up from the bottom, that means if the wind is not rigt or blowing down hill i should not use these stands however this is the core area i hunt and i can not get underneath or below them as there is a main road and big lake. from the info i got here the answer would be to for go using these stands but as i said this is my core area, any suggestions? i know the answer would be hunt another area but it is A LOT of walking to get to these stand to see if the wind is right.

[Bill Carlsen]

Hey!  Butterflies are cool. I see spreading milkweed as part of my job.

Seriously, in one of Gene Wensel's books he talks about scent control. Perhaps the most important things he said is that it is an all or nothing proposition. You can't take short cuts and expect to be odor free. I, personally think that the best you can do is minimize your odor but doubt seriously that you can eliminate it. I also think the scent proof clothing is something of a marketing scheme. Even on the shows sponsored by the big time scent control groups and the hunter's wearing and spraying the latest and best they still do not hunt stands if the wind isn't right. That tells me a lot.

Another thing Gene told me at a Sportsman's show is that if you want to kill big bucks you need to do two things.....hunt where there are big bucks and secondly, the guy who puts in the time has the advantage. The more you are in the woods the better your odds become. Now, if it will only stop raining!!!!

Like, blueline, I use chlorophyll. I think it makes a big difference. I am one of those guys who sweats a lot so I think the chlorophyll, for me, is very helpful. My wife is not a sweater and she does not use it and she sees as much, if not more, game than I do, on an average day.

[horatio1226]

Where do you buy chlorophyll?

[Izzy]

Ill bet that apple soap gets you busted sometimes.It probably has some other fragrances added to it.Play the wind, its al you really have on your side.But you killed a booner so dont feel too bad  about your regualr buck sightings, your already ahead of the game.
                                  Izzy