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

[Mark Baker]

Beyond using unscented products for personal hygiene and laudry....keeping as clean and uncontaminated is about as far as I go.  My hunting clothes are stored in a rubbermaid tub, to keep odor free, with the exception that I might include some sagebrush or juniper branches, etc. to the mix in the tub.  

I'm with most in that I believe you cannot comepletely mask your scent.  You can, however, be "clean enough" to sometimes get away with being detected as "dangerous"....does that make sense?   Especially in areas where deer are accustmed to seeing/smelling humans regularly.  

I use milkweed or something similar to "watch wind"....a fun way to pass the time, but I try to know ahead of time which way it is blowing and which way it will switch come sun-up or sun-down via thermals.  I set many stands for all options possible, I only hunt areas where I see bucks of the kind I want to take, and I hunt as much as possible, especially during those times when I can use tactics to maximize my chances, and when bigger bucks are "less cautious".  

No real secrets from me, just a lot of time afield and luck jumps on my side about every other year for a nice buck.   I do take several does each year, and they are every bit as cagey, IMO as the bucks are.  Just more of them.  Have fun figuring it all out.....that's the real prize!

[Morning Star]

Stay away from fragranced soaps, use non fragranced deoderant and the same with your hunting clothes.  Keep odor to a reasonable minimum and use the wind wisely.  

Nothing that hasn't already been said.


Places where deer can get old, ambush points, shooting skill and using the wind is going to put old deer in your truck.

[Bill Carlsen]

I get my chlorophyll from GNC. Usually they have it in the store but  this year I had to get it online. Here's the link....http://www.gnc.com/sm-natural-brand-triple-chlorophyll--pi-2133196.html

[lt-m-grow]

my 2 cents - to add to stuff I haven't read so far.

Cover Scents:  Don't work.  If you place a skunk in a pine tree, you will smell the pine tree and the skunk.  If you place fox urine on you, you will smell like you and fox urine to a deer.

Cleaning up:  I believe you can reduce your odor with many of the options listed already.    I also believe that when you reduce your odor, deer will have somewhat of a harder time finding out your exact location and distance.   Did you ever have to track a odor down to its source.  The magnetude of the smell matters! In many semi-urban/rural areas human scent is very common and so a reduced scent may help at times.

Clothes:  I don't think scent suits work by sucking up scents, but they do enclose the body very well and I think that helps. I once took in a bloodhound demonstration and the trainer said that bloodhounds trail by several means and one of those is by your dead cells which flake off constantly.  I often think about that and believe a shower and tight clothing on the wrists, feet, neck etc. like scent lock clothes, must help to reduce and hold some of those dead cells.

Rubber Boots:  Don't know.  Rubber stinks and if I can smell it so can deer.  You have to think that Rubber = Human in deer's minds.

[john1271]

i use unscented soap to wash clothes in and bag them with some cedar or pine shaveings .i also hunt over turnip/clover feilds and i get some turnip leaves and rub all over me until i smell like the feild im in ,my shirt and pants have green marks on them from the juice out of the leaves ,i have had many deer and a big 8 point within feet of me .

[IndianaBowman]

I'm with Biggie and the many of the others.  I've killed some pretty good deer and the biggest reason is because they live where I hunt. I do believe in wearing rubber boots and playing the wind. That's about it. I will use ScentShield soap on my clothes and shower in the morning, but I really believe it only reduces odor a bit. Might fool some 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 year olds, but you won't fool the big boys.  I have a climbing stand and will never hunt the same area twice in a row.

[adkmountainken]

i definitly hunt where they live. have not taken a deer with bow yet buy i have killed a B&C buck 171 1/8, and 2 in the 140 class. believe it or not i am not asking these questions becouse i am a trophy hunter, i am asking them in order to see more deer. i KNOW big bucks are very wary and too see/kill them on a regular basis you need to go the extra yeard hence the questions to those of you who do. i LOVE to hunt and just plain see deer. i hunt hard and don't mind going the ertra mile so i might as well start doing it right and you guys are helping me verymuch, thanks again.

[b.glass]

Can someone answer Ricks question? I have a very limited area to hunt and know the area pretty well. But like Rick says, they can come from any direction. I feel like I need someone to come in and look my area over and give me some ideas.
My biggest problem is the the boys. It is the nieghbors property and they are so kind to let me hunt there. But thier three young boys have even started invading the bedding areas.
I need a better place to hunt!

[leatherneck]

I concur that deer can come from anywhere. We too have that same problem. But you need to educate yourself on the area you hunt. I know for the most part my deer are coming from the corn fields in the morning and too the fields in the evening. So I play the wind accordingly. Does it always work? NO! I had 2-does going to the corn yesterday morning and they were down wind from me. I should have told them they were going the wrong way. LOL! They got a little nervous but never spooked. This is where my scent control comes into play. I feel the extras I do help in situations like this. It doesn't always work. Sometimes they spook. You can't stop the wind all together!
Bottom line is to know your hunting area and hunt the wind smart. If they get you, then they get you. Remember, thats why they are big.

Mike

[doeboy]

I wouldn't go as far as saying there arent any big deer in the north east. It might no t be the mid west but i think the Benoit (SP) family has pu that to rest. they consistantly kill big deer in Vermont by still hunting them in the snow.

[Don Stokes]

I also hunt areas where the deer move randomly, and it's really hard to judge just where they'll come from. In my frustration, I've considered doing all the homework, figuring it out just right, and then doing the opposite, because it so frequently seems to work out that way. My best results have been by picking the spot to hunt, then putting up at least two stands so I can hunt the area most effectively under changing conditions.

The only way I've been able to hide my scent trail to my satisfaction is by stepping into fresh mud (or cow manure if they are on the property), coating my rubber-bottomed boots thoroughly before walking to my stand.

The mud is much more pleasant to deal with.

[Flatstick]

I agree with leatherneck. You can only go to or set-up using the wind/thermals to your best advantage based on what you know of the deer travel in your area. BUT it will not be 100% fool-proof. Deer will come from anywhere when you least expect it but that is just the way it is. You can only do so much to get the advantage,,I don't believe that there is a hunter out there that can say they fool 100% of their game 100% of the time. Learn the wind/thermal patterns  and deer travel in your area and you will have the most you can ask for. You will have a better chance at taking the best bucks & oldest does in your given hunting area.

 

[MnFn]

I had an interesting occurance years ago. I set up a treestand at what I thought was a perfect ambush point for a big buck. The trail sort of looped around before leading to a field. As a doe came down the trail I heard a buck grunting as it followed 40 - 50 yards behind her. The doe passed by right thru one of my shooting lanes, so I got ready to take the shot. Only, the buck cut across the loop and ended up at the base of the tree I was in, but on the opposite side! I could have spit on him, but there was no shot. He stood perfectly still at the base of the tree for what seemed an eternity. Apparently did not like what he smelled or sensed- whatever and then he just backed up (like a train engine- poor description I guess, but he did not turn around). He knew something was not right. He backed up about 20 yards and took a different route to the field. Frustrating, but it was a rush to get that close to a big mature buck! No cover scent used, but I try to be clean/ scent free as possible. I usually put my clothes in a bag with cedar branches for storage.

[Pinelander]

Some folks are a bit leary about hunting with NO wind. But on a cold crisp CLEAR morning... when the sun rises, the warming thermals carry your scent directly UP for a considerable amount of time until the wind picks up a little later on.

Difficult to know what direction bucks will come from, especially during peak rut. But keep this in mind... they are quite diligent at cross-checking trails after sunrise through mid-morning. Why is that? The Does used those trails earlier in the morning during transition from feed to bed. Rather than traveling the actual trails that the Does use (too time-consuming), they can cover more trails in less time by traveling perpendicular to them, walking across each of them checking for estrous. This can usually be observed at the edge of bedding cover where there are many trials (parallel to each other) that lead to and from feed/bed areas.

[Bill Turner]

I have to agree with Biggie about thermals and playing the wind but I do take some additional precautions. Use scent free soaps for body and clothing. Stay out of smoke and other toxic odors. Use no scent sprays on clothing, backpacks etc. This season I am trying clorophyl tablets for the first time. Been on them for a month. Bought them at the local health /vitamin center 90(20MG)tablets for $6.95. Season starts tomorrow in Oklahoma. I plan on being there Thursday afternoon. Some people talk about a harvest moon, I have a harvest mindset at this point in time. Good luck to all and keep'um sharp.

[Ben Woodring]

my opinion,  the scent that puts the radar up is the bacterial type from armpits and crotches.  Use an antibacterial soap, and practice common sense and you'll fool one once in a while.

[DRR324]

Ben, why would Biggie worry about that, he hunts in his underwear.....

I do the same as most here, watch the wind, wash etc etc etc.  My one vice is skoal, and I spit in a capped pop bottle.

[leatherneck]

Hey Biggie, do you shave your legs to cut down on scent from the hair of your exposed legs?LOL

[Kingwouldbe]

You all do a lot more than I ever dreamed of doing about sent control.

Look in my left hand,     it was lit and burning for about an hour before he came in to 11 yards.
 

[Kingwouldbe]

I was smoking a cigar when I shot this buck last year with the St. Jude Striker longbow.