deer dander/smoke/old spice cover scent..help .anyone?

[maxfit]

I know you cant fool a deers nose and hunt the wind. But i like to think that a cover scent may "cut down on the intensity of human odor. I Used Fitzgeralds deer dander on and off last year. I didnt notice any difference in deers reaction. I also smoked my clothes alot in a fire, but got tired of smelling like ash all the time... any opinions on these or other cover scents?  Coon,fox,vanilla ,pine, earth... chocolate? My dad usually smells like old spice aftershave and sees quite a few as well!  :rolleyes:

[owlbait]

Chuck, I like to use a good quality skunk scent 15-20 yards downwind of my stand, and a urine/gland based scent in/near my stand. I like James Valley Doe lure. It seems to work. Good luck.

[stevewills]

heres what i do,keep clothes seperated after washing in scent free soap,i put in totes with hs dryer sheets(earth scent)...do not put clothes on till im in the woods,spray down with hs earth sent,and aproach my stands downwind..i try my best not to contaminate my area,but there is always a place that,they will all go by upwind,pinch area,bottleneck,ect.good luck and dont wear your boots till you get to where your going

[maxfit]

I am also not in the carbon clothes camp, had em for a while....but i am thinking a carbon mask over your mouth might help,, or some clover gum to cover bacteria scent from your mouth..if i am correct didnt some indians stop eating meat for a while before hunts?...not that i am going to do that!

[Izzy]

Ive been going with fresh vegetation that I pick up at my hunting site and its been working so so. Ive tried a lot of cover scents and some seem to attract unwanted attention. I even rub a handfull of wet dirt on my clothes when I get into the woods along with some pine needles that I rub together in my hands to break them up. This and clean clothing are the best that Ive been able to come up with and I have been seeing some better results the last few years.

[BowHunterGA]

So far as urine cover scents. I always follow the rule of using Fox if I am hunting from the ground and racoon if I am in a tree. Until I see a fox sitting 20' up in a tree I plan to stick with this plan. I have never had deer spook from using urine cover scents, but admittedly I have never had what I would consider positive results using doe-n-heat urine scents either. I tend to just hunt known doe traffic areas during the rut and save my money.

[YORNOC]

Here is my HONEST opinion.
  "YOU" will stay in the woods longer if you feel confident with your conditions. If that means using deer dander or WHATEVER, then do it.
  My Dad used to go out in working clothes smoking a million cigarettes. We who dont smoke know how incredibly bad and strong that smell is. But he was confident that it didnt matter, went out and saw/shot plenty of game.
If you only feel confident if your wearing 1000 dollars worth of "special" clothing and "special" scents....do it. You will be happier.
If you realize you dont need any of that stuff, and can hunt intelligently with confidence without it... do it and save some serious money.
 
But either way, you will not hunt as well or as long if you are not confident with your situation.
 That is an inner battle for each person.

[Rob W.]

A placebo can be a miracle drug sometimes. I'm trying real hard not to spend money on sprays this year. Truth is I think I will really miss that dirt smell in my truck. Just smells like game time!


Rob

[Jim Wright]

I personally think you are pissing in the wind trying to "cover" human scent. I believe it helps  a bit to stay clean, wear clean clothes washed in plain detergent and don't fight the wind, you are going to lose. Higher or lower intensity of human scent does not spook game, any does and by the way, i.m.h.o. Hundreds of dollars spent on "scent-eliminating" clothing simply intensifies the validity of the P.T. Barnum theory.

[LongStick64]

My feeling on scents is I believe that there is nothing I can do to fool a deer's nose.
I use scent free products, and try to keep the wind in my face.
My feeling is that scents work either of two ways, either a deer smells them and is curious or they have learned to associate them with hunting season. Especially if you hunt high pressure areas. It's one reason I try to estimate where most hunters are going to go and then I try and stay as far away from them in the hardest cover I can find.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

I would have to agree with Rob. I don't think it is necessity but there is just something about fresh earth scent after using it for years that makes it feel good. All I use is fresh earth and hunt the wind. Sometimes I use a little doe pee but I don't get crazy with the scent stuff.

[Ragnarok Forge]

I keep my clothes clean ( no scent soap ) and myself clean.  I don't bother with anything else.  If they can smell you a little or smell you a lot the result will always be the same.  I don't worry about getting smoke smell on my clothes in camp.  Work the wind and nothing else will matter.  I tried no scent sprays, washes, etc....  if the deer is downwind they still smell you.  Carbon clothing is a total joke.  Your still breathing which is a huge source of scent production.  Plus it quites working very quickly.

[LC]

Well here's my honest opinion, I keep relatively clean and scent free but don't go over board. I believe it's relatively easy to fool a deers nose to think your far away off to not cause concern or give a second thought from while in a stand. Think about it there's not to many places that a deer can go without smelling some human scent. How strong that scent is the important key. My first line of defense is to use totally windproof clothing. Think about it if the wind is blowing through your clothes NO AMOUNT of scent killer is going to work. Sorry to say and I'll catch some heck but WOOL is not in my hunting closet. On a side note windproof clothing is warmer. Then I use a home brew scent killer that uses no baking soda and believe I can fool a deers nose while in stand 99% of the time. With all that said I don't believe you can walk into your stand without the deer knowing you've been there some more than others.

[cahaba]

I wash my clothes with scent free detergent. Put them in a big zip lock. Cut some cedar limbs in there and hang up at the barn. If nothing else the cedar smells sooo good.

[30coupe]

Originally posted by Jim Wright:
I personally think you are pissing in the wind trying to "cover" human scent. I believe it helps  a bit to stay clean, wear clean clothes washed in plain detergent and don't fight the wind, you are going to lose. Higher or lower intensity of human scent does not spook game, any does and by the way, i.m.h.o. Hundreds of dollars spent on "scent-eliminating" clothing simply intensifies the validity of the P.T. Barnum theory.

Amen!

[LeeBishop]

Just an idea, but you could also just leave a pair of old clothes on your stand a week before hunting. Then they would expect to smell your scent and not be alarmed if they catch your scent while hunting.

I have stopped worrying about too much of the scent stuff.

I put on my regular deodorant and I may spritz my clothes with HS scent killer. But the price of these specialty "hunting" detergents is stupid. I think you'd be fine by picking up some dirt cheap unscented hypoallergenic laundry detergent powder to clean your clothes with and be fine.

I sit on the stand chewing mint bubblegum as well. I'm sure they smell it, but there are minty plants around the ranch too. I think they would be more alarmed with bad morning breath.

[sweeney3]

At home, where they can come from anywhere, I sit and hope for the best.  When traveling, I sit where I EXPECT them to come from upwind.  Not foolproof, but sure beats trying to fool a deer's nose.

[Tajue17]

I wash my clothes in that autumn smelling hunting clothes detetrgent they pretty much sell everywhere,, I soak the clothes and then hang dry..  then I pick a bunch of pine branches and put those in a Black contractors trash bag (my friends use plastic totes with lids reinforced with bungies,, but I keep my outer layer which is a leafy suit over the banches and just roll the bag up and leave in the back of my SUV..  

I then field dress over my normal clothes with that hunting setup and it works perfect for me,, my closest deer last year I got at about 15 feet  BUT I rarely at all hear SNORTS off down wind from me.  I do hunt mostly urban deer which may help with this method working for me.

sometimes I cannot shower and do all this scent stuff flying to my hunting spot right from work,, so I go right in with my work clothes on,, I have maybe 10 stands out there and the #1 first thing I do before going in right from work is check the wind and based on that I'll know what stand I'm hunting,,, I have shot deer from the the ground wearing leather logging work boots and my work clothes and no camo or face covering at all,, I just stand next to the fattest tree trunk I can find and if a deer is coming I center my body directly in front and the deer don't seem to notice me because there is no human shape in the open..

with me 1/2 the reason I wear camo is to hide from other hunters because alot of those guys can't hunt and if they see you in there they will come in there when your not around and snoop around possibly steal your stand and then cut off that deer run further up from you,,, its very cut throat here in mass..

[Rick Perry]

put about an ounce of vanilla extract in a quart of water in a spray bottle that you get at the farm /garden store for 99 cents. Spray yourself down before you go out .

 Works as good as anything else . Sometimes I believe it helps but if a deer gets downwind you are not going to fool it................. Just like scent lok ........ or deer /fox/raccoon pee .................. and its more fun to walk around smelling like a vanilla wafer instead of the urinal at the local biker bar

[TRAD101]

the wind is free, use it.