Skunk scent and Ground hunting whitetails

[jwhitetail]

Quick question about skunk scent... I intend to go on my first trad bow hunt for whitetails out here in the west this year and much of my huntiing will be from the ground.  Question for you all is this: Does anyone still use skunk as a masking scent or has that fallen out of favor.  Use as mask scent at all or just stay on the right side of wind?
Appreciate any thoughts/experiences...Thanks!
JW

[whitetail_downer100]

Always always always play the wind and if you use a cover scent rely on it only as a backup plan for the deer you didn't see.  Not a bad idea to use a masking/cover scent but if they get a hint of human odor with it they will still be gone in a hurry.  Fox urine is another popular cover scent that might not get you kicked out of the house.... just my two cents.
Good Luck on your first hunt,

[cahaba]

IMO taking steps to keep ones hunting clothes and body as scent free as possible is better than a "cover scent". Anything one can do to not alert an animal is best. Playing the wind is always the best way to go. One thing I do is wash my clothes with a non scent washing liquid or baking soda. Then I put them in a zip lock bag and add small cuts of pine and cedar. HS has earth scent waffers that are popular. But no matter what one does if the winds wrong they will probably smell you. IMHO

[ChuckC]

problem with skunk scent was you needed to build a shed to house your huntng stuff.  It never went away !
ChuckC

[YORNOC]

What everyone said above. Sometimes you cant keep ultra clean,  and thats when I'll use a cover.
 The thing is, deer dont like skunk smell either. So dont use a ton, just a dab..its strong enough. My son and I sat on our hottest deer trail post season and dumped a whole bottle(didnt want to keep it in the house) at "the crossing". They started veering off about 30-50 yards away. Some went around, some left completely.  The snow showed this lasted about a week.

[Killdeer]

It is an alarm scent.
think about it, you become wary and look around when you smell it, right?
Killdeer

[owlbait]

My best experience with it was to place it 30-40 yards downwind. Deer coming from there were probably going to smell me anyway. I've seen deer smell it, come towards it, and then skirt the scent, and often enough come into range, with their attention towards the scent. James Valley Scents use to have a skunk paste that worked great. You could smell it through two Zip- Locks, and the jar it came in!  

[ChrisM]

Originally posted by Killdeer:
It is an alarm scent.
think about it, you become wary and look around when you smell it, right?
Killdeer

X2

[jcar315]

Originally posted by Killdeer:
It is an alarm scent.
think about it, you become wary and look around when you smell it, right?
Killdeer

Agree wholeheardly on this. Many years ago I remember using this stuff on cotton balls in the old film cannisters.

Very messy, and smelly to use, but don't think it contributed one bit to my very meager early success. As others have said.....play the wind. No amount of "cover scent" of "scent elimination" will make up for a bad wind.

Good Luck!

[Jeff Strubberg]

What I've read about the animal sense of smell in general and the whitetail in particular is that you cannot cover one scent with another.  Different nerve endings respond to different smells, so adding one does not cover another like it does for us humans.  

Putting on a cover scent just makes the deer wonder why a human is walking around with a skunk in his pocket.

[landman]

Using cover scents like skunk is a nasty way to go.   Do this:

Use a Marc Anthony Ghillie....jacket and pants.

Buy some Carbon Synergy and soak the clothes you will hunt with in the stuff.   Soak everything, hang it up, let it dry and store it in a scent proof bag.

Bathe with ivory soap and brush your teeth before you hunt and when you hunt utilize the wind.   Above all else be very still.

[jwhitetail]

Hey, thanks guys!  this has been very helpful for for me.  I thin I won't use skunk scent... lots of good thoughts on that here (including the "warning" aspect of skunks scent). Also, I never thought about the fact that deer are able to pick up multiple scents which would be out of the ordinary and alarming.
 
I'll track down some carbon Synergy, use that and then play the wind correctly.

I really appreciate the feedback.

JW

[LBshooter2]

Keep as scent free as you can and leave the cover scents at home or better yet in the stores. Play the wind and know where your prey is comming from and the rest will fall into place. If a deer comes from down wind no matter what you use they are more then likely to pick you off, so set up to where they will come from and keep the wind in your favor and it will happen.

[jwhitetail]

Also, on playing the wind: I used to rock climb and had an idea... chalk dust is really fine so the other day I put some in a small squeeze bottle and took it outside... it gives a very nice, fine cloud of dust that drifts with the breeze... I beleive it to be odorless as well.

JW

[backyardbowhunter]

Play the wind! There is a great article on cover scent effectiveness in the June 2012 Field and Stream. A dog tries to find a hunter using cover scent in one of 6 boxes in a large field. The dog found the hunter in 45 seconds. A deer can smell better than a dog.

[shadman]

I don't believe in cover scents. I have bird dogs. I've had them get sprayed directly in the nose. The smell was so strong that it would make your eyes water at 20 yards. The dogs continue to hunt and point birds as if nothing is wrong. If dogs can do that, you tell me how a cover scent can work on deer.

[Roger Norris]

Originally posted by shadman:
I don't believe in cover scents. I have bird dogs. I've had them get sprayed directly in the nose. The smell was so strong that it would make your eyes water at 20 yards. The dogs continue to hunt and point birds as if nothing is wrong. If dogs can do that, you tell me how a cover scent can work on deer.

Yep. A deer can pick apart smells....when we go into McDonalds, we smell fast food. A deer would be able to identify the fries, the Mcfish, etc....

Dang...now hungry

[YORNOC]

Actually here is the TRUTH.
 The deer smells skunk, then human. The deer says to itself, Ha, some jerk just got sprayed! This whole place is totally safe now! Then the deer will call all the other deer to the safe haven. You can pick the deer of your choice and take it. The other deer are not smart enough to realize a person is there even though they saw you shoot. You got sprayed and left. So you cant be there.
If you have several tags, you can fill them all at this point. You may have to push several deer out of the way to field dress and drag out your deer. I know this may annoy you but it is what it is.
Really.
  :D

[KentuckyTJ]

I mash up cedar greenery in my clothes bag often. I think it helps. I have also grabbed it while hunting and roll it around on me. very aromatic and natural. Of course as all have said nothing will totally make you scent free but with a small wind swirl I think some cover scents helps.

[JimB]

Originally posted by shadman:
I don't believe in cover scents. I have bird dogs. I've had them get sprayed directly in the nose. The smell was so strong that it would make your eyes water at 20 yards. The dogs continue to hunt and point birds as if nothing is wrong. If dogs can do that, you tell me how a cover scent can work on deer.

That's great information there.What more can you say?