Not worrying 'bout scent control?

[Yellow Dog]

I play the wind and make sure me and my stuff isn't stinky. My wheel shooting buddy is a scent fanatic and let's just say he gets pretty upset about my lack of concern about scent and my ability to get right on top of critters versus his. The beauty of hunting with a stickbow is you have to get close, real close. As a result of that you spend a lot more time watching critters and seeing what they'll tolerate and what you can get away with. Bottom line is once they figure out something isn't right they'll circle around and catch your wind every time. Can't trick that nose no mater what you wrap yourself in or douse yourself with. We have a 10,000 acre NWR about 10 minutes from where I live. Drawing a five day buck tag in there is coveted, some of the best bucks in my neck of the woods call it home. I'd put in for an easy to draw doe tag every year. Go in there and play with the big boys. It's  surprising what you'll do and can get away with when you can't throw an arrow at them. Best learning experience ever grunting rut crazed bucks in until they get right on top of you and figure it out. They get real mad when they've been had. It's supposed to be be fun, don't turn it into a job..........

[DaveT1963]

I'll take my chances and focus more effort on scent control. .. every little bit helps.  Doesn't mean you pay less attention to other things but I am pretty sure,  all else being equal, the man that pays attention to details like scent control will be consistently more successful IMHO

[woodchucker]

Like Brother Knawbone, I LIKE hunting areas with swirly wind!!!!!

That being said... I've been at this Deer Huntin' game, for 40 years. Gun & Bow, From Central NY farmland, The woods of the Hudson River Valley, The Catskill Mountains, The Adirondacks, plus the mountains & cedar swamps of Maine. Tree stands, ground stands, still hunting, even getting on a "Big Buck" track and follow them up!!! The ONLY thing that is a "sure thing"... Deer, will ALWAYS smell you, no matter how hard you try to cover it up,or prevent it!!!

The BIG factor is, How do the deer react to it... Deer are animals,and every animal is differant! Some are just plain skittish, Some are curious, and some just seem to not give a $hi+!!! I've killed deer with the wind blowing right at them & I've had them spook when the wind was right in my face. Years ago, Gun hunting with family in the Catskill Mts. My Dad was sitting on the mountainside,looking down the mountain. Behind him, was a flat "bench" that was out of his sight. On that bench, no more than 50-60 yards away, was one of the biggest bucks I had ever seen on that mountain... Bedded down,with a big doe. The wind & morning thermals, were carrying my Dad's scent, right to them. They had not a care in the world!!! They knew where he was,and could hear him if he decided to come up over the bench,and be gone before he'd ever see them..... I watched the buck & doe for almost 2 hours. I even watched the big boy,lay his head down & take a nap! I couldn't shoot,because my Dad was in the line of fire,so I decided to try and sneak down and get them to move... Perhaps one of us could get a shot??? I SLOWLY, picked my way down to them on an angle... Suddenly, They both jumped up & lit out straight along the bench, STILL out of sight of my Dad!!!!! He never saw them.

Bottom line is, Deer are gonna smell you, LONG before you see them. Wind in your face is good, Wind on the back of your neck is BAD!!! If the wind is in your face,you have a pretty good chance of not being winded. If the wind is at your back, rest assured the deer will know you are,"Over there"...  A swirling wind, which seems to be the most predominate wind during the season, tells them "Hmmm, somethings around". They do not know EXACTLY where you are, or even if you are still there!!! They are kinda "on guard" but certainly NOT "spooked"!!!!! This is where they rely on their sight & hearing senses. They get a wiff of something,but cannot tell EXACTLY WHERE it is. Or, even if it is still there!!! Like Turkeys that have AMAZING vision... If a Turkey spooked every time something in the woods moved... He'd be a total basket case,and dead from starvation in no time. Because he'd NEVER EAT!!!!! Deer are the same way... If a deer spooked & left the area, every time they smelled something, they'd be dead from exhuastion... Because they would never rest or eat!!!!! This is why I believe that cover scents and lures, sometimes work so well. They help to confuse them & kick in a deer's natural curiousity.....

A swirling wind,can be your best friend!!!!! Just HUNT!!!!! You can't kill deer on the couch...    

[monkeyball]

Yep, I hunted in a creek bottom last night. It is at the head of a long deep ravine. Wind was suppose to be out of the N-NW which was going to make it a pretty good deal for the evening hunt.

  Got all setup and feeling good about it. Had not been there more than an hour when I noticed the leaves blowing the wrong way,then leaves blowing both ways ?????

 I thought I may as well stay put, how will the deer know where I am
with this crazy wind. Had two yearlings come down off the hill and barrel past me at about 7 yds. Crazy!

 
                       Good Hunting,
                                         Craig

[DaveT1963]

Hunting and hunting big mature whitetails on pressured land are two totally different things.  Deer have good vision but I would never say it equals that of a turkey, or most birds.  Their hearing is better than most - their nose is their best defense - period.  A deer will not always trust or be able to identify what it sees or hears - but a wiff of scent and that deer knows immediately what it is.

All good discussion, but there is so much more to hunting big whitetails then "just play the wind" that is only one factor..... especially mature pressured deer.  You'd better pay attention to concealment, movement, entry/exit trails, pressure and many other things if you want to connect on mature bucks on most public land that gets hit hard.  You don't have to wear rubber boots to kill a deer - but they can and do help.  You don't have to rotate stands alot to kill a deer - but does it help if you don't hunt the same stand but once every 7-10 days?  You don't have to pay attention to scent control - but does it help if a doe or younger deer hits your scent stream before the big buck shows????  SOme will say it doesn't matter - I say that if you are pursuing a mature buck (or doe) that has been pressured every little bit helps.  My goal is always to try to pull off a hunt wihtou alerting the deer that I've been there.... and yes there are ways you can do this but it takes a lot of study and practice.... and a little luck doesn't hurt. The biggest mistake I use to make when I first started was I hunted where the best sign was and gave entry/exit a casual thought.  Now the first thing I ask myself is can I get set up and exit here without alerting deer.  First time in it may not matter much but after a couple trips in it difiently makes a big difference.  I will pass the hottest looking spot if there is no good exit/entrance  and settle for a good spot where I can get in and out without too much disturbance.

My scent Lok is on order and I am going to give it a couple seasons and see - but for now I will trust folks like John Eberhart, Bobby Worthington and a few others that says it does and always seem to have a knack for knocking down mature animals on pressured property.

I know one thing - It is not going to hurt my chances any to pay more attention to scent control - of that I am absolutely sure.

[Longbow58]

Like what was said one time "wind is like water it follows a path thru the woods". I like to float dried milk weed on the wind, really lets you know when the thermals are working. I stay as clean as possible and try to hunt the wind for my stands but if they change I just stay put because I figure I will spook more deer leaving at prime time and just wait it out until dark. I still see deer... but just more cautious deer. I just hunt and enjoy. Good luck be safe.

[Slickhead]

when hunting becomes work it becomes less fun.
Use good common sense rules, and hunt.

[DanielB89]

Originally posted by BRONZ:
Anybody not worry about scent control?  I used to wash clothes with cover scent, put them in tubs with scent wafers, spray down, use cover scents...work hard at it and spend a lot of money doing it.  I'm almost to a point that I'm tired of caring.  I just want to wake up, shower, put the clothes on and head to a tree with the wind in my favor.  Anyone else?  I see Fred Eichler wear the same sweat-stained hat to hunt in everyday.  You can't tell me it doesn't stink like human!

I am not a scent control fanatic by any means.  I do a few things that are, for me, the only scent control I need.  
1. shower with whatever soap i have.
2. try to hang my clothes outside all night before I go hunting(if i don't, i don't sweat it).
3. try not to sweat walking in(dress light walking in, carry another layer in, walk as slow as possible)
4. HUNT THE WIND!

i for one don't believe that "scent control" actually works.  the reason I saw this is as long as a man is alive, he is breathing, and his breath smells,  now like I mentioned before, I do try my best to not amplify my smell by sweating profusely walking in, but other than that, I don't do much.

I have smoked my clothes before, but don't go out of my way to do it.

[woodchucker]

What slickhead said!!!!!  

Think what you want... But, If I have to bust my A$$ to hunt,(when I'm SUPPOSSED to be ENJOYING myself) I might as well work & put money in my pocket!!!

[Dan Bonner]

The folks I have known who killed a lot of mature bucks on public land were good hunters and hunted a lot. I think scent control is BS personally. Being able to read sign, know where to hang stands and then spending lots of time there is what I believe tilts the odds in your favor. Just my opinion. Don't want to make anyone mad.

Bonner

[T Folts]

Heck everytime I tried to go scent free I would just pee on myself when taking a leak and fart when on stand so I gave up. Alo use the same stinky face mask that I can smell so I'm sure the deer can smell it also. Now, I am a fanatic about wind and deer approach. I do wear rubber boots most of the time.

[DaveT1963]

Originally posted by woodchucker:
What slickhead said!!!!!        

Think what you want... But, If I have to bust my A$$ to hunt,(when I'm SUPPOSSED to be ENJOYING myself) I might as well work & put money in my pocket!!!

Guess it is all about perspective? Deer season to me is a 12 month a year passion and I enjoy every part of it.  Using good scent control practices certainly doesn't reach the level of "busting my A$$" or "work" to me..... but then again I "ENJOY" spending hours going over aerial photos, clearing entry trails, scouting.....

[DaveT1963]

duplicate post

[PUDDLE JUMPER]

Put me in the camp that if properly done it can make a real difference. When I used to go though all the steps necessary, I very rarely got winded.

Now I wash clothes and bath with scent free soap. Also store my clothes in a tub for organization.
Much prefer wool to carbon clothing. I do get winded much more often but I enjoy the hunting a lot more.

To effectively use carbon clothing its a real production. Now its a recurve on the ground, grab my bow and go. An all around more enjoyable and pure hunt for me.

[DaveT1963]

I think there are so many details that if we pay attention to them they increase our odds. I paid very little attention to how to get into and out of a setup when I first started. I just found the best sign and set up.... didn't even really consider how I would get in and out without spooking deer. Just figured I would get in way before daylight and leave long after they passed through. What I found was that first time in good, second time ok, third, fourth and fifth.... not so much. Then I talked to some more experienced hunters that were killing good bucks every year and they stressed to me the importance of getting in/out non-detected. This includes after the hunt when the deer were visiting these sites long after I was gone. The scent I was leaving on the entry/exit routes was giving me away. SO, I started really putting effort into getting into these spots undetected. Like using rubber boots, clearing brush during the summer on these trails, using waders and accessing ground via creek or lake, etc..... Now finding fresh sign is nice but if I cannot get in and out without spooking the deer I am not hunting it, I'll look for another spot close by where I can - my success rate started getting better, especially on the third/fourth time in. Over the years I started putting a lot of these "details" together and before long I was consistently taking better bucks on public land. The learning never stops and I enjoy trying new products and techniques to see if I can incorporate them into my game plan. Trail Cameras are one of those that I have begun using now that there is black flash technology..... but once again if I cannot get in and out with trail cameras without leaving a lot of residual scent I'll pass. Since I hunt primarily on public land I also have to pay attention to other hunters. I want to keep my locations hidden so I had to make changes to my equipment as I did not want to leave steps/tree stand in woods to be found by others. Also meant I had to come up with a portable ground blind system as there were to many times I would arrive only to find someone sitting in my ground blind or, in a few cases, someone had actually destroyed it

Scent control is just one of the many small details. Does it work 100% - probably not. Does it, along with other details increase your odds - I certainly think so.

The reason I pulled up this old thread was because for years I swore scent lok was never proved to work. I had tried it and I had good results with downwind deer but I blew it off as thermals or something. But now there is actually scientific evidence by a highly regarded independent researcher, that proves it actually is pretty highly effective at adsorbing (please notice how I spelled that as it is different than absorbing) odors. If you have tried it in the past and were busted perhaps there were other reasons? Did you use proper scent control on your tab/glove? Was your tree stand seat contaminated? Your bow? There is a lot of things we carry into the wood that have smell to them. Heck some rubber boots stink so bad that you can set them outside for a year and still they stink.

If you don't want to go to the effort of proper scent control that’s great. Play the wind and hopefully it will remain consistent for you. There is a lot of fun in just grabbing the bow and heading out, I typically do this when I want to still hunt. But if I have spent 100s of hours studying a buck, clearing shooting lanes and entry trails months in advance, picking the very best spot and waiting for the exact right time to slip in.... well then I am also going to do everything I can to remain undetected in case he doesn't show up the first time in. BTW - want to know one of the cheapest and yet most effective non-carbon scent control items you can wear???? Get one of those nylon wind breaker jump suits and wear it under your outer layer. These things really are not that noisy under hunting clothes and they block a LOT of vapor (human odor). Picked that tip up from Mr. Bobby Worthington and it works.

Anyways, I hope we all have fun when we hunt no matter what details we put into it.  I like a good chess game          

[Daddy Bear]

Use disciplined movement along with the wind, sun, thermals, cover, and terrain to your best advantage.  It's impossible to be scent free and invisible, but even if you've been living out of a pack for a week and in need of a shower and clean clothes, you can still get close and arrow game animals with the above discipline.  As example, earlier this week I was butt on the ground near the top of a gnarly draw that ran just below the first shelf down from a ridge.  Had all the above to my favor, but this was my third day camping and hunting in the same clothes.  Had a full grown coyote run the top edge of the draw along the shelf 10 paces in front of me, he never noticed my presence, even at draw and release.  I could say my dirty inside out underwear was the lucky gadget trick, but reality was finding the best place at the best time using the top noted discipline.  This will always trump magic scent control clothing or concoctions.

Wear functional comfortable clothes that are quiet.  Use plain water and baking soda for wash, spot clean blood when needed.  Eat a healthy diet and drink ample water.  If living out your pack for a week and you want to be able to live with yourself in a small tent, take a good clorophyll supplement.

Then if the above doesn't work, pull out you lucky inside out underwear!

Best  

[DaveT1963]

Great advice Daddy Bear - nothing trumps smart hunting technique.

I don't really do the scent control stuff to keep from getting picked up by downwind animals although it has helped on several occassion.  I try my best to use the wind to do that.  

Where I have found that a good scent control protocol pays big dividends is when you hunt the same stand site several times.  I am more concerned of the residual scent I am leaving in the area that the deer are picking up long after I am gone.

Now I might have to try the insideout lucky drawers thing  

[Red Beastmaster]

I hunt what is upwind from me and don't worry about anything behind me. Hunting is supposed to be relaxing, I don't need the stress of trying to be scent free.

[PUDDLE JUMPER]

The comments on paying particular attention to how you access your hunting area ring true. I have always felt that the scent I leave on the ground creates far more problems than the wind.

I often hunt in hip boots and will use water to my advantage when possible. Also use my canoe.  I only hunt the same spot a couple of times a year.

I found a way of hunting that really works for me. I like to be able to hop around and loaf, cover some ground and spend the day afield. I hate the feeling of being bogged down by gear management.

Being retired also influences how I hunt. The largest problem most of us face is finding the time to hunt.

[Keb]

I been thru the scent lok anal on scent control, it took the fun from hunting, it was just an excuse for my lack of knowledge I guess or new gear.

Does it work to some degree probbably.

It's to time consuming, takes the fun from the hunt.

I stopped all that and spent more time finding better places to hunt with big deer on public land.

I started to hunt with the wind in favor, and what happens start killing some big ones.

All that stuff is a gimmick, to make money in some ways.

I hunt public land and camp in a tent, it's impposible to stay scent free.

I try to shower when I can, wash my clothes in scent free soap when they are to dirty to wear again.