Originally posted by JohnV:
I think scent control is very important. I've watched too many deer react negatively to smelling me.
Scent "control" in the way that every single company markets it as, simply does not work. Never has, never will. Period. Deer will be able to smell you no matter what you spray on, shower in, wear or hang above your head.
Being cognizant of your scent cone and how it is traveling at any given moment, due to very local conditions, is what is important, works and is free, to boot.
The way that I think of it is that Deer can differentiate scents to a higher degree than we humans can differentiate color with our eyes. They don't just smell our clothing as "human" anymore than we see clothing as "clothing"...we see colors, patterns, shape, buttons, collars, zippers...and when we stop and study it we see thread, stitching, pockets, etc...very fine detail. Well, deer do that with smell...they smell the cloth, thread, buttons, metal zippers, detergent, baking soda, etc...and when they stop and snort and sniff, that's like us stopping to look closely at something, to get a better picture of what it is. They are trying to put all the pieces together and hopefully whatever they smell moves, so they can confirm there is something there.