Determined...

T

Tucker 1371

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That my girlfriend and I wont finish out this deer season empty handed. I believe last year our scent control program might have left something to be desired.

Anyone have tips, tricks, or products that they would recommend?

We were also very fidgety due to sitting cross legged on the ground and our legs falling asleep. I don't want hunt from a stand so I picked up a couple camp stools from Bass Pro yesterday, I believe that should solve that problem.
 
Use a blind to cover ur movement and dead down wind worked for me. I wash my hunting clothes n gear in it and seal it up in a plastic bag. The night b4 I shower with the dead downwind body wash, then again in the morning b4 I go out to hunt. Once I arrive and near my hunting spot I change into my hunting clothes n gear n place my clothes I wore into the bag. Just make sure u learn something each time u enter the woods. Good luck hunting!!!
 
I have to admit that these days I hunt more from box blinds than I do from the ground. But...back when I did most of my hunting off of a camp stool I was far more concerned with being downwind of where I expected deer to show up than I was with scent coverage. Use the stool, put some brush around you to break up your image, wear camo and camo head covering and gloves, reduce movement to as close to zero as you can, and try to be downwind. Murphy's Law suggests that you won't always be downwind, since it's hard to be positive where the deer will show up. Still, I remember several times in the past I had 3 or 4 doe exactly downwind of me at a range of 25 or 30 feet and they did not smell me. I was not using a scent cover, but was wearing my 'outdoor' clothing and I always shower the night before so that the soapy scent is gone when I get in the woods.

I often did well off my old stool, since I could hunt the places where the big bucks did not expect me to be. They do pattern us hunters and know what places to avoid (until the rut, when their hormones make them stupid).

I had the best old stool, may it rest in peace. I was turning to my right (moving with glacial slowness) to make a shot on a monster buck, when the old stool finally gave it up and dumped me in a puddle of leaves and cold water. Dang. What a buck, but chances were slim that I could've made the turn and the shot anyway. I had not anticipated that he would come out THERE.

Anyway, enjoy the hunting and treasure the fond memories.
 
The best thing you can do with regards to scent control is to hunt the wind. I've bowhunted 17 years now and have tried a pile of products.

I have to say after all of that I'm back to just washing my clothes in unscented soap to keep them clean and religiously watching the weather.

I'm not talking about hunting a spot if the wind is just "okay" for it. I'm saying don't even hunt a spot unless the wind is perfect for it. You will do far more damage to a hunting area by walking in with a bad wind and end up running everything out the other side.

It only takes one hunt to full a tag, and it only takes one hunt to ruin a good spot. I have upwards of 25 treestands on out farm, most of which will only ever be hunted one time in a season. I pick key days with regards to weather patterns to hunt specific stands. Generally the very first time you hit a stand is the best hunt you'll have out of it. You've essentially blindsided the deer that are in the area.

Good luck
 
Kimber nailed the wind points that I was going to make.

I will recommend that you get a ground blind with shoot-thru windows. You really need to have something that will allow you to move a little without deer seeing you. It will also give you a little more comfort.
 
I found sitting on a blow over always worked good for me. Or you folks could make yourselves a little ground blind with materials found in the area. Oh yes then you could drag those nice comfy lawn chairs out there in the woods to sit on. {just make sure they don't squeak} If you were to try the homemade blind deal. You'd up your chances of at least seeing deer if you were to make the blind itself a month or so earlier before your use. {so all the surrounding animals get use to seeing it.} I never sat on the ground under any circumstance. Cold, damp, ant's & spiders not my ting. Lots of options. A little imagination is all it takes.
I even at one time had a custom board that I could hang on just about any size tree trunk that would allow me to sit comfortably for hours. Worked good until it (the board) un-chained itself and walked away one afternoon while I went to go have lunch and use the facility back at my cabin. Never quite figured out how that happened? After all it was my land and trees.

S/S
 
ive always been a spot and stock hunter myself. hunting out west its about the only way to do it (E Oregon). Bow hunting is a different story, i try a little bit of spot and stalk and a little bit of blind hunting on a water hole.
keeping the wind in your favor is always key and knowing the game trails. ive had many a doe walk right up to me so i could literally reach out and touch them by keeping the wind in my favor and staying hidden in the sage (bucks usually arent that dumb).
now trying to draw a bow to get a shot when they are that close is impossible :D but i still get a rush when they look like they are about to pull the apple out of your pocket to munch on :)
....to bad you cant shoot doe with an archery tag :/
 
You don't mention how you're hunting deer, I assuming if you're new to it, you're hunting with a rifle. Scent control when using a rifle is easily controlled by wind direction since the distance is generally greater than when bow hunting or handgun hunting. Clean clothes washed in unscented detergent and clean bodies showed with unscented soap work as well as any masking scent. Masking scents are more of a confidence builder than a game maker when rifle hunting, but one still needs to use them sparingly and appropriately. Attractant scents can help, but they tend to direct a deer's senses in one direction and must be used with that in mind. The decision to get comfortable seats is a wise one. Movement at the wrong time when gun hunting is the main reason most folks come home empty handed. The longer you can sit, and the less movement you make, means deer will have a much harder time pickin' you out and leaving before you see them. Being comfortable when waiting means you spend more time looking and are more focused at spotting deer when you ain't thinkin' about how much your arse or legs hurt. Blinds, both natural and pop-up can be effective and give one much more margin of error when it comes to movement and preparing for a shot. When sitting in a stand with two people, it works best if you are looking in opposite directions, even if you expect the game to come from just one. This is true for turkey hunting just as much as for deer. Having both folks looking in one general direction means you are missin' half of what's goin' on around you. It also means you must turn completely around to check out a sound or to get a shot that's behind you. Many times that movement is the reason all you see is a tail.
 
Yes we are rifle hunting. Thanks for the advice y'all, all sounds pretty solid to me. I've had one successful season hunting alone, had brand new gear and shot a 200lb Georgia 10 point the third day of the season. Then I proceeded to wear my carharrt jacket all over creation and I think that didn't help.

Last year was my first year hunting Tennessee and spots around Knoxville are hard to come by but I might have a few leads on a new place.

I may hold off on a blind for a while but I am going to be a little more wind conscious and step up my scent control program somewhat.
 
I don't do anything for scent control except I don't use deodorant or cologne and I wear rubber bottom boots so I don't leave a scent trail. The wind is your best friend. Its also your worst enemy.
 
Camp stools won't solve your problem either. Sitting, no matter on what, will still get to you after a time. No matter you'll have to move in the woods. When you do move, move slow.

I also build a bit of a ground blind with cedar branches around me to cover my movements a bit. I do sit on a cushion to keep the numbness at bay.

Pop up blinds are a great option, but they need to be in place well before opening day. Deer will notice them if they suddenly appear.

Don't sweat your scent program. Watch the wind, don't wash your clothes or yourself in strong detergent (I usually just wash them in water only unless they are bloody) and I always use some cover scent. The cover scent I use is leaves and grass from where I hunt. Take some and rub it over your clothes before hitting the woods.

I also leave my jacket and bibs outside when ever possible to keep that outside scent on them.
 
If you plan to hunt on the ground you had better know which direction and whether if /or the wind is actually pushing or swirling your scent along the ground. Before your leaving your camp site.

Every morning before I head out to the woods in the dark or day light. I look at my cabins chimney smoke first thing. It tells me which direction and how the wind is behaving. (I suppose one could use one of those puffy dust bottles and get the same result's.) {Two examples: smoke/wind swirling downwards over the roof headed towards the ground (or limp like but still moving/falling downwards) The other. Smoke blowing way at a 45* degree angle off the top of the chimney pipe straight away from the cabin.) If its it a downwards looking kind of smoke/wind. I don't bother to sit in a open stand or walk on the ground either. That is the worse type of wind to try to hunt in. {Unless you have a fully enclosed windowed deer stand.} If the wind is blowing directionally straight away from the side of my chimney. Under that circumstance I can use the wind to my advantage. By walking into the wind or having it blow into my face when sitting in a open air stand or blind. I'm always prepared to shoot behind my back or Back Trail as its called. As over the years Still Hunting or Ground Blind hunting I've caught many deer coming towards me or bold enough to stand and watch me. While they standing on my track/s behind me. Natural scents like cigarette smoke garner a deer's attention but gasoline or man made scents like it. Will cause deer to actually walk in an opposite direction once they get a whiff. Many hunters hang their hunting clothes out on a clothesline a day or so before hunting season opening. To help clear the many different scents one's hunting clothing may have encounter. Than spray a scent killer over them before even hunting in them. I've always done that to my hunting clothes since day one. {hung out} But never do I spray them down before hunting in them. I usually wait at least a couple days before doing that spray cover up deal to my clothes. Why not make use of that fresh air smell they've acquired first. And I do not wear my hunting clothes after the hunt. I always change them and hang them out in my porch away from house smells That includes everything I have on I intend to use the following day. > Everything!! rifles too.

I've used so many different cover up scent over the years from expensive ones to old name brands. One or two I've thought worked OK. Some others perhaps were a total waste of money. Scent Killer Spray by Wild Life Research I've always had good luck with.
My father once told me. "The best thing a hunter can do for himself while in the woods was to have a piece of Anise candy along to cover up his breath with."_ But I always took notice the old guy always seemed to select a piece of butterscotch for himself and leave the anise for me. Oh well. Just the way this old guy {Me} has always done things.

S/S
 
Buy a bee smoker and smoke your clothes. Use the normal scent elimination products and then smoke your clothes. They don't have to be saturated, but it doesn't hurt. I set up my pop-up blind, put all my gear in there and then put the smoker in it with one window just cracked open. Smoking your clothes might be the best kept secret in hunting.
 
You can store your hunting clothes in a bag filled with fresh walnut leaves, and put them on when you arrive at your stand.

In the mountains, hills and ridges...hunt with the wind thermals. In the mid to late morning, the cool air in the bottoms will heat up and rise up the ridge; so prefer to hunt on the upper side of the ridges. In the late evening around sunset...the air will cool and start to descend down the slope --- so tend to place your stand in the lower parts of the ridge.

The bottoms are difficult to hunt, because the wind tends to swirl around in different directions.

My favorite seat in the woods is my camo daypack, or some kind of seat cushion
 
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"The best thing a hunter can do for himself while in the woods was to have a piece of Anise candy along to cover up his breath with
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"Trails Blend" made by Wildlife Research smells a lot like anise. I've used it with a decent amount of success. It is not classified as a sexual attractant and can be used during all phases of deer hunting. Have had a lot of success using it on a drag rag as a cover scent, dragging rag to my stand then hanging rag 20yds or so from stand. Make sure to freshen rag with scent every 40yds or so of dragging and again when you hang it in tree.

I didn't read all the posts but SS Mc Gee is spot on about entering and exiting your hunting area with the wind in your face. If the wind is hitting the back of your neck on the way to your stand, you've most likely alerted every deer in the area to your presence on the way in. No matter how quite you are.

Far as clothes, there's cattle around here so hangin the outer garments in the barn is my preference along with wearin rubber soled boots. Tis the only time a cow paddy is your friend. Go ahead and step in her. ;) Great cover scent.
 
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I didn't even shower the night before or the morning of that I shot me bear this spring, there were 2 bears and neither knew I was there and they have much stronger sense of smell than deer or elk.

clean your clothes with free and clear detergent, scent killer type detergents are the exact same thing but since they put a deer and an X on the bottle they get to charge a lot more and people are dumb enough to pay it.

the camp chairs should help alot, the more comfortable you are in your blind the less you'll feel like moving and the less you give away your position. a blind might be a good idea but animals aren't stupid(at least up here they aren't) a blind that looks like pine branches and snow in the middle of a clear stubble field sticks out just as much to them as it does to us. match the type of camo the blind uses to the area you'll be hunting(grass to grass/stubble, pine to pine, oak to oak, etc) also beware the flashier camo that looks like it would work really good. I bought a jacket from cabelas that looked great last year but when I got it out to the field it was almost bright yellow and seems to glow in low light. get camo that looks flatter or darker than what you think you'll need because even if it really is too dark or too flat, shadows and patches of dirt look a lot more convincing than something that looks like someone painted a tree with highlighters.

lastly, make sure you get out when it's light enough to find your way to your stand but still well before shooting light. animals have much better sight than we do but twilight messes with them almost as much as us so it levels the playing field. as long as you're quiet they might not even know you are there(which is the whole point, isn't it?) their hearing is still a major problem to contend with but practicing moving quietly now can help nullify that concern. if you are an afternoon hunter try to get out a good couple hours before the sun starts to set. most animals are not very active during the middle of the day, especially if they know it's hunting season, getting out while they are still hiding and giving things a chance to settle back down is smart because the deer are less likely to be suspicious if they wake up from their naps and the birds are singing and bugs chirping.

I don't really waste my time sitting from 10am-3PM, that's the least active time of the day for most game animals. right after legal shooting light and right after sunset seem to be my sweet spots.
 
I don't really waste my time sitting from 10am-3PM, that's the least active time of the day for most game animals. right after legal shooting light and right after sunset seem to be my sweet spots.
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During deer rut season, I really like posting up around some known doe bedding areas. Have killed a few nice bucks during mid day as they were sneaking in scent checking bedded does.
 
shortwave said:
During deer rut season, I really like posting up around some known doe bedding areas. Have killed a few nice bucks during mid day as they were sneaking in scent checking bedded does.
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Of the deer I saw last year during the rut, 3 of which were over 140, all were cruising between 11-1 in the middle of the day... I ended up killing one of them after a week of cat and mouse at about 10:45 in the morning.


During the rut, I plant my butt all day, every day until I reach total exhaustion or have one on the ground.
 
that is a good point but our season happens well after rut so they aren't hormone crazed philanderers anymore by the time I get to hunt them.
 
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