with ground hunting you MUST watch the wind. when setting up find a large bush to sit into a little bit to break up your out line.as for sent control I only wear my hunting clothes hunting, i store them out side all the time and I change into them when I get to my spot. and lastly look up the reviews of deer dander you will be amazed by the reviews, buy some and only spray it on your boots it works..
Determined...
- Thread starter Tucker 1371
- Start date
Ah, yeah didn't think of that. I strictly bow hunt in our state, so I've always got the rut in my back pocket, luckily.
Po'Boys Scent Killer
We do something similar- using freshly fallen cottonwood leaves- putting them in there a week befor season, and taking them out and putting them on before the 1/2 mile predawn walk to the stands ......
Walnut would not work well where I hunt- those trees don't grow there ..... cottonwood, Eastern red cedar and box elder being the predominate species..... I suppose cedar would work, but dang that would chafe .....
We also make a doe pee drag, too, and have had young desperate bucks come in on our back trail ...... when the rut is on, bucks get real dumb that way.....
We do something similar- using freshly fallen cottonwood leaves- putting them in there a week befor season, and taking them out and putting them on before the 1/2 mile predawn walk to the stands ......
Walnut would not work well where I hunt- those trees don't grow there ..... cottonwood, Eastern red cedar and box elder being the predominate species..... I suppose cedar would work, but dang that would chafe .....
We also make a doe pee drag, too, and have had young desperate bucks come in on our back trail ...... when the rut is on, bucks get real dumb that way.....
sc928porsche
New member
Rub up around the pines and transfer some of the tree scent to your clothes. Do NOT wear your hunting clothes in camp. As soon as you get in, change and put clothes in sealable plastic bags. When you are ready to head out, put your hunting gear on and leave immediately. Nothing gets the attention of game quicker than the smell of smoke. It was ingrained into their system before the arrival of man.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Smoke is the best cover scent I've ever used. Maybe, m a y b e, in some far out place where there aren't natural fires and there aren't houses with wood stoves and the ONLY smoke they smell is from hunters... Maybe then the critters are scared of it. Everywhere else, they ignore it completely.
Do some searching. There are three opinions on using smoke for cover. There's "used it! Holy cow it works!", there's "never tried it, it can't work." and I did manage to find one or two (literally, one or two) who said they tried it and it scared animals.
I've tried every trick in the book. Anise, pine boughs, apples, vanilla, commercial products of who knows how many varieties. I saw results from zero to, eh, maybe, it helped, a little. Nothing has ever come close to smoke.
I'm one of the " it spooked deer"
. I don't think the smoke spooked them, I genuinely think they just smelled me. Two times I had a buck come from a place I didn't exactly plan on him coming from and both times they put on the brakes and hauled mail the other way. I've had "smokers" tell me I didn't use enough smoke or I didn't do this or that right, whatever... I can't mess it up now, cause I don't use it.
My main central focus over the last 6 years has been religiously working the wind in my favor ( before that I bought every scent elim under the sun). I don't fool myself into thinking "well the wind is pretty good for this setup", nope I just don't hunt it if its not.
Everyone has their own way of doing things, right, wrong or indifferent. But if we all agreed on everything it would be a boring place.
Just an alternative view.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
I just want, once in my life, to see one of these places where the wind blows "right" and stay right long enough to hunt it.
Where are these places? I'm lucky if I can sit somewhere for 2 hours without getting wind with 180dg shifts. We have exactly one place where we can consistently "hunt the wind" and that's ONLY because the only bad wind is "anything from the west". As long as it's south, north, east, or any combination, we're good.
Every other place I've hunted has 2 problems. One, deer movement is virtually random and, two, the wind shifts back and forth through wide angles. I'd be lucky to keep it coming from a single quadrant for a solid hour, say nothing of a single direction for an entire hunt!
And smoking your clothes, you still have to do basic scent control. You can't wrestle with your dog, have your wife (and her perfume) hug you goodbye, spill coffee in your lap and splash gas on your boots when you fill up and then expect it to work.
I tried it 2 years ago. The entire season. I saw more deer, up close, and got more chances than I've ever had before AND shot the biggest buck of my life. All hunting the same places I've hunted for years. I saw deer do things I've never seen before, like come in down wind and continue to within 5 feet of my tree. I looked at more deer through the bottom of my tree stand Han I ever have in my life. Last year, I got lazy. Maybe I wasn't convinced enough to keep up on it. Maybe I was too stressed to care (good possibility). In any case, I didn't do it.... Right back to a regular season. Saw deer, shot deer, no decent bucks, no big numbers.
Small sample size. Statistically irrelevant. It convinced me enough that I'll be doing it again this year.
Where are these places? I'm lucky if I can sit somewhere for 2 hours without getting wind with 180dg shifts. We have exactly one place where we can consistently "hunt the wind" and that's ONLY because the only bad wind is "anything from the west". As long as it's south, north, east, or any combination, we're good.
Every other place I've hunted has 2 problems. One, deer movement is virtually random and, two, the wind shifts back and forth through wide angles. I'd be lucky to keep it coming from a single quadrant for a solid hour, say nothing of a single direction for an entire hunt!
And smoking your clothes, you still have to do basic scent control. You can't wrestle with your dog, have your wife (and her perfume) hug you goodbye, spill coffee in your lap and splash gas on your boots when you fill up and then expect it to work.
I tried it 2 years ago. The entire season. I saw more deer, up close, and got more chances than I've ever had before AND shot the biggest buck of my life. All hunting the same places I've hunted for years. I saw deer do things I've never seen before, like come in down wind and continue to within 5 feet of my tree. I looked at more deer through the bottom of my tree stand Han I ever have in my life. Last year, I got lazy. Maybe I wasn't convinced enough to keep up on it. Maybe I was too stressed to care (good possibility). In any case, I didn't do it.... Right back to a regular season. Saw deer, shot deer, no decent bucks, no big numbers.
Small sample size. Statistically irrelevant. It convinced me enough that I'll be doing it again this year.
I never said it blows in one direction all the time, but there's more than enough times where wind patterns are tempting to hunt in when you really shouldn't. Going out and hunting blindly regardless of wind ( not saying you do this) and relying on one thing to cover you is a waste of time in my book.
Again, here we go assuming I'm doing all sorts of asinine stuff before I smoke up ( wrestle with the dog etc).
Your method works for you, mine works for me. I never said you were stupid for using smoke, use it all you want, I won't for a second think you're dumb.
Doing what I've done has netted 4 bucks over 140, 1 in the 150's and one in the 160's... Using scent control I was consistently knocking down 130's and 140's year after year ( yes I have a good place to hunt thank God, one that I have total control over). I won't say that no scent control is better, not by far, but I will say my techniques have evolved to allow for me to be in better position to kill big deer. I also spend an excessive amount of time in the woods during October and November, which again helps.
I know better than to wade into a scent control discussion, it always ends the same way. Kinda like the "what powder to use in a 30 cal" discussion.
We can agree to disagree
Again, here we go assuming I'm doing all sorts of asinine stuff before I smoke up ( wrestle with the dog etc).
Your method works for you, mine works for me. I never said you were stupid for using smoke, use it all you want, I won't for a second think you're dumb.
Doing what I've done has netted 4 bucks over 140, 1 in the 150's and one in the 160's... Using scent control I was consistently knocking down 130's and 140's year after year ( yes I have a good place to hunt thank God, one that I have total control over). I won't say that no scent control is better, not by far, but I will say my techniques have evolved to allow for me to be in better position to kill big deer. I also spend an excessive amount of time in the woods during October and November, which again helps.
I know better than to wade into a scent control discussion, it always ends the same way. Kinda like the "what powder to use in a 30 cal" discussion.
We can agree to disagree
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Kimber84 said:
Nope, wasn't assuming that you did anything. That was a generic statement on scent control, meant for folks who don't think about it beyond washing their clothes.
That post wasn't really directed at you. It was "inspired" by your comment about hunting the wind but it was (meant to be) mostly generic.
I guess I will never understand these "wind patterns" that folks talk about. For the longest time, I just thought that I had "bad" spots where the wind was inconsistent and swirled and weird deer that didn't behave like they're supposed to.
After awhile, when I hunted a few dozen different areas, swamps, hill-tops, valleys, fields, etc, I realized that these animals just don't exist in NY State, apparently. The wind is, effectively, random and the deer are more so.
Sure, the wind might be NW 75% of the time I'm in the tree on a given day but what good does that do when the other 25% can be anywhere from NE to S and the deer could come from anywhere? In all the hunting I've done, I've only found two spots where the deer reliable come from one direction.
I have a small sample size to work with as well... Hunting the Midwest with rolling farmland my whole life has gotten me stuck on hunting wind.
I kinda have a narrow view of how things are I guess
Gunplummer
New member
I used to trap and I can tell you from experience that a lot of this worry over scent control is nonsense. Trapping is all about working and placing scents properly. If you hunt in large open areas it may make a difference, that I don't know. The original poster gave me the impression he was hunting during rifle season. Once the leaves are down, movement is the chief problem. I used to smoke and wore brown cotton gloves to mask the movement of my white hands. Next time you are out hunting, take notice how far away you can see a squirrel shaking it's tail. 200 yards easy. The other guys are right, sit in a blowdown or have something behind you to absorb the outline. Try not to worry what is behind you. Bopping around to constantly look is soon going to give you away. I like to lay down behind a big log or in a blowdown. That way my movements (Coffee and lunch) are hidden and I can take a nap once and awhile. I hunt public land almost exclusively and usually do O.K. Once the banging starts, scent means nothing. If a deer got up and ran everytime it smelled a hunter the first 3 days of rifle, it would never stop running. The problem during rifle season is to get a deer up and moving at all. It may be the deer are really spooked where you hunt and sit tight all day. Maybe there are no deer in the area you are hunting at that time. I hunt a big Valley in West Virginia, and if there is no acorn crop that year you are lucky to see two deer in a week. A good year and you see half a dozen a day. I suspect that if you are paying attention and not seeing deer, the deer went night shift or are simply not there that day. Maybe the problem is you are looking for deer. You should be tuned to catch movement, ANY movement. I have already picked out deer from pieces of their shadows moving. This is all good advice for Eastern mountainous public land. Other areas, I don't know.
bamaranger
New member
controversial
Your gonna love this. For starts, two people on a open deer stand, is one too many. Twice as much movement, scent, chatter, etc, for a deer to spot. Yeah, I hunted next to bamaboy for a spell, but in a box blind in long established spots. Two people, in the open on the ground, is a disadvantage.
Play the wind hard. Deer are the wind. (not my line, but I like it). There is not a deer alive that can scent you if you are downwind. Make a study of the wind before and on every hunt. There will be spots absolutely worthless on one wind, good on another. Have multiple stands/hunts planned so that you can hunt where the wind allows and favors you. Rifle hunting allows for a bit of leeway with the wind, eddies and currents roll scent around and may allow for a shot on out there always before you get picked off. I would not expect to many deer to show up straight downwind anytime.
I firmly believe that to be consistently successful, you have to play the wind as a deer hunter. If you intend to kill a deer with a bow, the wind becomes paramount.
Pushed, heavily panicked deer may run blind for a spell but will work the wind as soon as they feel safer. I try to avoid spots and hunts with lots of pressure, If I can't I try and use the pressure to my advantage (note try).
Good luck and thanks for your service.
Your gonna love this. For starts, two people on a open deer stand, is one too many. Twice as much movement, scent, chatter, etc, for a deer to spot. Yeah, I hunted next to bamaboy for a spell, but in a box blind in long established spots. Two people, in the open on the ground, is a disadvantage.
Play the wind hard. Deer are the wind. (not my line, but I like it). There is not a deer alive that can scent you if you are downwind. Make a study of the wind before and on every hunt. There will be spots absolutely worthless on one wind, good on another. Have multiple stands/hunts planned so that you can hunt where the wind allows and favors you. Rifle hunting allows for a bit of leeway with the wind, eddies and currents roll scent around and may allow for a shot on out there always before you get picked off. I would not expect to many deer to show up straight downwind anytime.
I firmly believe that to be consistently successful, you have to play the wind as a deer hunter. If you intend to kill a deer with a bow, the wind becomes paramount.
Pushed, heavily panicked deer may run blind for a spell but will work the wind as soon as they feel safer. I try to avoid spots and hunts with lots of pressure, If I can't I try and use the pressure to my advantage (note try).
Good luck and thanks for your service.
You need to try some open country ...... where the wind can BLOW for days from one direction, without quitting .....
There are other disadvantages out there, though ....... being able to make longer shots chief among them.
On the other hand, a good stiff wind will mask movement and noise very effectively.
Some of us feel a need to handicap ourselves with a squad of new and future hunters. I 'druther watch the kiddoes take one doe than shoot a couple of monster bucks myself.....
Geezerbiker
New member
Do you think the liquid smoke sold for cooking would work for adding sent to clothes? It sure smells smoky to me and it could be put in a small spray bottle for touch ups...
Tony
Tony
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
I wonder about Liquid Smoke too but I don't get enough hunting time to take the chance of "wasting" any if it doesn't work. I'd love to hear your results though.
I wonder about Liquid Smoke too but I don't get enough hunting time to take the chance of "wasting" any if it doesn't work. I'd love to hear your results though.
Brian,
Part of the selling point I've heard from those pushing smoke was that the smoke itself kills and prohibits further bacteria growth, which is part of what makes us humans stank like we do.
No idea if there's any scientific evidence to back that up, and don't really care to delve into it, just throwing it out there
I would guess, maybe?? That liquid smoke wouldn't have the same affect?? I dunno.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Yeah, I've heard that too. I never looked into that aspect. I went with "if it works, I don't care why."