100%!
& if she could accompany me in the woods this fall to make sure I fully understood her......

 

There would be a whole new kinda scent going on at that point 🤣🤣

 

Woo Hoo! Confirmation of what I have been doing for decades.....plus I use an ozone generator to help de-stink my clothes, and also in the field in hopes of confusing a deer just long enough to possibly get a shot if the deer moves downwind from me.

 

I have been mulling over getting an ozone generator. Do you have any specific moments you can post about where you felt like it worked or didn’t work?

 

I hunt the wind, but also use scent free body soap, scent free clothes detergent, ozone for clothes, ozone in the stand. Anything that will tilt the odds in my favor as most of my shots are 25yds and less.

 

Anti scent control arguments are always black and white. In reality you must learn to operate in the gray areas.

its just like sound spooking a deer if a deer hears a BOOM or loud noise close they will likely react. But if the same sound is like 100 yards away they might just raise there head or act like it was nothing.

Lets say your going to work its before day light you walk out the front door and you smell a skunk a pretty strong skunk. You go to the back door you might still smell the skunk but you can tell its not close so not a danger. A deer will react the same way.

Your job is not to be black or white but be gray and smell like your way over there.

Scent killing sprays theres no black or white they don't kill it. They just weaken it and i wouldn't buy scent killing spray if it was a dime for a gallon I make my own. That way i don't try and save money by cutting back on any ingredient.

Cover scent here again you want to blend in be as small apart as you can for example. You use 40% fresh earth 40% Deer pee and 20% you. Sure the deer can smell that 20% but whats his nose telling him the other scents are much closer than you are so your still out of the danger range for that deer. Much different than 30% fresh earth 30% deer pee and 40% you.

A rabbit dog can teach us the same thing. They can tell the slightest difference in scent we know this because they doin't run the track backwards if there any good. A better example is a raccoon dog a raccoon might have been out milling around a hour before dark and you don't turn loose until well after dark the track is hours old. They can tell what way the raccoon walked. So very slight difference's in scent matter. Its not that your invisible to there nose its just your scent is so small they don't care. Just like a pack of yotes cross this ridge at 4 in the morning a deer comes out the ridge at 5 might have a different reaction than a deer that walks out the ridge at noon. Remember that super nose they could smell the yotes if it was a raccoon the raccoon dogs could trail it and go the right direction.

Be gray

 

Smart lady. Hunt smart not hard!

 

Agree with all of that. Never bought into scent control clothing or sprays. I keep my body and clothes scent free. But, as was said, you can't control your breath. As far as "playing the wind", I think most hunters (whitetail deer) use a stationary stand setup. Playing the wind may be hard or impossible. Also, most of the places we hunt can have deer coming in from various directions. So, how do you "play the wind"? Wind directions can switch often. What do you do. Get in and out of the stand. How will that help you? You can't be scent FREE, only minimize it. I also think deer are very sensitive to strange sounds. As much or more than scent. Movement also comes into play. When a deer gets all three, scent, sound, and movement, you are really screwed. Finally, I guess She doesn't get any money from the manufacturers of all these products or she would be telling you how great they are.

 

Think about the Native American hunters. Their weapons effective range forced them to get up close and personal. They had no Ozone Generators, descenting sprays, etc. No modern showers either so I imagine they smelled pretty bad. They lived amongst the animals so their scent was a mixture of what they encountered in their daily life. Food for thought.
Bill

 

Agreed. Hunting the wind is the best method

 

There's a great video from the big buck Serial Killer using milkweed down. A buck beds down about 50yds from him and he drifts the white down right into the buck. He said he just got out of work and didn't change up or wash, that's how he hunts.
It showed that sometimes it just doesn't matter how you smell. My scent killer is Old Spice or Arm and Hammer deodorant. I most always get a nice mature buck for my area but do mind the wind as much as possible and put in a lot of time. Maybe I'd get one quicker if I spent a bunch of money on "products", but it just doesn't seem necessary to me. YMMV...

 

Great video. I have multiple stands set up for different wind directions. Also multiple climber locations, with reflective tack paths , to trees , that are prepped to hunt. Meaning trimmed shooting lanes etc. For setting up in the dark I put two tacks at eye level. So I know the height to set up. I often take the climber out and hang on tree, right before dark, the day before a morning hunt. I also hunt as high as 30 ft. or more ,depending on topography, and wind currents. I use wind floaters, not puff bottles, it's amazing , how the currents are far different then actual direction. I seldom hunt same stand more than twice in a row, regardless of deer activity. Alot of the stands/locations are morning or evening specific, for various reasons. This routine, has put some dandies on my wall over the years. As well as kept my freezer full!

 

Great and informative video. I agree you can never completely fool a deer's scent detection.

If you do buy and use cover scent, attractant scent, scent eliminating clothing, because marketing convinces you need to, to be successful, you will accomplish one thing guaranteed, you will spend lots of money.

I always get a chuckle when just a couple weeks before our states firearm deer season, people will hang their blaze orange clothing out side to eliminate household scent from being stored in the closet all year. I have some hunting friends that do just that. They also have a deer shack with a propane stove for making barbque,chili, hamburgers, etc. The small shack is so filled with cooking smoke, you can barely breath

One thing I have done for years, and does help. is to wear some type of rubber boots. That will pretty much eliminate any scent left on the ground walking to or from your stand. Actually what I did years ago when my friend was operating a dairy farm, I would walk across the pasture to my stand, I would intentionally step in some like day old cow patties, Most natural scent in the area.

 

Last Sunday morning I was hunting right beside a road on my club and I saw a bobcat coming down the road up against the bank of the road on my side. He passed by me and as soon as he did I turned around so I could see the point where I stepped off the road into the woods fully expecting him to spook when he hit my back trail. When he got there he did suddenly stop and drop his head smelling and then took a step up the bank and smelled the ground again and then backed up and just went walking on up the road completely unconcerned. I was wearing a pair of Muck Woody Max boots with my pants legs tucked into the boots. It worked on a bobcat at least.

 

In my predator hunting, I've called in many bobcats and killed a couple. I made one into a rug and one into a full body mount. Didn't kill any more than the two. They aren't really concerned with scent, like you might think they would be. Now coyotes ,will put a deer to shame. I think they can smell where you were a week ago.

 

I completely agree with this video. I also believe that the deer can get used to your smell and learn to not be bothered by it. I am in the woods year-round every four days or so on one of the two properties I am allowed to hunt. Each time I go, even in the off-season I am sure to leave some high protein deer feed for them. This is my 7th year there and I am pretty much the only one that hunts there (other than a buddy who goes about 3 times a season). It is very common for me to walk in, dump a coffee can of food out, and within an hour have deer walking all over the place in front of me. Two nights ago, I crawled out of my blind while a fat doe fed about 40 yards away and I walked along the wood line, away from her back to the truck. Once at the truck she was still on camera eating.

The other property I hunt is a working farm and 6 of us hunt there and it is a completely different story. I can't go there during the off season like I do at the other place. Sometimes I can go days without seeing a deer during the season even though they have soybeans and corn planted in the fields.

When my time comes that I can't hunt any longer, I will more than likely keep going to the one property year-round and take care of the deer providing them with a high protein diet. They will become more like pets then I guess.

 

I completely agree with this video. I also believe that the deer can get used to your smell and learn to not be bothered by it. I am in the woods year-round every four days or so on one of the two properties I am allowed to hunt. Each time I go, even in the off-season I am sure to leave some high protein deer feed for them. This is my 7th year there and I am pretty much the only one that hunts there (other than a buddy who goes about 3 times a season). It is very common for me to walk in, dump a coffee can of food out, and within an hour have deer walking all over the place in front of me. Two nights ago, I crawled out of my blind while a fat doe fed about 40 yards away and I walked along the wood line, away from her back to the truck. Once at the truck she was still on camera eating.

The other property I hunt is a working farm and 6 of us hunt there and it is a completely different story. I can't go there during the off season like I do at the other place. Sometimes I can go days without seeing a deer during the season even though they have soybeans and corn planted in the fields.

When my time comes that I can't hunt any longer, I will more than likely keep going to the one property year-round and take care of the deer providing them with a high protein diet. They will become more like pets then I guess.

I agree they can get used to human scent, to some degree. I have two stands within 150 yards of my back door. I had a doe and 2 fawn's feeding in my backyard at about 15 yards yesterday for about 25 minutes. It was kind of funny though ,she kept sticking her nose up and sniffing around even, though I know she could smell human scent in the area. She didn’t seem to care. However when I get in the woods, anywhere else. They seem to know the scent doesn't belong in that concentration in that particular area.

 

As I have said before, if a deer doesn't associate any danger to human scent, or for that matter any other scent or human activity, they tend to not be bothered by it. Some examples, farmers, forest people, people commonly in the woods. Farm machinery, chain saws, etc. Lets say that a logger is in the woods most days running a chain saw and smokes cigarettes. The deer get accustomed to even the cigarette smoke. On the other hand, no cigarette smoker within twenty miles of your deer hunting spot, and you light one up on your treestand, the deer may not be totally alarmed or avoid the area, but would be on alert.
Any type of danger associated with any of the fore mentioned, and the deer are super skittish, and likely avoid the area.

 

Scent control, hunt the wind , I use baking soda to wash all my hunting clothes then apply dead down wind. I haven’t been winded from ground blind to Treestands it’s hunting smart, also you can use deer scent and wicks around stand locations.

 

I'll tell you a funny story. I was on Safari in South Africa. In my bathroom was very fragrant soap. I asked the PH (guide) why would they put scented soap in the bathroom. Doesn't it alarm the animals. His answer: they are only alarmed at human scent.
WTF.

 

I don't spend a lot of money on scent control items. I do wash my clothes in a scent control detergent. I always shower or wash up prior to going to my stand. I dont wear my hunting clothes in the cabin I remove them and put in a foot locker with baking soda once I get back in. I a m fortunate to have my own property and have a lot of blinds and stands scattered across the property. Always try to play the wind. It does shift I know but hunting the right winds is a huge factor. With all that said busting deer out on the way to your hunting spot is probably one of the biggest issues for hunters. I spent a lot of money on scent control as a younger man. I tried it all including skunk scent, fox scent, various scent sprays, carbon infused clothing, high dollar Scent Lock clothing you name it. Nothing will work if the wind beats you. I am sure getting as high up as possible helps but if the thermals are wrong you are screwed. None of the ladder stands on my property are more than 14ft high. My permanent blinds are 8ft high. I have started using platforms for popup blinds set at 6ft high. They all work great providing I play the wind. Below is a picture of a doe and fawn in I had in a plot Tues evening. The doe fed right in front of my popup platform for at least 10 mins at 15yds. She would look at the blind and tried her best to scent me, but wind was right in my face. Admitally she was a bit nervous, but kept feeding. From an Old Fart with over 65 years of deer hunting under my belt, my best advice is to play the wind best as you can. Make sure you have a good plan to access your stands. I am sure some of the new stuff on the market helps with scent control, but all I am saying is you are not gonna beat a deers nose if wind us wrong or thermals beat you. Older does are masters at picking up human scent. Rut crazed bucks could give a crap less. They have one thing on their mind. Good luck to everyone this season. Hope everyone has a safe and successful hunting season. Have fun!