human scent in the woods

[Birdman]

ok this is going to go against the normal train of thought, most people try to stay as scentless as possable in the woods and in certain areas I guess thats a good thing. In areas that I go into regularly and hunt during season I wnat my scent ALL OVER THE PLACE prior to the season. I'll wipe down sweat from all over my body(pits, groin, feet etc) when cutting grass or out in the yard useing the same rag for a couple weeks. Then I'll cut the rag into strips n hang them around in the area I hunt.I also take several good pee's while out, up against a tree or on a bush so the air can carry the scent around. What I'm trying to do is get the deer n whatever else may be there used to my scent so it doesn't set off an alarm in their head when season comes. If they get to smell it on pretty regular occasions and get used to it being a NON ALARMING smell during the year they sort of ignore it come season. Probably wouldn't work if ya can only get out into your area during the season but if ya can do it several times a year the deer get to a point they could care less if they smell ya, adds a bit of an edge to getting close enough for a good clean shot, --just some thoughts YMHS Birdman

 

[roundball]

And how many mature 2.5 - 4.5 year old 8-10 point bucks do you kill every year with that approach?

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Best stuff I have ever found.

 

[KHickam]

I usually smoke my clothes in cedar

 

[Birdman]

truthfully Roundball usually I take a doe or two n very seldom worry about antlers. But I have been in the woods very often n had deer like you describe within 30 or 40 feet. Of course I choose where I sit so I blend in just like anybody else would. Also I hunt from the ground, sitten up a tree just never set well with me as a hunten style, to each his/her own it just never perked my interest. Twice I've slapped does on the butt n have had bucks with in 5 or 6 feet more times then I can remember. Can't really say if hanging scent rags n such had much if any effect but I look at it as a "it can't hurt" sort a thing. Simple thing is if somebody thinks otherwise thats fine with me, just thought I'd toss out an idea I've used over the years others might be interested in YMHS Birdman

 

[hanshi]

I usually just work the wind and/or use cover scent, fox, skunk, etc.

 

[hoochiepapa]

Whatever works for you, Birdman! I try to hunt the wind but most of the time here in the mountains, the wind swirls and you can't dope it. I might try what tou suggest this year, I plan on spending lots of time there.

 

[Bill Hall]

I don't think it works that way. They just avoid the places where they smell human scent.

But, I have used your technique to help guide elk to my secret spots. Ok, call it mean spirited, I will pee and spit all around certain easy accessable dirt tanks, where the lazy hunters flock to instead of making an effort to get out and burn a few calories. Elk like to hang around water sources, even if it's within a couple of miles. If they smell human scent before they get to the easy tanks, they will eventually head in the direction of the smaller, tucked away tanks.
That's where I will be, or just in that vicinity.

Not quite a science, but at least it keeps the lazy hunters from scoring, and this is competition after all :surrender: . Ok, maybe I'm a jerk, but I just don't think a bunch of guys sitting around a water source, beer cans in hand, should take an animal as respectable as an elk, so sometimes I "doctor it up". tee hee Bill

 

[fyrfyter43]

I think a big part of our differing experiences regarding human scent has to do with where we live and hunt.

I live and hunt in one of the most rural areas in NJ. But if the deer here avoided areas where they encountered human scent, they would have nowhere to go. I think in more densely populated areas the deer are so used to human scent that it doesn't really concern them.

NJ law dictates a 450 foot safety zone around any structure. You are allowed to hunt within this safety zone with written permission from the landowner. On most of the properties I hunt it is difficult or impossible to hunt 450 feet from any structure. There is one place I hunt where I have permission letters from 3 different landowners allowing me to hunt within the safety zone around their homes.

I rarely pay any attention to scent or wind direction. The buck I killed this year (picture posted in the smoothbore picture thread) passed directly downwind from me (behind me) before circling around and giving me a shot. I passed on a bigger buck 8 other times this year because we're only allowed 1 buck during the muzzleloader season. Almost every time I saw him he had passed downwind from me. And when I say I passed on him, he presented a shot I would have taken if I had a tag...broadside or quartering away inside of 50 yards. And this is from the stand that has 3 homes within 450 feet.

 

[Cowboy2]

Deer and turkeys can and will get used to anything after a while in a given location, so long as their numbers are rarely harmed there. Here at the ranch, I've got some of the biggest Osceola gobblers you've ever seen that will just keep on feeding at the feeder in the backyard while I'm banging away with guns 100yds away, in plain sight. But the same birds see me 300yds from the house, and they run like the devil is after them. I've had deer feed behind the barn, not 150yds from me, as I've been shooting targets with an Garand in the same spot. Why? Because no harm ever comes to them there.

Guys on the tractors will tell you the same thing. The biggest buck in the pasture won't blink an eye as they mow pastures, but will run like hell if they turn the machine off.

Deer and turkeys (I can't speak to elk) aren't exactly smart, but they aren't dumb about the very few things they have to worry about- food, mating, and danger. They catch on pretty quick to what and where something is going to hurt them.

Which is a long way of saying that depending on place and circumstances, yes, I think you can lure them into a false sense of security.

 

[Kapow]

Where I live there are deer everywhere and often on peoples front lawns but when you try to hunt them they are afraid of human scent. I don't think you can condition them not to be. I have a theory on it.

I have also hunted in Africa and seen my P.H take a leak next to a waterhole. I criticised him for ity but twenty minutes later animals were drinking from that waterhole. I don't think pee has much of a human scent to it, after all our scent comes from our skin and sweat.

Back to my theory: I think we smell dangerous because we eat meat and that comes out in our sweat. So a better experiment may be to become a vegetarian but then that would make hunting pointless wouldn't it?

 

[S.Kenton]

Birdman...that actually works very well for a buddy of mine. He swears by that same method as you describe..he even goes as far as putting a dummy(with his camo hunting outfit on) in his treestand to get the deer used to a figure in the stand... he ALWAYS does very well.
I'm a bit more traditional..play the wind, hide my scent, ect.

 

[S.Kenton]

Where I live there are deer everywhere and often on peoples front lawns but when you try to hunt them they are afraid of human scent. I don't think you can condition them not to be. I have a theory on it.

I have also hunted in Africa and seen my P.H take a leak next to a waterhole. I criticised him for ity but twenty minutes later animals were drinking from that waterhole. I don't think pee has much of a human scent to it, after all our scent comes from our skin and sweat.

Back to my theory: I think we smell dangerous because we eat meat and that comes out in our sweat. So a better experiment may be to become a vegetarian but then that would make hunting pointless wouldn't it?

I think pee is pee.. and pretty much smells the same throughout the animal world..I can't tell you how many times I've had to pee off my tree stand..way to many to count...it seems to have little or no effect on deer. Light up a cigarette and ya wont see a one.. at least around here.

 

[Cowboy2]

Heh...my dad smokes like a chimney, and hell, doesn't even wear camo anymore. He sits in the stand in a pair of khakies, smoking away, and every year seems to kill the biggest buck.

Personally, I think they can pick up on danger. They have precious little to worry about. Their minds aren't cluttered with thoughts about paying the mortgage, stress at work, what the woman wants, etc. I think they pick up on things we don't because they don't have all that noise cluttering up instinct. The most successful hunts I've had seem to always have been when I didn't really want to shoot anything. I think instinct tells them when a predator is around. Have you ever been in a place or situation where the whole thing seems to tingle with danger, for no reason you can put a finger on? I think that's instinct, and for the reasons stated above, I think they're far more in tune with it.

 

[Kapow]

I understand that feeling very well. I am in Kho Samui, Thailand on holidays and last night I got chased down the street by the biggest ladyboy you have ever seen. I definitely sensed danger...

 

[BrownBear]

I bet it doesn't help. In my experience their behavior pattern changes enough before the season that they'll be leery in any case. We have deer around our house all the time, and they aren't bothered unless we appear suddenly or move quickly. But about a week to ten days before the season opens, they flat disappear. And about a week after the season they start to reappear. And even out of the season, when encountered in the woods those same deer are as spooky as ever. And they practically know us by name.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I have always hunted the wind and if the wind was bad didn't go out. Around here deer and other critters run into human scent every where they go. I think they have learned a little is no danger and if it is stronger they run. If I am on the tractor or my UTV/ATV they do not pay much attention, but run like hell if they see me walking. Often they will just stand there and look at me when I am on one of those machines.

I think the thoughts the orginal poster has on scent might be worth more testing. From everything I have read and been told, pee doesn't affect deer the way we would think. I have even heard of mock scrapes being made using human pee.

 

[S.Kenton]

:thumbsup: I also think the harder we try and disguise our scent...the faster the deer pick up on it, thats why I play the wind as well.I also think that deer pick up on the ACTIVITY leading into the hunting season.One year on my trail cams I was getting pictures of a NICE 10pt, just like clockwork every morning at 9:30-9:45 am in a certain part of our property.I was getting these photos for about a month prior to Bow season. About a week before bow season he was gone..no more pictures of him. I figured a poacher got him. Then about a week after the deer season was over.. BAM! There he was again, same time.. same area! Kind of odd eh? Just when ya think ya have them all figured out......

 

[Sharps1863]

KHickam I'm with you, but I use green pine branches,We have a lot of pine trees here. So I just build a fire early in the morning before I go into the woods and just stand in the smoke for 3 or 4 mins.
or until I smell like a Christmas tree. I have tried the sent block and this seems to work just as good and it free and natural and it is a scent that is in the woods were I hunt. One other thing I hunt from the ground so I build my blind out of Pine branches too.

 

[izzyjoe]

i wash my hunting clothes in creek water, and let them air dry outside. then i put them in a large trash bag with oak leaves and pine straw. i do that a few weeks before season opens. i use Ivory soap to bath with all deer season. and none of the smelly good stuff that men wear. i never use laundry soap to wash my clothes either. because they have whiteners in them. camo pants will turn white faster if wash with regular laundry detergent. i've learned the hard way on some things. and rubber boots are a must. i try to become one with nature when i hunt. and it seem's to be working!