Primitive scent control?

[Protrucker]

A spicy bowl of Chilli the night before the hunt generally does the job.

 

[Protrucker]

I always try to hunt according to the prevailing wind, but around here you're lucky if the wind blows the same direction for more than 30 seconds. Therefore, scent control is really important. My hunting clothes are washed only with baking soda, never soap. Then, they are hung outside for at least two weeks before season & only brought into the house long enough to put them on & get back outside. I don't wear my hunting boots to go to town or even to get out at the gas station to pump gas & I don't wear them to even walk around in the house where cleaning chemicals have been used on the floors.
I also never touch anything in my hunting area with bare hands & don't urinate within 200 yards of anyplace that I set up for a stand hunt. (ground or elevated stand) Another thing that I learned when trapping was to never spit on the ground where you're trapping or hunting. Animals will also pick up that scent & alter their course of travel.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Try rubbing your clothes with plants and earth located in the area where you are going to hunt. The baking soda neutralizes the scents in the clothing, and airing them outdoors will help them take on some of the prevailing outdoor smells. But, I found that animals are much less likely to be disturbed by my scent if I rub weeds, grasses, leaves, and dirt found in the area where I am going to hunt- as it transfers the acidity( or alkalinity) of the soil to my clothing, and makes it much less likely that they will distinguish my scent. The real problem with scent is that we give off skin rafts( think of dander), which are dead skin cells) off our legs, arms, and neck/head. 60% of your body heat escapes out the nape and back of your neck, taking with it a lot of dead skin cells. The sleeves of you shirts and the pant legs act as PUMPS to send dead skin cells off your limbs and out onto the ground around you.

Wear good cuffs, and gloves to keep those dead skin cells inside your clothing. Wear a hooded sweater or parka to hold the dead skin cells inside your upper clothing. If you can, wear rubber boots and tuck the cuffs of your pants inside those boots to keep the dead skin cells from your legs and crotch inside your clothing and boots. You can dust the rubber boots with baking soda before walking from your house or car. Or wash them off in the nearest creek, pond, ditch, or puddle of water.

In true Wilderness hunting, the animals do not have much contact with humans, and they will spook at the smell of anything foreign. Even using Ashes to mask your scent may not work if you are hunting an area that has Not seen wild fires in the past year or so. However, in areas where humans live close to the game, and all kinds of human odors are available to deer to smell, human scent is NOT going to get the same reaction it does out in wilderness areas. In fact, some deer ignore it. MY best friend was taking a " SMOKING BREAK" early in the bow hunting season, one day, and was holding the lit cigarette in his left hand resting his hand on his left knee while sitting on a camp stool watching a couple of game trails with fresh deer sign. All of a sudden, something was pushing against his left shoulder. He turned to look to see a 5 pt. buck( eastern count) walking past him, the deer's nose not a foot from the column of smoke rising from his cigarette! The deer's shoulder was pushing aside a branch on a bush behind my friend, and the branch was what pushed his shoulder. By the time he regained his composure, dropped the cigarette, got his bow up and drawn back, the deer had managed to walk to a point on one of the trails where a tree blocked my friend's best shot at the back of its neck. He stopped by my office on his way home, at the end of the business day as I was getting ready to leave, and told me the story. He wanted to know if I had ever heard or seen a deer walk that close to a lit cigarette before.(A: NO! :idunno: :surrender: )

I have since been told by another friend and deer hunter that he was cutting down trees along a waterway, and stacking them up in a burn pile in his adjoining field, when he happened to notice movement. A couple of bucks were in the treeline, not 50 feet away from him, watching what he was doing!

My point in relating these situations is that they illustrate that there can be NO single Rule on how to deal with human scent, sounds, smells, etc. for all hunting areas or kinds of game. Wild game can and do learn to adapt to having us live in their neighborhoods!

Oh, I had a young buck follow my "doe-in-heat" artificial luring scent, that I put on the in-steps of my rubber boots one deer season, coming to within 6 feet of where I was standing inside the branches of a small Crab-apple tree. Because of the intervening branches, and the first light behind me, he could not make out what I was. He didn't even spook when I turned my head around- I was facing the opposite direction, HUNTING INTO THE WIND-- as the movement was partially covered by branches around my head. He finally WALKED to his left, out into the winter wheat field next to the trail he had followed, and that allowed me to turn around so that I could raise my gun and shoot him.

If I believed that All deer that wind you will immediately leave the area, I would not have taken that deer. It should Not have been possible under those rules.

I thought the deer was a nice, 1.5 year old doe, and would be good eating. There were NO buttons showing between the ears. And, I could not see his family jewels from my standing position, as close as he was to me. If I had known he was a yearling buck, I would have let him go. He dressed out at 86 lbs, a very large weight for a 6 month old deer. And, since he got to that size eating Corn, and Soybeans, he was good eating, too!

 

[larry wv]

My sons house is next to a thick hill side. The wind blows into these woods from one direction 90% of the time. I hang a tree stand in the odor trail from the house usualy only up far enought to see good. If I don't move they pay me no mind. They are not worried about human scent that is common to the area. They get down wind close enough to spit on quite often. Of course this won't work a 1/4 mile from the house but 200 feet works at this spot. At another house it works a little further. Larry Wv

 

[rabjr]

Try rubbing your clothes with plants and earth located in the area where you are going to hunt. The baking soda neutralizes the scents in the clothing, and airing them outdoors will help them take on some of the prevailing outdoor smells. But, I found that animals are much less likely to be disturbed by my scent if I rub weeds, grasses, leaves, and dirt found in the area where I am going to hunt- as it transfers the acidity( or alkalinity) of the soil to my clothing, and makes it much less likely that they will distinguish my scent. The real problem with scent is that we give off skin rafts( think of dander), which are dead skin cells) off our legs, arms, and neck/head. 60% of your body heat escapes out the nape and back of your neck, taking with it a lot of dead skin cells. The sleeves of you shirts and the pant legs act as PUMPS to send dead skin cells off your limbs and out onto the ground around you.

Wear good cuffs, and gloves to keep those dead skin cells inside your clothing. Wear a hooded sweater or parka to hold the dead skin cells inside your upper clothing. If you can, wear rubber boots and tuck the cuffs of your pants inside those boots to keep the dead skin cells from your legs and crotch inside your clothing and boots. You can dust the rubber boots with baking soda before walking from your house or car. Or wash them off in the nearest creek, pond, ditch, or puddle of water.

In true Wilderness hunting, the animals do not have much contact with humans, and they will spook at the smell of anything foreign. Even using Ashes to mask your scent may not work if you are hunting an area that has Not seen wild fires in the past year or so. However, in areas where humans live close to the game, and all kinds of human odors are available to deer to smell, human scent is NOT going to get the same reaction it does out in wilderness areas. In fact, some deer ignore it. MY best friend was taking a " SMOKING BREAK" early in the bow hunting season, one day, and was holding the lit cigarette in his left hand resting his hand on his left knee while sitting on a camp stool watching a couple of game trails with fresh deer sign. All of a sudden, something was pushing against his left shoulder. He turned to look to see a 5 pt. buck( eastern count) walking past him, the deer's nose not a foot from the column of smoke rising from his cigarette! The deer's shoulder was pushing aside a branch on a bush behind my friend, and the branch was what pushed his shoulder. By the time he regained his composure, dropped the cigarette, got his bow up and drawn back, the deer had managed to walk to a point on one of the trails where a tree blocked my friend's best shot at the back of its neck. He stopped by my office on his way home, at the end of the business day as I was getting ready to leave, and told me the story. He wanted to know if I had ever heard or seen a deer walk that close to a lit cigarette before.(A: NO! :idunno: :surrender: )

I have since been told by another friend and deer hunter that he was cutting down trees along a waterway, and stacking them up in a burn pile in his adjoining field, when he happened to notice movement. A couple of bucks were in the treeline, not 50 feet away from him, watching what he was doing!

My point in relating these situations is that they illustrate that there can be NO single Rule on how to deal with human scent, sounds, smells, etc. for all hunting areas or kinds of game. Wild game can and do learn to adapt to having us live in their neighborhoods!

Oh, I had a young buck follow my "doe-in-heat" artificial luring scent, that I put on the in-steps of my rubber boots one deer season, coming to within 6 feet of where I was standing inside the branches of a small Crab-apple tree. Because of the intervening branches, and the first light behind me, he could not make out what I was. He didn't even spook when I turned my head around- I was facing the opposite direction, HUNTING INTO THE WIND-- as the movement was partially covered by branches around my head. He finally WALKED to his left, out into the winter wheat field next to the trail he had followed, and that allowed me to turn around so that I could raise my gun and shoot him.

If I believed that All deer that wind you will immediately leave the area, I would not have taken that deer. It should Not have been possible under those rules.

I thought the deer was a nice, 1.5 year old doe, and would be good eating. There were NO buttons showing between the ears. And, I could not see his family jewels from my standing position, as close as he was to me. If I had known he was a yearling buck, I would have let him go. He dressed out at 86 lbs, a very large weight for a 6 month old deer. And, since he got to that size eating Corn, and Soybeans, he was good eating, too!

I don't know Paul, I don't do any of these sent tricks or fall for gimmicks, I just go out and hunt. For years I smoked and I figured if I'm going to go sit somewhere for 4 to 6 hours and freeze my butt off, I'm at least going to enjoy a smoke while doing it. I smoked every half hour on the hour, called them my wind checker meters. :haha: Had to spit out more than one to shoot a deer and I shot a lot of over the years.

My last year hunting the Adirondacks,Thanks Giving day late 90's I wasn't seeing much for sign at my usual stand so I decided to blaze a trail with my "Swamp Rat" and came across a trail with bloody deer pee, you know what that means, so I skirted the trail and found a few more spots like it and decided on a spot to sit. Climbed up into my seat and loaded my gun, then lite a smoke to check the wind. Two hours later I lite another as usual and got two drags when I hear a crash and walking coming from the direction the smoke was going. This was one of those rare days when the smoke drifted off in a line about 2 or 3 feet off the ground. I actually had never seen anything like it as it usually drifts higher but I could see a line of it for a good 50 yards and was cursing under my breath about it.

Next thing I know I see this deer appear right at the smoke and slowly followed it to a point about 25 yards from me. I was in total disbelief because if he smelled the cigarette he had to have smelled me and my CATV. :shocked2: Then he cut across the smoke going to my right following another trail. I had told my brother in law I felt lucky that day and if he heard a shot, come running cause I'll have one down. I being disabled had a N.Y Doe permit, so I said to myself if it makes it to a certain opening, it's dead. Being that dumb, it needed to be culled. :haha: It dropped and never twitched and my brother in law was there within 10 minutes. Just enough time for me to smoke another cigarette.

I did quit smoking btw in 2001 but besides not smoking I don't do anything but watch the wind.

I can see bow hunters up in tree stands doing what they can but for me it just does not make any sense at all. And if your a smoker, smoke em if ya got em....but do yourself and your family a favor and quit em. :thumbsup:

 

[longcruise]

I did quit smoking btw in 2001 but besides not smoking I don't do anything but watch the wind.

Swampy, maybe you should start packing some of those incense sticks for wind indicators.

This was one of those rare days when the smoke drifted off in a line about 2 or 3 feet off the ground. I actually had never seen anything like it as it usually drifts higher but I could see a line of it for a good 50 yards and was cursing under my breath about it.

I'll bet it snowed or set in a still drizzle fog within 24 hours?

 

[rabjr]

I did quit smoking btw in 2001 but besides not smoking I don't do anything but watch the wind.

Swampy, maybe you should start packing some of those incense sticks for wind indicators.

This was one of those rare days when the smoke drifted off in a line about 2 or 3 feet off the ground. I actually had never seen anything like it as it usually drifts higher but I could see a line of it for a good 50 yards and was cursing under my breath about it.

I'll bet it snowed or set in a still drizzle fog within 24 hours?

Until my back surgery put an end to this years hunting, I do ok, putting on avg 4 to 6 deer in the freezer before that. Well anymore than 4 I give them away. We eat venison like most people eat beef.

And yes it was a low cloud cover and if I remember right it did snow that night.

 

[shootemup]

I do ok, putting on avg 4 to 6 deer in the freezer before that. Well anymore than 4 I give them away. We eat venison like most people eat beef.

:thumbsup:
We're more like 4-5 here, with my son and I both hunting. Limit's three. I'm only 40 miles from the Missouri border and have friends up there who would certainly let me hunt (they've invited me), but, over the years we've sort of worked it out where we run through about four deer by mid-summer. Good enough to make my little family of four deer-hungry by October.

But we're only feeding our little bunch that lives in our house, not our whole family.

Swampy I'll bet your family is real happy to get the extra meat, most of my family lives far away (not that that's an excuse). Maybe I could do a better job of providing meat for my extended family?

By the way, no intention to highjack the thread. But Swampy finds a way to get it done no matter what, and I think that inspires a lot of us. I guess no scent-control method, no matter how effective, can out-do straight up ability.

Rich, :hatsoff: .

Spot

 

[paulvallandigham]

I can understand that happening to you, Swampy. That is kind of what happened to my late buddy, Don. In populated areas, smoking doesn't seem to bother the deer much at all. They are just as likely to come toward you to find the source of the smoke, as they are to run away. Over the years, I have heard stories from several older hunters who had old bucks come towards them from down wind.

I do think it helps if you are in the middle of a low pressure zone, that leads to that fog, or snow later in the day or night. That tends to keep your scent from drifting on any wind currents, as your scent comes from bacteria feeding on the dead skin cells that are landing at you feet. A slight breeze that is waist to chest high on you that moves your smoke down wind, may not go all the way to the ground in a low pressure system. There may be NO wind visible within 6 inches of the ground.

 

[jim gray]

When I was a kid the "old guys" that I knew hunted in the same clothes for a week or more at a time and usually walked through the woods smoking cigarettes. That was during the rifle season though, there weren't many hunters in the flintlock season (Pennsylvania's traditional season is flintlocks only.) back then.

I agree with some of the opinions here, scent-lock clothing and cover scents are made to attract hunters not game. After all, deer don't spend a lot of money on hunting gear. I think that stuff is marketed to archery hunters anyway.

Just pay attention to the wind and watch where you step.

 

[larry wv]

I Bow hunt and also think the scent control clothes are a joke. Larry Wv

 

[rabjr]

I do ok, putting on avg 4 to 6 deer in the freezer before that. Well anymore than 4 I give them away. We eat venison like most people eat beef.

:thumbsup:
We're more like 4-5 here, with my son and I both hunting. Limit's three. I'm only 40 miles from the Missouri border and have friends up there who would certainly let me hunt (they've invited me), but, over the years we've sort of worked it out where we run through about four deer by mid-summer. Good enough to make my little family of four deer-hungry by October.

But we're only feeding our little bunch that lives in our house, not our whole family.

Swampy I'll bet your family is real happy to get the extra meat, most of my family lives far away (not that that's an excuse). Maybe I could do a better job of providing meat for my extended family?

By the way, no intention to highjack the thread. But Swampy finds a way to get it done no matter what, and I think that inspires a lot of us. I guess no scent-control method, no matter how effective, can out-do straight up ability.

Rich, :hatsoff: .

Spot

Sadly most people up here won't touch it. I do make sure the land owner gets some and found out my nurse likes it. I a closing in on 100lb's of venison jerky sent to Iraq so far when I had cousins and friends there. I have two cousins deploying to Afghanistan and hope to get a little sent to them soon. :thumbsup:

 

[rabjr]

I Bow hunt and also think the scent control clothes are a joke. Larry Wv

I had a friend who would just go out in any clothes in a tree stand, all he did was spray the non scent stuff all over him. He refused to take and use cough drops of any kind, I always take some, unwrap them and line a 35mm film canister with wax paper, fill it up with your favorite candy or cough drop. It's a pretty noiseless way to get to them. Anyway he wouldn't use them cause he was a afraid if he breathed, the deer would smell it and spook. :youcrazy: I'm like Billy, if they smell the cough drop, they will smell your smelly arse ya dummy. I could not get it through his head to just watch the wind and don't worry about the little stuff. :shake:

 

[boar]

Well I guess I will add my scent control, very simple. I dip a new tampax in vanilla,pin it on my back with safety pin. You can also take a ball of wool and put some on it and tie under your foot. I was told by a hunter from Texas who if hunting in hardwoods smoked his clothes with hardwoods smoke,if hunting in pine woods hung his clothes in a pine tree. Dilly

 

[bucktales]

I knew of a few guys who tied Tarsels to their boots.
Don't know if it worked or not, but they sure did stink. :shocked2:

 

[luieb45]

I Bow hunt and also think the scent control clothes are a joke. Larry Wv

A few years ago it was time for me to get new camo and I stumbled upon mossy oak no scent camo. I got it because it was on sale and I liked the looks of the camo. It supposedly kept your scent away but for the first couple years I used it I didn't get busted often but have been more frequently lately. I think it's worn off or something. Maybe it was just a coincidence but maybe it actually worked. Setting yourself up for the right wind directions is the best scent control though.

 

I Bow hunt and also think the scent control clothes are a joke. Larry Wv

A few years ago it was time for me to get new camo and I stumbled upon mossy oak no scent camo. I got it because it was on sale and I liked the looks of the camo. It supposedly kept your scent away but for the first couple years I used it I didn't get busted often but have been more frequently lately. I think it's worn off or something. Maybe it was just a coincidence but maybe it actually worked. Setting yourself up for the right wind directions is the best scent control though.

I personaly believe camo along with sent control isnothing more thaqn a gimmic to get you to buy it. They don't work.
Motion is what deer see . You can wear floursant orange and deer won't notice you until you move.

 

[napolean]

Agree w/ Woodhick that deer are far more likely to spook at motion or sound. Also agree with the concept that deer get acustomed to human odors. I even think deer recognize routine human movement & sound, such as a farmer feeding cattle,or an oilfield pumper checking wells as non-threatening, at least until about the third day of open season.
Jon

 

[David W.]

I do not know where everyone else hunts, but with the hills here in Tennessee, the wind sometimes swirles around so I many times can not have the wind to my back. I ususally eat an apple or two and throw them in front of me, hoping the deer will smell it and come investagate. I sat on a stump one time, smoking a cigarette and had a doe come up to me and I thumped the cigarette onto its nose. Commercial scents are for reatailers to make a buck off you.

 

[rabjr]

I Bow hunt and also think the scent control clothes are a joke. Larry Wv

A few years ago it was time for me to get new camo and I stumbled upon mossy oak no scent camo. I got it because it was on sale and I liked the looks of the camo. It supposedly kept your scent away but for the first couple years I used it I didn't get busted often but have been more frequently lately. I think it's worn off or something. Maybe it was just a coincidence but maybe it actually worked. Setting yourself up for the right wind directions is the best scent control though.

I personaly believe camo along with sent control isnothing more thaqn a gimmic to get you to buy it. They don't work.
Motion is what deer see . You can wear floursant orange and deer won't notice you until you move.

An aweful lot of deer died to guys wearing black and red plaid coats and red or orange hats we called crusher hats back in the 60's, 70's in Vermont, I know I was there for most of the 70's. And what was cover scent back then?

A lot of people want your money, 98% of what is sold today is just gimmicks.