Scent Trail

[doc623]

The last time I was out hunting/scouting I watched a doe cut my trail and stop after scenting the trail.
I was wearing rubber boots.
The ground cover was low enough that my pant legs did not come into contact with vegetation.
Any ideas on counter measures or thoughts on this.
Any help wold be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[boar]

Doc Take piece felt,wool,cotton under arch of each foot, put turpentine on them. Have also used Vanilla. Dilly

 

[roundball]

The last time I was out hunting/scouting I watched a doe cut my trail and stop after scenting the trail.
I was wearing rubber boots.
The ground cover was low enough that my pant legs did not come into contact with vegetation.
Any ideas on counter measures or thoughts on this.
Any help wold be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Reminds me of a time when I walked through ankle high weeds in a shady patch of woods wearing a new pair of 18" LaCrosse boots...barely got my bow pulled up into the treestand when a buck & doe came through at a fast walk 90* across where I'd walked in, caught me with my back turned to them and the bow laying on the seat.

Turning only my head I watched the doe walk went right on through...but the buck stopped like he'd hit a brick wall...seemed more curious than scared...finally bunched his legs together up under himself, crouched, and must have leaped 5 feet up in the air over the scent trail my boots left in the weeds.

They both resumed walking on through but the buck turned his head back a couple times to look at that spot as he was walking away...was clearly mystified/troubled by it.

 

[Hoyt]

I've had them walk right across my back trail and not pay a bit of attention to it when I was wearing old, stinkin, wet, tennis shoes with holes in them during 90degree weather. I've also had them hit my back trail and do a 180 blowing at every bound when I'd wore knee high rubber Lacrosse Boots. Then I've had to them do just the opposite with both scenarios. Hogs.. the same thing..most will do a 180 wheezing, wolfin and blowing my scent out their nose...some will just do the 180 and kinda sneak off.
My opinion on back trails is you got to have them to get there so make them as direct as possible in the last place you expect game to cross them..because you never can know if game will cross them or not no matter what you are wearing or smell like.
I was hunting a big buck on public land..had found his shed..and knew right where he came through the swamp. I went in to hunt him the first day and didn't make the effort to go around where I thought he would come through and sure nuff..bout 8:00am that morning he hit my back trail and started blowing. Sounded like air brakes letting pressure loose in an empty 50 gallon drum..more than once he smelt me and I heard that distinctive blow.
The same morning a coyote crossed my back trail and came right by my stand...as did a smaller buck about 11.00am..I did him in.

 

[leadball]

Try a scent killer or natural earth scent on boots and pants.. couldn't hurt

 

[Stumpkiller]

Your breath, body and clothing exude scent. Even with boots (which smell like people if you keep them indoors with you) it still gets pumped out of your clothes with each step, movement and breath. You leave a trail of odor molecules that drift or settle whether you touch anything or not.

If a dog can sniff out a bird think how much easier you are to find!

You can try and mask it, eat chlorophyll tablets, become a vegetarian of unseasoned food two months prior to and during hunting season, try and "stun" the deer's olfactory senses with a non-human scent (works once - then the deer just puts that scent in the "other dangerous smell" file), or work around it.

Be aware of the wind at all times. Work into it. But, deer aren't stupid and will watch downwind because they know the wind will bring them warning from that direction. Never approach a stand location from the prime direction of deer travel. An approach from downwind concentrates the "spoiled" region instead of having a wider contact plus airborne smear. Follow depressions to trap your scent when travelling to a stand: gullies, creeks, ravines, gourges.

I watched a doe cut my trail and stop after scenting the trail. Any ideas on counter measures or thoughts on this.

Shoot the doe as soon as it pauses.

Don't "over scout" a region immediately prior to the hunt. Deer will alter patterns if the area is "hot".

 

[Catof9tails]

Doc: I'm not an expert, but I'll just include some tactics that has worked well for me over the years. If your hunting in a tree stand or another stationary ground blind, take a 30 gallon plastic trash bag with ya on the next scouting trip and scoop up some of the old/dead vegetation litter into the bag and pack it out. Then stuff your hunting clothes in the bag for several days. IMO the natrual odors of the vegetation absorbs into your hunting gear. When your done hunting for the day, stuff the gear back into the bag and keep it stored that way until the next hunt. Doesn't hurt to freshen the bag with ground litter once a week. But I also use a cover scent in combination with the bag thing. I use Scent Killer Autumn Formula before I get to the stand and when I get to the stand. This works well for me, but I'm sure results may vary with temperate zones as well as vegetative ecosystems. Just my two cents worth.
Happy Hunting, Cat9