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Do I really stink that bad?

5K views 55 replies 35 participants last post by  Crooked-Shooter 
#1 ·
Hey all,

I've been concerned with the amount of deer that are winding me with 'no real reason to." Of course they always have a reason, but...

For example, I've been down hunting a Kentucky lease for the past few days. Last night I hunted a field edge with thick woods surrounding me. I had several deer work about 100 yards above me. I checked my wind and it was blowing out across the field in the opposite direction of them, but after 10 minutes or so, they got all antsy and snorted, and then ran back into the woods. I got my binoculars on them before they ran, and they were all looking right at me. I was extremely careful to only move slow and I had great cover, so I don't know how they could have seen me. I checked my wind right after they ran and I was still upwind. I had another deer working into bow range that was also upwind and snorted at me. She might have seen me moving because I didn't see her until it was too late, but again, the tree has outstanding cover. Finally, past dark, I had a deer absolutely light up the whole hollow. The deer came from behind me and again, my wind was still not blowing that way. It could have seen me, but it was way past dark and the tree I was in was big enough to hide my whole frame.

I frequently wash my cloths in scent free detergent and spray myself down with Scent Killer before each hunt. All my hunting cloths are kept seperated from other cloths in a plastic box.

I do what I can to minimize odor but it seems to not be working. Maybe I'm moving around more than I think i am and misjudging how easily deer can pick you out, but I don't don't that's the case. Anyone else got any ideas or advice to offer?

Thanks in advance
 
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#2 ·
Do I really stink that bad?.....Why YES.....YES you do!

Sent control is always a tricky matter. I wash my clothing using a scent free Tide, and then I hang 'em outside....well away from the grill or anything else that is human. I spray 'em down with a permithin solution for ticks and let 'em dry again. They go into a plastic box and I put 'em on when I pull into my hunting spot. Yes.....I'm at the back of my truck changing into my hunting clothing.

Same with boots. Clean 'em with scent free stuff and they go into the same plastic box. Hat too. I try to step into some deer poop so the boots don't have any human scent on 'em.

Don't pump gas with your hunting duds on. Don't change inside the truck as there are too many scents to transfer. Keep your hunting duds separate from anything as much as possible.

None of it's 100%......but it all seems to help a little.

FWIW

PS: Those thermal wind currents will always mess with ya. Sometimes, a little luck goes a long way!!
 
#45 ·
Do I really stink that bad?.....Why YES.....YES you do!

Sent control is always a tricky matter. I wash my clothing using a scent free Tide, and then I hang 'em outside....well away from the grill or anything else that is human. I spray 'em down with a permithin solution for ticks and let 'em dry again. They go into a plastic box and I put 'em on when I pull into my hunting spot. Yes.....I'm at the back of my truck changing into my hunting clothing.

Same with boots. Clean 'em with scent free stuff and they go into the same plastic box. Hat too. I try to step into some deer poop so the boots don't have any human scent on 'em.

Don't pump gas with your hunting duds on. Don't change inside the truck as there are too many scents to transfer. Keep your hunting duds separate from anything as much as possible.

None of it's 100%......but it all seems to help a little.

FWIW

PS: Those thermal wind currents will always mess with ya. Sometimes, a little luck goes a long way!!

Exactly what I do. Once my clothes are washed, they hang on the line to dry and get placed in my truck bed until hunting season is over. Standing half naked in the 30 degree morning putting on cold clothes really wakes a man up.......
 
#3 ·
I have never been convinced of this scent abatement stuff. I know hunters that while hunting chew Red Man, pee close to where they stand, smoke Pall Mall cigarettes (my uncle), and munch on baloney sandwiches slathered in French's mustard; all of which have been consistently successful when bow or rifle hunting.
As for myself I find that my my weekly visit to the galvanized tub there on the front porch and a good scrub with Ivory soap are all that I need.
 
#4 ·
i watched a video once, mayvbe it was bowhunting october whitetails..i cant remember. but they did a segment on air currents. they got into a treestand and set off a colored smoke bomb. the smoke went with the air current for about 20 yards then it dropped to the ground and went in the opposite direction. they discussed thermal currents and how that affects everything.


just because the wind is going in one direction doesnt mean it isnt doing something else a little further out. it was very interesting.
 
#7 ·
Deer can only smell what hits them in the face. Either you're setting up in spots that are not conducive to consistent winds or they're picking you out for some other reason. Depending on the orientation of the field edge with the wind direction, it could be swirling really bad. Picture water in a stream when it hits a big rock.

I don't do a single thing for scent control. I'll stop to get McDonalds and gas on the way to hunt. But I only hunt spots with favorable winds. I haven't even washed last years blood off my pants yet.
 
#8 ·
How old is that stand position? Deer have learned to look up now there is no doubt about it. Maybe from the angle they are at your stand is eye level. I have had that, side if the hill and everything below me was ok but behind me due to the angle it was like I was on the ground. Also, if a stand looks the same all the time and then suddenly there are blobs in it, they are aware of that.
 
#14 ·
I don't usually hunt the same stand for more than two sits at a time. I might hunt it the next day, but I usually move around a lot.
I was hunting the stand in the evening, so the thermals should have pushed downwards and away from the deer above above me. But it probably was the reason the other two deer winded me. I will have to do some more research on air columns to plan my hunting areas accordingly.
 
#27 ·
OK heres my 2 cents you will never fool a deers nose ever!!! I use almost zero scent control except what I do every day any free and clear laundry soap is the same as all the over priced stuff in sporting good store. any I use 100% lye soap year round it is scent free
no spray no this or that my game room has 130s, 140s an 150s all archery from Pa.
and usually get 2 deer a year doe n buck I dont shoot smaller bucks pass up basket rack 8 points all the time usually pass up 15 to 20 buck every year
and hunt the wind 100% of the time even if I drive to one of my farms and wind in wrong I go home yes I hunt private property thats managed for bigger deer even 3 bear with a bow in pa. and their nose is better than a deer the way I look at it all the $ we save instead of spending on crap will pay for more hunting trips like elk ,mule deer
their is so much research out their dont take my word for it
 
#19 · (Edited)
I take scent control pretty seriously, and early in this thread Steeltrap brought out some interesting points as well.

Two things I learned oner fifty some odd years of playing this game is fox are everywhere we hunt, and mixing fox urine 50/50 with springwater,(or distilled water) makes a pretty good scent mask. The second is, if you really feel they are smelling you, and movement or UV letting them spot you isn't in the picture, you might want to consider a "pee" jug in the tree. While fox urine is a masking scent, human urine, not so much....
 
#21 ·
Before I retired I’d hunt about every night when I got out of the mine. I wouldn’t shower, put on my jeans and sweatshirt from my locker ( the bathhouse reeked of cigarette smoke ). Throw on my camo jacket from out in the truck and I was off to the woods. I’d kill an archery buck every fall, including one that was just shy of 150”. If the wind was good, lots of deer. If the winds were swirling and variable or you got caught in a bad thermal, you might as well went home. It’s my belief that there’s no way to defeat a deer’s nose in a bad wind or thermal, no matter how many precautions you take.
 
#22 ·
I agree with all the previous posters methods and tricks and try my best to practice s.c. as much as I can but to a certain degree. I'm not going to go buy a separate washer and dryer for my hunting clothes like somebody I know... Also I think it depends on the kind of deer you're hunting. If you're hunting suburban deer, they're more used to human scent and seeing weird things, imo. Deep woods deer are more cautious and immediately on high alert after the first whiff of your stank.
 
#23 ·
I do what a lot of previous posters do. Wash my cloths in scent away wash then hang them outside for at-least a week before opening day. Then they go in a rubber made bin and I put scent away drier sheets in with them. From there they go on when I get to my hunting spot and off when I get back. Very seldom do I gut a deer in these cloths ether. Head to the truck and change first. They always adds a little time to the waiting game too.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I believe there a lot of people in prison who thought they could fool a dog's nose with masking scents and air tight containment. It's near impossible to do and a deer's scenting ability is greater than a dog's.

Whatever you do for control, you are minimizing your scent, not eliminating it. I think a deer can smell your breath. How do you control that?

If what you are doing is not working, I suggest you try something different: move the stand, walk in from another direction, change your scent control procedure, etc.
 
#28 ·
Sounds like you do practice good scent control, obviously you don't simply ignore it as some do. My personal opinion on scent control products is that they are marketing tricks with little merit. Staying clean and absolutly hunting the wind, being extremely careful about entry and exits, theres scent control everyone should use. Thinking you're buying scent control out of a bottle or in your clothing or out of an ozone machine is foolish in my opinion.
 
#30 ·
they say you can not defeat a deers nose. that deer can smell everything including the gas in your car, what you had for breakfast, etc...they make gum for hunters that kills your breaths scent..lol


as far as your clothes glowing..they say your laundry detergent causes that because of the "brighteners" in it. deer see in the UV spectrum, supposedly we glow and they have UV killer laundry detergent for that too as well as earth scent dryer sheets..lol


i help out at two farms. one time i wore my bowhunting into the barn to help stack hay and run the barn cleaner. the barn cleaner moves all the manure and cow urine into the manure spreader. then i went hunting...didnt get one, simply because i didnt see one i wanted..already had a doe. BUT...i hunt from the ground and never spooked a deer that day either no matter which way they came from.


NOW....how do i get the manure and urine mixed into a "Scent Cover" spray for hunting farm land ? or how do i bottle chipmunk urine as a cover scent..the woods are full of those little guys whizzing all over the place...LOL
 
#31 ·
I do a lot to keep my scent to a minimum, but I mostly am careful with my route to my stand and the wind direction. I also almost always climb to 20-25 feet and will not hunt a stand on a bad wind direction with the exception of a rut stand where a deer could come from any direction. Human urine does not spook dear at all, but human B.O. does.

That being said, I would place where one hunts as top priority. If you hunt a target rich area, you will get opportunities despite smelling like a wet dog. I'll also welcome good luck when ever I can get it!!!
 
#32 ·
I should add to my last post if youve ever been on a back country hunt out west you know 100% what im talking about
we walk in at 7600 ft first climb is 3/4 mile to 8600 ft yup we sweat usually abt sept 15th to 18th anywhere from 40 to 80 degrees
then go another 2 miles up n down first place we stop on sunday is around 9000 ft 3 miles in around 5 pm we eat sometime hunt sometimes or just go out 0 dark thirty next morning but we hunt for elk for 8 days almost no showers few clothes changes no washers just streams
Just like 100s of other guys out west using the wind and harvesting elk ,deer,bear every year
 
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