[TurkeyMike]

I've been talking with a few hunters that swear by scent away type sprays, dead down wind, insert catchy cover scent here. I just keep thinking that no matter what if they are down wind, and hit my scent I am busted. We are talking about an animal with 297 million ol factory receptors. That 70 million more than dog for crying out loud. A dog can smell through a car to smell drugs. They are used after fires to find body matter, accelerants. Heck they even use them to detect proteins and such in cancer cells. I want to give you all a story from last season.

I had an odd wind last year in the rut that killed most of my spots. Told my wife to pick a number. I went to that spot. Now my clothes are washed, sprayed down with scent away, stored in a scent proof tote, never allowed in the house. I shower before I go, dress out side of my vehicle and take off the clothes I wore in my vehicle. Spray down again then walk to the spot. I dress light so I don't sweat, put on the clothes I'm going to wear, then often spray them down again.

So just about as scent free as a human can possibly be right.

Had the biggest buck of my life coming in to my set up. If he would take the same trail every other deer that has ever went to this spot did I would be set right.

As he gets to about 50 yards I feel the breeze pick up. My neck gets cold, I can picture right where my scent would be going.

"PLEASE DONT BUST ME, PLEASE DONT BUST ME, PLEASE DONT BUST ME"

He gets to 35 or so, As soon as that buck hit that area, he locks up, picks his head up, slowly turns 180 degrees and is out of there.

No snort, no foot stomp just gone. So just because you don't see or hear the deer bust you doesn't mean he didn't.

I replay that over and over and I knew going in the wind was bad to hunt that spot. But it was the rut so the could have been coming from anywhere. This was a 140ish 10 point. Had a 115" 9 come from the good side but could never get him to commit the last few yards I needed.

So off of this hunt, I pretty much learned that even if I am up 20', every single precaution is taken to keep my clothes as scent free as possible, that deer is going to bust me.

But I still find myself call it OCD or Asperger's like Rain Man,

"gotta wash my clothes, gotta spray them down, cant get them near the house, have to change my clothes before I put on my hunting clothes, its exactly 7 minutes and 23 seconds to Whopner....."

How the heck do you get rid of this. I dunno. I think that they do some good, but after looking back I had the wind in my favor anyway on those times I wasn't busted. I am starting to think that a cover scent may be a better option, but I dunno. I plan all of my hunts based on wind, but sometimes in the rut or for what ever reason the deer will come in a different way.

What is your take on these scent away type sprays?

Do you use them?

Do you think they are just to ease you mind?

Does anyone else go through this anxiety every year of washing your clothes, keeping them away from everything, yadda yadda yadda?

 

[Heit]

I wash my stuff, shower and spray clothes. I then go and hunt and RELAX.

Two things to consider:

1. The higher I have hunted 25' to 25'+ I can honestly say I was not busted.

2. This may help you the most. I tell myself that if I am meant to get a buck it will happen regardless of what I do or don't do. This has taken ALL the pressure of of me on my sits.

Don't sweat it...relax...enjoy and think positive and give thanks to The Lord that you are fortunate to be in the woods, hunting, at that moment in time...after all to a large degree it's all really out of your hands what will happen on a given sit. Enjoy brother.

 

[DxtHunter86]

Yes, yes, and yes! I'm a little overboard too with scent but I've come to terms with my obsession. I play the wind and try to keep luck on my side. But onto your question about scent away sprays and do they work? I think they help and I use them religiously but I was told from a guy who is in the hunting industry that there was a study done years ago between deer smelling the dead skin cells a human sheds. Whether there is any truth behind that I am not sure, I just know one thing. They can smell good and all I can do is play the wind and spray down before I go out.

 

[JJ4D]

1. You can NEVER take away the human scent, but you can lessen it by using scent away sprays.

2. A deer will bust you if they smell your breathe so what good does scent away do anyway?

3. I use scent away spray to REDUCE my human smell.

4. I am a [censored] when it comes to keeping my clothes "scent free"..

5 EVERCALM!

 

[TurkeyMike]

Lol I like ever calm. Which reminds me....

 

[dce]

In life,it's always better to stink less than more.

 

[yellodog]

Us thinking about what a deer can or can't smell don't mean jack. Mebey he can smell the scent away spray and mebey those "earth scent" wafer thingies smell like chemicals and plastic to a buck.

 

[yellodog]

In life,it's always better to stink less than more.

true dat homie.

 

[WOL]

But it was the rut so the could have been coming from anywhere.

That's a good point. I have a stand where deer come from every direction at every time of the day. They mosey in and out of there and there is no predicting which way they will go. Many times, I have seen them walking the opposite way that you would predict. So, playing the wind really doesn't work here. You just have to wait for the buck that comes from the right direction.

 

[Dan W York 5B]

Last year was my first hunting. I used everything as you do on a regular. Change at the jeep spray everything make sure not to sweat. Spray when I setup my little ground blind all around... little wafer things. I even took hydrogen peroxide to swish my mouth every half hr or so. I had a shot at one doe but didn't have a tag. First day of rifle I was getting ready at the jeep and just about to go in a couple trucks pull up all the guys jump out light ciggs and chugged a beer then walked off. All the pressure in 5B SGL I think its more that a deer gets pushed to you by the 20+ hunters I saw that day. I plan on using the spray this year but not so sure I'm going to go all crazy like I did last year... but then again I am hunting the other hunters pressure going in or out. I may try the little smoke/tinder bundle if the wind gets swirly or light up a stogie mid day.

 

[Squirrel]

I am bad about it too. Clothes kept in air tight containers, transported in "scent free" bags, clothes always washed, me always washed, scent away sprays, rubber boots until it gets too cold, etc., etc. I just can't help myself. I think bowhunting is a lot about confidence and my regime helps me feel confident so I stick with it. Just like I once killed a deer while I was wearing cargo pants and a flannel shirt, I still insist on wearing camo now. It's a mental thing.

 

[TurkeyMike]

I don't think my dad has ever killed a deer without having a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. This is with a bow or gun. I told him they were addicted to nicotine and ate the ashes. He never leaves the cigarette In the woods or anything, but here I am doing everything under the sun to feel scent free, and he is just smoking away and still shoots one. LOL

 

[Dan W York 5B]

I don't think my dad has ever killed a deer without having a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. This is with a bow or gun. I told him they were addicted to nicotine and ate the ashes. He never leaves the cigarette In the woods or anything, but here I am doing everything under the sun to feel scent free, and he is just smoking away and still shoots one. LOL

HAHAHA! I may try some berry blend or apple dip...

 

[dbl lung]

Oh I am the same way. A scent free junkie. I do everything you mentioned. And i think it helps reduce the human scent and it does make me feel more comfortable that I used it which bring me confidence as well. I also use cover scents with the scent killers and it seems to work pretty good.I spray down with one of the big named scent killers and then I use a deer cover scent like deer dander. It seems to work quite well, and I seldom get winded but I also play the wind too. so that helps too. So to each his own if it makes you feel more confident and better when you are out hunting, use it.

 

[Pa.Bone]

I do all I can to stay unstinky, but your just not going to fool a deer's nose. Stand location is everything and if you want to see bigger older bucks quit hunting winds that are perfect for you. I look for spots knowing he will be traveling into the wind or not all during daylight. I look for a stand location where my scent may parallel his travel or a twist or turn in his route that favors me at that spot. With the way winds shift and swirl in Pa. the wind is never 100% in favor of man or beast. Being clean never hurts, but stand location and going high in the tree is your biggest advantage.

 

[G2CDeer]

Your first mistake is washing your clothes. If you are throwing your hunting clothes into the same washer that you wash your regular clothes, your contaminating your hunting clothes with soaps.
I dont wash my hunting clothes in our washer at all, not even with the "Scent Free" detergent. If I do wash my clothes I was them by hand in a tote or hang them on the clothes line and let the rain do its job.

 

[Dan W York 5B]

I have blue framed glasses... do you think deer pick them out? I know green and blue are what they can see the best. I also hunt from a 2-3 ft tall 360 blind and don't move my head more then a couple times an hr.

 

[yellodog]

And for those stands where deer can come from any direction, bad setups, i don't hunt those. I want setups where i'm in charge, not the deer. Still can't always win, but bad setups are losers unless you're just lucky that day.

 

[WOL]

and don't move my head more then a couple times an hr.

Unless you have great peripheral vision, you may be missing deer. Unless your eyes are on the sides of your head like a bunny or hammerhead shark.

 

[mauser06]

I used to be pretty crazy about it...showers, sprays, clothing wash, rubber boots, getting dressed in the field..



Last year I stopped...I paid attention to the wind..I didn't hunt a spot if it wasn't right...if it shifted I left..


What did my change do??


Saved me a lot of time and money...

And I saw more deer and more mature bucks than ever and actually hunted less..


I know guys that won't hunt because "I have to shower"



I do think some of the stuff helps..but I don't think it helps enough...


I used to think it worked because i KNEW deer were down wind...now that I understand thermals and such a little more, I know I was just fooled...


What did it for me was a hunt nearing the rut a couple years back...

I found a good scrape line and BIG tracks..it was pouring when I found it...I slipped out and thought things over..looked at the topo...the wind..

Next 2 mornings I hunted it...below it. Crunch crunch crunch...here he comes...

Both mornings it was shortly after surgery rise...wind was in my face both mornings...

Both mornings he winded me...

How?!?! Scent control as much as possible...wind in my face...

That's when the thermal hunting really clicked...


Now, if my clothes are really dirty or sweated up bad I will wash them...but that's about it...keep them in the truck or basement ...dear leather boots because my feet are far more comfortable and don't sweat as bad...

Watch my wind and entrance and noise and hunt when I can hunt..