To be smelled or not to be smelled

[Bossman]

Just thought that I'd throw this out there. Is it better to be odor free or have some type of cover scent. If it is a cover scent then what works best? Fox urine or what? There is a lot of debate on this topic. Sure I know that you can never be totally scent free but try as much as possible. I've heard people talk about women wearing perfume and the deer being curious of what the smell is and walk up on them.

[Kortsman]

In this Florida heat, you can't walk a but a few steps and not be sweating. I take some wash clothes and soak them in water and baking soda. Then I freeze them and throw them in a cooler. When I get to the area I'm going to hunt, I take one out and wrap it around my neck. It helps keep you cool, but I still sweat. Then I try to play the wind.

[Iluv2hunt]

I am currently reading a book called "Tracking dogs for finding wounded deer". It is basically about training dogs to trail a wounded deer, but the chapter on scent has really opened my eyes. You really can't fool a deers nose as it takes so little scent for you to be detected. You basically leave a vapor trail as you walk (not just from your boots), but scent molecules falling off of you and onto the ground. It's a wonder any of us ever see a deer

As for me I try to stay as scent free as I can by showering and laundry, wear rubber boots, etc and still get busted. A couple of my spots on my lease I have to walk past the feeding areas (plots or feeders) to get to my stands. There is simply no other way to set them up to hunt the predominant winds. And hunting the wind in early season is near impossible.
I rarely use a cover scent as I have seen them do more harm than good. Now thru the end of October (for my area) is the only time I'll use it. And sparingly then. I try to step in a big mud hole before I walk in.

[Bossman]

Smoking your hunting clothes?
by ario » 28 Sep 2014, 18:53

I do the usual, wash with scent free soap (clothes and myself), store my clothes in scent free bags and spray down with scent free spray. I have just started smoking my hunting clothes before using them. I have no results to report yet, but would like to hear from others as to your opinion on this. Is this an effective method for covering human scent? Will deer run from the smell of smoke? Not to steal the thread but I have heard that people will break of dog finnels and rub them all over them and use that for cover. Which makes since because it is a natural scent.

[Triple Creek Reaper]

I try my best but am not militant about scent, try to hunt the wind to the best of my ability. Last Wednesday I hunted the afternoon and seen the wind coming in from 3 directions. I had good luck laying down a trail of code red estrous from the truck all the way to my feeder, I backtracked to my lock in and climbed in. Brought in a young 8ptr on a string that I ended up missing at 20 yds. (that another story).

[Bossman]

what about code red estrous as long as they have reason to follow it up. What if the rut is completely gone and he isn't hunting a doe. What about packing your cloths is a bag of corn or live oak acorn scent

[nachogrande]

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ODOR FREE! humans breath/sweat/& have sweat/scent glands like any other animal, and their noses are MUCH better than ours. Not to mention we are in their house, not ours, Think you might notice/smell a 200 lb hog in your living room? (hold the jokes). The best you can do is to REDUCE/MASK odors, & learn to work the wind, JMO. Leaving a sweatband on your feeder so in time they will not fear your scent isn't a bad idea, but it doesn't mean they are gonna come running to it either. In my case the hogs knew the sound of my truck, my smell & I was the guy that brought them corn every couple of months. At best it was a standoff, they knew where I was and I knew where they were, in a thicket I couldn't get into without raising a racket. They have better senses/instincts, we have a better brain (sometimes). To the topic of using smoke, Yes I suppose certain smokes would work at certain times/places & be a disadvantage in others. We would walk thru the chicken coop/poop when able, things like that aren't always available. 1 easy thing is NOT TO touch every tree & branch with your bare hand & leave a bigger scent trail than you already are.

[Iluv2hunt]

Nacho hit it on the head. I don't think folks really realize how sensitive a deers nose is. They have 297 million nasal receptors. Dogs have 220 million. Humans have 5 million.
If we squirt deer pee on our boots, and 5 minutes later WE sniff it, we smell deer pee. A deer or a dog smells deer pee, the rubber in the sole, gas from the filling station, fertilizer from your yard, french fries or whatever from your floor mat, etc

That's why it is so important to be as scent free as you can, play the wind best you can, and don't touch stuff on the walk in

Prime example...
Last season one day over thanksgiving, my son and I went out on an afternoon. We left the truck and walked straight down a tram road, by my feeder and into the blind. Didn't touch anything, just boots on the ground. I sprayed both our boots at the truck with scent killer. Steady NE wind hitting us right in the face. 2 hours after walking by I see hogs coming. Tell my boy to get ready. Hogs come running up to the feeder and when they hit the path we walked in, they stopped, turned around and headed for the hills like they walked into an electric fence

[JBUG308]

I usually try and put pine needles in the plastic bag with my clothes after washing them - break them up and rub them together before dumping in bag.

[trouttouter]

Try breaking up some dog fennel and putting it in your clothes bag(s). Of course there needs to be dog fennel in the area you hunt for this to help.


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[JBUG308]

Try breaking up some dog fennel and putting it in your clothes bag(s). Of course there needs to be dog fennel in the area you hunt for this to help.

Mostly palm, cypress and cedar!

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