How vital is scent control?

[PatMcD]

Went walking to see if I could scare up a bird on Wednesday (2 days ago). The week before, I had seen a small 6-pointer and a spike, but that's it. I set up a mock scrape just to try it, and put up a camera. I scuffed up an area under a branch and pissed in it (not kidding). Wednesday, I checked the camera and there was 1 doe who was sniffing around, so I thought "well that was a failed experiment". Walked out to where my tree stand is (been there 3 years now) 50 yards away, and there's a new scrape! I set up the camera on it. Went out this afternoon to see if any trees came down in the wind storm last night and checked the camera for the hell of it. Looky who showed up! Pay particular attention to the time stamps on the pics (the date and time are wrong, but you'll see what I mean). First pic is me setting the camera on the new scrape.


I guess his smeller must be broken.
My point in posting this is to say there no hard rules to hunting deer.

 

[bdb]

Unless you are way out in the rhubarb, 20 miles from the nearest dwelling, the deer absolutely do not care about human scent being around. They live amongst us their entire lives and are used to smelling us.

I disagree with you on this. I spend most of my hunting time in a few places that are very heavily used by hikers, bikers and bird watches. Yes the deer are used to human scent but every single time one gets directly in my scent line while on stand they come unglued and bolt. They know the difference of scent left by someone hiking or biking past them vs the stationary scent of someone sitting in a tree for 3 hours and they want no part of that.

I agree with the general consensus that you cannot beat the deers nose. I do wash my hunting clothes in scent eliminating and no UV brightening soap. I shower with scent free soap. My hope is not that they won't smell me but rather than I smell less and hopefully that is just enough of an edge to get a shot.

 

[ThePreBanMan]

Went walking to see if I could scare up a bird on Wednesday (2 days ago). The week before, I had seen a small 6-pointer and a spike, but that's it. I set up a mock scrape just to try it, and put up a camera. I scuffed up an area under a branch and pissed in it (not kidding). Wednesday, I checked the camera and there was 1 doe who was sniffing around, so I thought "well that was a failed experiment". Walked out to where my tree stand is (been there 3 years now) 50 yards away, and there's a new scrape! I set up the camera on it. Went out this afternoon to see if any trees came down in the wind storm last night and checked the camera for the hell of it. Looky who showed up! Pay particular attention to the time stamps on the pics (the date and time are wrong, but you'll see what I mean). First pic is me setting the camera on the new scrape.View attachment 310280
View attachment 310281

I guess his smeller must be broken.
My point in posting this is to say there no hard rules to hunting deer.

I'm sure his smeller works just fine... Like I said in my post, he knew you were there and knew how long ago you were there too. He got downwind of the scrape before coming into that pic and scent checked the area. He could tell via smell that you HAD been there, but also that you were not there now.

The rut is gearing up at this point and these next 2 weeks here are the one time of year you'll see them let their guard down. I can tell you he was probably a lot more interested in that doe you had on cam than he was your mock scrape. It's the doe that has him coming around, not you kicking up some dirt and pissing in on the ground. He knows you weren't a deer. Hell he knows what you had for dinner last night...

 

[PatMcD]

You guys must be hunting bionic deer or something. I've broken probably every single one of the scientific Field & Stream "rules" of deer hunting and still seem to tag out almost every year.

 

[ThePreBanMan]

Not at all dude. Depends on what kind of animal your hunting, and where.

 

[FrankNA]

I know more than one old-timer who pays no attention to his scent situation. They claim if you want to shoot a deer, light a cigarette. The theory is that deer are curious and want to know what that odd smell is. These old guys have dozens and dozens of antlers hanging from their barns, so I'm not going to argue with them.

When I was 15 and wearing Woolrich plaid camo, and went hunting with the old gents, we'd always hit a greasy spoon before heading into the woods. Bacon grease and cigarette smoke didn't stop deer from being taken home, but there were a lot more deer around then.

My buddy and I jumped more deer walking down tote roads smoking cigarettes, cigars and shooting the shit than sitting like a stone and smelling like a skunk. I honestly think the deer assume you’ll just walk right by them as many areas (not remote, middle of nowhere places) have people walking through all the time. We both quit smoking many years ago but still jump deer just walking a tote road shooting the shit. The greasy spoon quote is spot on - I remember going to use the bathroom before heading out and guys would light off books of matches in the shithouse because the smell was so bad! If that didn’t permeate your clothing nothing would!!!

 

[ThePreBanMan]

Young deer and mature deer behave very differently. Button bucks are pretty dumb as well.

Pat it's too bad the time isn't accurate on your trail cam pics. I do see you in the pic you first posted which looks like a daytime pick. However the pic with the buck looks like it's an after dark pic. That's in line with what I've said prior. If they do revisit an area where they know you were, it's under cover of darkness.

 

[Coyote33]

When I was 15 and wearing Woolrich plaid camo, and went hunting with the old gents, we'd always hit a greasy spoon before heading into the woods. Bacon grease and cigarette smoke didn't stop deer from being taken home, but there were a lot more deer around then.

No kidding. See my earlier post(s). Now take those 12 guys, and put them in a 12x16 shack with booze, burgers, and cigarettes for 2 weeks without showers. This is "Maine hunting camp".

 

[MaverickNH]

I got to my stand 6am today with first light at 651am in SoNH. With deer on my cams with good frequency 7-9am I figured I would be in luck. Just a gentle breeze from the North, where the deer bed.

I saw one fellow in camo and no orange showing walking through the tree line headed North about 100yd away. Walking none too slowly, he must have been making noise. He probably spooked my deer!

 

[DJBrad]

2 cases just within the last 48 hours make me shake my head.

Spent 6 hours yesterday scouting. Mostly heavy human traffic from fisherman, hikers, walkers, birders, etc which is good for deer that are accustomed to human scent and presence on a newly opened spot for hunting.

Went to the last spot that was “No Trespassing”, this spot I was looking for as its off limits for humans. There was a Honda CRV parked there and I thought it must have been a bow hunter.

Went deep in there by a pump station and Powelines. Great spot. Out of the woods comes an guy in full camo and a crossbow! Lol
We chat and trade thoughts. He’s been at this for a few years. As he’s walking away and I continue on toward the power lines, lo and behold, a pair of does appear on the access road to the right at 100 yards. I turn quickly to the weeds hiding and call to him but they had already spotted me and he sneaks onto the opposite wayside and makes a shot at 100 as I give him space. He said he would wait for a bit to see if they come in closer (nope). Missed of course. Now that was quite risky behavior with the winds and I would have only taken that with my slug gun or muzzleloader.

A buddy of mine was hunting with his crossbow(disabled) this morning in a stand and was facing the sun. A 4 pointer moves in around 20 yards to the left and heads slowly forward to about 40. My buddy draws up for line of sight and the glass of the scope is foggy. He still takes the shot, the bolt hits a small branch, and diverts to strike the buck right through the back two legs pinning them together with the bolt. To be sure, he was crushed and couldn’t draw another fast enough for a follow-up before the cripple went deep. He tracked but no blood trail was evident. I was speechless and didn’t want to add insult to injury since I knew that he knew what he did was verboten. He stated, “I think I’m done for the season...”

Bottom line: There is just too much adrenaline and not enough wisdom.

 

[pupchow]

Bottom line: There is just too much adrenaline and not enough wisdom.

The taking of a life is not the same experience for everyone. And those of us who play by rules set by our overseers, who are we to judge? Every living creature dies, no matter how much they struggle to survive. Empathy is a personal value, yet we judge others' behavior by it. But yeah, that sucks.

 

[DJBrad]

The taking of a life is not the same experience for everyone. And those of us who play by rules set by our overseers, who are we to judge? Every living creature dies, no matter how much they struggle to survive. Empathy is a personal value, yet we judge others' behavior by it. But yeah, that sucks.

You don’t have consent forms in the wild.

 

[ThePreBanMan]

He owes it to that deer to track it, grid search the woods, do what and whatever is necessary and give every moment of his free time and the best of his ability to finding it and finishing the job. I think so anyway. That comes with the territory if you hunt. If one isn't willing to assume the responsibility for the shots they take, then they are right to hang it up.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

2 cases just within the last 48 hours make me shake my head.


We chat and trade thoughts. He’s been at this for a few years. As he’s walking away and I continue on toward the power lines, lo and behold, a pair of does appear on the access road to the right at 100 yards. I turn quickly to the weeds hiding and call to him but they had already spotted me and he sneaks onto the opposite wayside and makes a shot at 100 as I give him space. He said he would wait for a bit to see if they come in closer (nope). Missed of course. Now that was quite risky behavior with the winds and I would have only taken that with my slug gun or muzzleloader.

A hundred yard shot with a crossbow on a windy day is irresponsible.

Bottom line: There is just too much adrenaline and not enough wisdom.

LOL. You Haven’t seen anything yet. Wait until the orange army hits the woods after Thanksgiving.

Bob

 

[ThePreBanMan]

A hundred yard shot with a crossbow on a windy day is irresponsible.

Yea I have to agree. Shots like that lead to wounded animals hobbling around the woods. It makes us all look bad and we all feel the consequences of that. Examples would be the ban on hunting on Sunday, closed-off land, the ban on coyote contests, and even things like people running around in the woods with cowbells and lose dogs harassing hunters. Heard that happened in Lakeville this weekend...

I hate to see fewer hunters hitting the woods. It's becoming a lost skill and a dying craft. But people with such little regard for the life of the animal would do other hunters a solid if they found a new hobby.

I would pass on that shot with slugs - personally. I can make it at the range. But that's shooting from a bench rest at a stationary target on a calm day. Slugs don't have the best group sizes to begin with. Plus velocity and energy fall off a cliff at that range. I've observed a drop of 5" from point of aim to point of impact with some sabots. So in the field on a live animal. I'm not comfortable with that shot. I keep it inside 50. I think 75 is pushing it just from personal experience. I did an autopsy on a doe I recovered that I shot at that distance and the slug performance was pretty poor. Very little expansion and only about 4" total inches of penetration. If it didn't hit where it hit (top of the heart) it could have been a wounded animal and a long track job. So I limit it to 50 now. Those were 300 grain 3" mag sabot slugs too... My point would be that there's more to think about then just hitting your mark.

 

[DJBrad]

Yea I have to agree. Shots like that lead to wounded animals hobbling around the woods. It makes us all look bad and we all feel the consequences of that. Examples would be the ban on hunting on Sunday, closed-off land, the ban on coyote contests, and even things like people running around in the woods with cowbells and lose dogs harassing hunters. Heard that happened in Lakeville this weekend...

I hate to see fewer hunters hitting the woods. It's becoming a lost skill and a dying craft. But people with such little regard for the life of the animal would do other hunters a solid if they found a new hobby.

I would pass on that shot with slugs - personally. I can make it at the range. But that's shooting from a bench rest at a stationary target on a calm day. Slugs don't have the best group sizes to begin with. Plus velocity and energy fall off a cliff at that range. I've observed a drop of 5" from point of aim to point of impact with some sabots. So in the field on a live animal. I'm not comfortable with that shot. I keep it inside 50. I think 75 is pushing it just from personal experience. I did an autopsy on a doe I recovered that I shot at that distance and the slug performance was pretty poor. Very little expansion and only about 4" total inches of penetration. If it didn't hit where it hit (top of the heart) it could have been a wounded animal and a long track job. So I limit it to 50 now. Those were 300 grain 3" mag sabot slugs too... My point would be that there's more to think about then just hitting your mark.

Good info!

 

[DJBrad]

LOL. You Haven’t seen anything yet. Wait until the orange army hits the woods after Thanksgiving.

Bob

After hearing about that expected circus a few times now I may hide myself from all of them!

 

[DJBrad]

The copy of “Beyond Fair Chase” that came with the Hunter Ed. course last year was a great resource for me.

 

[Admin]

This is just my opinion so take it for what its worth. I grew up deer hunting in MN and WI.

Deer camp was the opening weekend with the family and close friends. It consisted of drinking, smoking, telling dirty jokes, staying up until 1am and wandering out to our stands 90 minutes before sunrise. I don't even think we had heard of scent control back in the 80's and 90's.

The midwest does have a very large deer population but we also hunted up north, literally in the middle of no where. Where the smell of someone hung over of whiskey and cigar smoke would not be the norm for white tail. We always did well every season. While I do think an unusual smell will make an old buck change his course a bit, I think wind direction on breezy days is more important than scent control.

Use a laundry detergent that doesn't add scent and skip deodorant when you go to the stand and you should be fine.

 

[pupchow]

I was looking at options for storing my gear, and noticed this contraption. I'll probably opt for the Locker version though.

Rapid Mobile Shower - Scent Crusher

There is nothing on the market like it! Using ozone technology, you will rid the scent of the human body while driving to your stand without even changing clothes. Our NEW one-size-fits-most suit will have you ready to hit the field the moment you step out of your vehicle. Use the included...

www.scentcrusher.com

 

[Mark from MA]

2 cases just within the last 48 hours make me shake my head.

Spent 6 hours yesterday scouting. Mostly heavy human traffic from fisherman, hikers, walkers, birders, etc which is good for deer that are accustomed to human scent and presence on a newly opened spot for hunting.

Went to the last spot that was “No Trespassing”, this spot I was looking for as its off limits for humans. There was a Honda CRV parked there and I thought it must have been a bow hunter.

Went deep in there by a pump station and Powelines. Great spot. Out of the woods comes an guy in full camo and a crossbow! Lol
We chat and trade thoughts. He’s been at this for a few years. As he’s walking away and I continue on toward the power lines, lo and behold, a pair of does appear on the access road to the right at 100 yards. I turn quickly to the weeds hiding and call to him but they had already spotted me and he sneaks onto the opposite wayside and makes a shot at 100 as I give him space. He said he would wait for a bit to see if they come in closer (nope). Missed of course. Now that was quite risky behavior with the winds and I would have only taken that with my slug gun or muzzleloader.

A buddy of mine was hunting with his crossbow(disabled) this morning in a stand and was facing the sun. A 4 pointer moves in around 20 yards to the left and heads slowly forward to about 40. My buddy draws up for line of sight and the glass of the scope is foggy. He still takes the shot, the bolt hits a small branch, and diverts to strike the buck right through the back two legs pinning them together with the bolt. To be sure, he was crushed and couldn’t draw another fast enough for a follow-up before the cripple went deep. He tracked but no blood trail was evident. I was speechless and didn’t want to add insult to injury since I knew that he knew what he did was verboten. He stated, “I think I’m done for the season...”

Bottom line: There is just too much adrenaline and not enough wisdom.

RIght thru the back two legs and no blood? Really tough to believe that. Hams are full of viens and arteries. He may not have hit a femoral artery, but for certain there was a blood trail. They don't call it a Texas Heart Shot for nothing.

I once shot a deer thru both rear hams with a sharp broadhead, and followed the blood on a relatively easy pace, to keep the deer moving so it would keep bleeding. Caught up with him and he couldn't get up. Shot him again thru the lungs to finish him. It was one of the easier blood trails I had to follow.

 

[Mark from MA]

This is just my opinion so take it for what its worth. I grew up deer hunting in MN and WI.

Deer camp was the opening weekend with the family and close friends. It consisted of drinking, smoking, telling dirty jokes, staying up until 1am and wandering out to our stands 90 minutes before sunrise. I don't even think we had heard of scent control back in the 80's and 90's.

The midwest does have a very large deer population but we also hunted up north, literally in the middle of no where. Where the smell of someone hung over of whiskey and cigar smoke would not be the norm for white tail. We always did well every season. While I do think an unusual smell will make an old buck change his course a bit, I think wind direction on breezy days is more important than scent control.

Use a laundry detergent that doesn't add scent and skip deodorant when you go to the stand and you should be fine.

This. Plenty of deer have been taken by someone smelly and/or smoking a cigarette. The wind is everything.

I used to hunt the Berkshires with a guy who smoked. My stand was at least 500 yards from his. When the wind was right, i could smell his cigarette.

As far as where its easiest to hunt....and I've hunted all of these places.

I do think that like Grouse, where deer rarely see people they are easier to hunt, stop and look when they see someone, and are more curious. Like in Northern Maine, i think tracking is easier there because the deer do stop or stand and look and you can get a shot.

Suburbia like Central MA, where deer see people occasionally, but people are not normal in the woods, they know humans as a threat and screw on sight unless for some reason its a farmer sitting on a tractor or some other normal daily activity.

Fully Urban areas like southern CT....deer have a comfort level with people at 30 and beyond, much closer, your a threat. Up in a tree, your a threat. They will stand there and look at you because most humans down there are not a threat, in general there is not hunting in those areas, and they see people close regularly. Act like a landscaper and you can walk close. Act like a hunter though in stalk mode, and they will get their hackles up and screw. I witnessed a homeowner blowing leaves at a 4 pointer 10 yards from the end of the blower away one day. The deer just stood there and seemed to like the breeze.

 

[Mark from MA]

I was looking at options for storing my gear, and noticed this contraption. I'll probably opt for the Locker version though.

Rapid Mobile Shower - Scent Crusher

There is nothing on the market like it! Using ozone technology, you will rid the scent of the human body while driving to your stand without even changing clothes. Our NEW one-size-fits-most suit will have you ready to hit the field the moment you step out of your vehicle. Use the included...

www.scentcrusher.com

I opt for the Tupperware bin full of leaves, pine cones, and moss. Leave my hunting clothes in there all year. My outer layers are only put on after getting to my spot.

 

[DJBrad]

RIght thru the back two legs and no blood? Really tough to believe that. Hams are full of viens and arteries. He may not have hit a femoral artery, but for certain there was a blood trail. They don't call it a Texas Heart Shot for nothing.

I once shot a deer thru both rear hams with a sharp broadhead, and followed the blood on a relatively easy pace, to keep the deer moving so it would keep bleeding. Caught up with him and he couldn't get up. Shot him again thru the lungs to finish him. It was one of the easier blood trails I had to follow.

Yeah that was last year, lol. I didn’t really believe it either unless the shot just happen to pass through the skin between the knuckle and the Achilles’ tendon. That shot would be like shooting a pheasant

 

[HorizontalHunter]

I was looking at options for storing my gear, and noticed this contraption. I'll probably opt for the Locker version though.

Rapid Mobile Shower - Scent Crusher

There is nothing on the market like it! Using ozone technology, you will rid the scent of the human body while driving to your stand without even changing clothes. Our NEW one-size-fits-most suit will have you ready to hit the field the moment you step out of your vehicle. Use the included...

www.scentcrusher.com

There are several companies that make a locker version but it would be cheaper to build one yourself.


FWIW:

Ozone generators are great for removing odors but concentrated ozone is bad for people according to the EPA:

Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners | US EPA

https://www.airnow.gov/sites/default/files/2020-02/ozone-c.pdf

 

[moojpg2]

There are several companies that make a locker version but it would be cheaper to build one yourself.


FWIW:

Ozone generators are great for removing odors but concentrated ozone is bad for people according to the EPA:

Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners | US EPA

https://www.airnow.gov/sites/default/files/2020-02/ozone-c.pdf

all of that crap is a waste of money, you gotta know thebarea you hunt and plan for the wind, thats why a lot of good hunters hunt a different area in the morning than they do in the afternoon, the wind direction changes throughout the day and you gotta be downwind. A deer has too good of a nose to be able to cover up scent or hide scent, they will smell anything that is not normal to their environment or artificial.

 

[smokey-seven]

taken by someone smelly and/or smoking a cigarette. The wind is everything.

The wind is a part of the equation, not all. If you are at the right choke point, I don't care if you are smoking and the wind is in the face of the deer, they will stop, look and continue on if they are pushed and have no place to go other than in that original direction. There is nothing that beats a great trail funnel.

 

[SpaceCritter]

Yesterday the old man hunted one block of the Naugatuck State Forest while I rode Rockhouse which is across the street from another. Now, albeit Rockhouse isn't hunted (and I wouldn't be surprised if the deer actually know that), he saw nary a one, while I was able to ride up to two, while in my notoriously stinky riding gear, and despite the fact the trail there makes a wide loop around where they were (so they certainly should've smelled me).

Whereupon I stopped to take a piss while they watched, and we had a nice conversation.

 

[whacko]

The buck I shot on nov 7 came out of the woodline 5 feet to my right. I could have learned over and slapped his ass! If he had smelled me he didn't give a shit.

On 2 other occasions I've had does walk withing slapping distance of me when I had already used my antlerless tag.

 

[Mark from MA]

The wind is a part of the equation, not all. If you are at the right choke point, I don't care if you are smoking and the wind is in the face of the deer, they will stop, look and continue on if they are pushed and have no place to go other than in that original direction. There is nothing that beats a great trail funnel.

This is true......but if they smell something funny they will "continue on" at warp speed.

I hunted a great bottle neck for years, deer would get pushed out of mountain laurel, then head down to a narrow patch of woods between two beaver ponds. Deer would come from either direction off the hills, so we hunted it on just about on any wind. But if deer got pushed off of the hill the wind was wrong and got your scent, they had no problem swimming across the beaver pond.