Do deer get scared from Smoking in Stand?

[DRH1175]

I think they do. I ask this cause My father in law is starting the "You have the best stand in the woods and should let me sit in it" thing again for the 3rd year in a row. I guess I am open. But My father in law also smokes and can not go 15 minutes without a Cigarette. I do everything I can to hunt scent free. But on the flip side he shot a big 12 pointer 4 years ago in his stand while smoking. And has shot other deer in his stand while smoking.

[HOT SPOT]

Thats a great question. I think it probally covers human scent, But I no I would never smoke. Also causes a lot of movement. I no a few people that have shot nice deer with a smoke in there hand

[matthothand]

Sometimes you can get away with as it sounds he has in the past but you're odds are better not smoking. Until I see a deer puffing on a Liggett I'm gonna say it's foreign to them and cigarettes can only have a negative effect on hunting. Just how much though will vary. As a serious hunter I can't imagine purposely doing something to negatively impact the hunt.

[Dahitman44]

I would say no.

There are "old guys" that I have talked to and seen them drop Big deer 20 yards from their stand while they chain smoked for hours.

Some say it is even a couriosity scent and will bring them in -- I don;t think I buy that and I don;t know why it doesn't scare them, but it just doesn't seem to scare them.

[blackdog1101]

I read where Sigurd Olsen's wife (if I'm remembering correctly) once put on a strong dose of perfume before hunting, and put a nice buck on the pole. Guys have hunted for hundreds of years without "scent lock" clothing. I think it doesn't matter a great deal. If you're hunting downwind of where you think your deer may come from, smoking shouldn't matter.

[fishinfey8]

Smoking, going to the bathroom, propane heater, its all the same...the reason most people even see a buck is b/c they're hot on a doe. Since the does are not as careful (hence why you see them everywhere under about any circumstance) the bucks end up becoming sloppy and thats when they get shot. I and everyone in my hunting party 4-wheels almost to the base of our stand and leaves the 4-wheeler on the ground all day (except me) and it never has had a negative impact on their hunting.

[harvey lee]

I have bow and rifle hunted for 30 plus years and smoked while doing both.

I shot a buck with a cig hanging in my mouth once. I don't know over the years how many deer I have shot woth my bow and gun but my bet would be over 100 easily all while smoking.

I have also shoot 3 book bucks while smoking, 2 with gun and 1 with a bow.

I also never smoked the 1st or last hour of the day which was the prime time and that also may have helped.

Can you hunt deer while smoking yes you can.

Now, my son and his buddy have never smoked in the stand and they always see more deer than I and better sized bucks.

So, if one wants to see more deer and larger bucks, leave the smokes at the house.

Maybe I have just been very lucky as I hunt a very good area and have hunted numerous states in great spots. I have also got busted by a few due to the smoke. It seems the higher one gets in a tree, the less likely you will get caught.

I'm also sure many deer winded the smoke and I never saw the deer.

My father was a chain smoker and every year he had his buck down the 1st half of the day.

[meatfish]

Good question.But who really knows,I have shot a deer that was sneaking around my father while he was smoking,but the deer may have scented the scotch coming out of his pours from the night before or heard him or seen him move.On the flip side,I have had to put smokes out to shoot deer.But where we hunted,the deer had to come past someone in our party.

[blue_healer_guy]

This is just my opinion, you can do what ever the heck you want in a deer stand and most older deer will bust you if they get your scent. That includes all the money we spend on clothing scents etc. Play the wind.

[TNFL]

So, you want to look into the wind? Or choose a stand (perm's) downwind from where you think they will be coming from?

[Dahitman44]

Fish --

wondered about wheelers -- thought that would hurt, that is why I park a way off and walk -- maybe I am better off driving closer, walking less and sweating less -- perhaps "BO" might be worse than a wheeler?

[picksbigwagon]

I used to hunt with a guy that smoked Paul Mall smokes on stand, and the deer would run to him. He normally smoked Marlboro lights, and never got a deer with them.....In fact we drove from Houston, to Rushford to Peterson to Caledonia at lunch time one day because he had finished his paul mall's that morning.....

that afternoon, he had a 10 pt'er on the ground.....

[BobT]

My personal opinion is that we place too much on scent. I believe that no matter how much effort we put into hiding or camouflaging our scent we still don't do a whole lot toward becoming invisible to their powerful sense of smell. I don't think we have the slightest clue what it must be like to have that kind of olfactory system and we base too much of what we do on human terms, which really don't apply.

I believe scent is just one of many defense mechanisms that deer possess and whether we smell like ourselves or a peach, they know we are there if they get downwind.

If human scent was such a deterrent, they would go out of there way to avoid highways, homesteads, etc. I can't begin to count how many times I've walked in to my stand in the morning only to find out a couple hours later that a deer has followed my tracks up to a point where it could see me and then veered off. Why would they follow my tracks if my scent "scared" them. I think they followed for knowledge. They learned where I was and now can nonchalantly avoid me and any confrontation with me.

I've seen hunters purposely light small camp fires while hunting because it draws their attention and they have been successful using this tactic.

[MarkK76]

It's all in the wind! Deer can smell down to parts per billion. Anyone who thinks they're hiding from deer with "scent lock" technology is wasting their money. If the wind is in your favor smoke if you got'em!

[harvey lee]

Anything one can do to elimanate scent does help. Getting higher and playing the wind is also very important.

Its a series of things that help control scent.

[Archerysniper]

Just soak them in golden estrus let them dry and puff away like a scent stick

[MNHuntress]

Deer are curious animals, you better believe that a deer has smelled a cig butt that's been thrown out the cab of a tractor by a farmer somewhere along the line of it's life. I play the wind. I've been busted more for movement (while not smoking) than I have for the scent. I've also shot a 15 pointer right after I got done smoking.

Here's my solution, I take an empty pop bottle fill it alittle full with water. When I'm done smoking dump the butt in the bottle so I have as little scent as possible.

[Gordie]

While hunting in the Tracy mn area yrs back one of the guys walked out to his stand and he is a smoker he got out of the truck and realized that he forgot his lighter so he walked to his stand that morning cig lit(opening day) he was a heavy smoker and rather than drive 10 miles back to the cabin he decided to chain smoke he sat on a log over looking a revene around 8:30 he had a fork horn buck walk with in ten yrds of him this buck walked right up the revene(it was down wind) and stopped and looked right at the guy and he put his lit smoke down and shot the deer and just sat there as the deer dropped in its tracks then he proceeded to smoke 4 more cigs then a doe walked up the same trail and he shot that one also. he then went to his car drove to town and bought a lighter and more smokes cause he was out.

I also smoke and have shot deer while smoking in the stand one time I just lit up and the buck walks out pow down it went. I know it does help cover your sent but also does add movement guess you have to decide what to do.

[Gordie]

Getting higher is also very important.

Tom dont think that there talking that kind of smoke.

couldnt resist man just kidding

[Monkster]

Last year my father woke up at about 8:30am opening morning (two and a half hours after everyone else was on stand) walked 30 yards into the woods puffing a cigar along the way, pulled out his 44 mag pistol and shot a nice 8 pointer chasing a doe. He said he would have shot the doe also, but wanted other people to have a chance at deer also...what a nice guy

[deerminator]

Scent control counts. That said, I'm not going to stop drinking coffee or eating food on stand if it helps me stay there all day. That's more important during the rut. I minimize by scent by washing and hanging my clothes and keeping them in big ziplock bags and I spray my boots down with scent killer before and after I go out. That said, the deer in our area think nothing of walking down trails tons of humans do in state and parks nearby and gravel driveways and roads are some of their favorite highways in the morning and evening hours. I've even seen one bedded next to our garbage can at the end of our driveway once. So its my belief a lot of human smell will let a deer know you're there but if they're used to the variety of other smells like garbage cans and cars and shoes and boots that tramped down their trails hours earlier, that you don't have to get so worked up about being perfectly scent free. In areas with lots of people, I believe the key is to get yourself showered up and make sure your clothes are clean before going out. Then get high up in that tree or concealed well in that ground blind. If they can't see you and they're used to lots of similar smells that you bring into the woods, you're golden. Now you just need them to show up when you're there. That's the hard part.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

I used to hunt with a guy that smoked Paul Mall smokes on stand, and the deer would run to him. He normally smoked Marlboro lights, and never got a deer with them.....In fact we drove from Houston, to Rushford to Peterson to Caledonia at lunch time one day because he had finished his paul mall's that morning.....

that afternoon, he had a 10 pt'er on the ground.....

That's funny right there! My old man chain smokes Pall Mall stanks and shot a nice 11ptr last season. He makes sure to add the part of him having to finish taking a drag and put down the cig before he pulled the trigger just to raz me because I always give im the bizz for smoking in the woods!

It's all about the wind!

[ntrider]

i have shot a deer while smoking...set the cig down to shoot then finished it while i watched it lay there...quit 10 yrs ago so i use other tactics now...it is reverse psychology...gotta make the deer think you are dumber than they are...i think a deer will think no hunter is stupid enough to smoke in a stand so it must not be a threat??? last yr my wife thought she'd be nice and washed my hunting stuff overnight and threw in a bounce sheet...[PoorWordUsage]!!!!!! anyway i outsmarted the deer because i got a little 7 pt that morning...you never know i guess...

[Bear55]

If the wind is in your favor the smoke won't matter one bit. Some deer may be curious of the smell and walk right in while others (more than likely mature deer) will high tail it out of there. I hunt with a couple of smokers and their deer sighting diminish each day they are out in the woods, especially if they hunt the same stand every day which a lot of people do. I belive every day you smoke in a stand you are hurting your chances by spreading mass amouts of scent in to the area, those deer move through at night and pick up on that scent at night and avoid the area. I have no doubt that no matter how much scent control I practice I know the deer can smell me, however if I can get my scent down to a certain level the deer might not be as nervous and just maybe give me a shot. I have no doubt that people who smoke see and shoot deer, however they probably don't see as many as the guys who are scent free.

[frogtosser]

my brother in law was bowhunting with a guy last night who just finished his smoke and then shot a 10 pointer.