Scent Control for quick hunts

[bigbucks]

Sorry this got kind of long.

I hunt after work all the time. I'm going today, shot my buck after work Tuesday night.

I had several deer down wind of me, close & they didn't wind me, the height of your stand will take care of that most times, if they're close. The bigger problem is the deer 50-75 yards out & farther down wind.

I shower with the scent free stuff & use the scent free deodorant, & again no cologne or any of that other sissy **** (joking). I usually have my clothes in my truck, not usually in a bag. I've either washed them in scent free detergent or left them outside for a week. If it's not raining I often leave my outer layer in the back of my truck to air. Use scent killer or blocker, I don't think the brand matters on all your stuff & call it good. i don't have a scent lock suit & won't be buying one. There was an interesting thread on those a month or two back.

The main thing, like someone else said, is hunt stands with the wind blowing towards you from where you think the deer are coming from, that's the most important thing to learn in bowhunting IMO. Sometimes you do that on a few nights & don't see deer where there's a lot of sign, then try hunting it with what seems like the wrong wind, maybe they come from a direction that doesn't seem logical. Windy nights can actually be good nights to hunt if you can find a place that's really well protected from that particular wind, a field behind a big hill or something.

Some places where the deer are used to a lot of human scent, it doesn't matter as much either. I have a marginal stand in a fenceline at my folks place & sometimes I hunt that one with the wrong wind because it fits my family plans. Two of the three deer I've killed there basically came from down wind. I'm not so sure if they didn't smell me or just didn't care, they were both yearlings, tasty, but not as smart.

[Bogsucker]

I've shot 35 deer in the last 25 years and have never given scent control a thought other than I sometimes have remind myself to face into the wind and I do wear knee high rubber boots. And, I've never taken a deer from an elevated stand or artificial blind, all have been from the ground. I would not mean to discredit or to offend hunters in their efforts however, sometimes I think hunters put too much emphasis on scent control and camo and equipment rather than inreasing their knowledge of game and bettering their skills at hunting.

[Stratosman]

Sure, but no matter how much we educate ourselves as to how deer are going to behave or how much knowledge we have of deer, or how much we play the wind in our favor, we cannot control how a deer behaves. All I know is if a trophy of a lifetime walks on the downwind side of me, I want to have taken every step I feel I could have in order to decrease his ability to bust me. And if he still does, I tip my cap and not wonder what I could have done differently. I don't care how good of a hunters we are, if a deer smells you, game over.

Even with that said, Bogsucker, you obviously have had great sucess without worrying about it. So, what it comes down to is doing what you have confidence in.

[This message has been edited by Stratosman (edited 09-24-2004).]

[bigbucks]

Bogsucker, I can believe that as well certainly if you hunt a lot. That's only a little over one deer a year, so there's bound to be some that come from up wind or ignore your scent. Either way it's impressive, especially if you're only talking about bow kills.

I personally think that paying attention to wind & scent will help all hunters. I used to not pay much attention to either & would usually still get my deer, but I might get one or two good shot opportunities a season. Now I pay attention to both & pass on lots & lots of deer every year & still shoot 2-3 with the bow & a couple more with a gun.

I will say what I've said many times before. Scent means very little during gun season in heavily hunted areas. Scent's everywhere, the deer are being pushed around, & you can shoot them from much farther away.

[Bogsucker]

Inclusive of all, bow, revolver, shotgun and muzzleloader(pistol and rifle). maybe I should have worded it differently Scent blockers, suits etc... probably do help in certain situations and they sure can't hurt, I just don't put any emphasis on it, I just make notice of the wind direction and hunt accordingly.

[bigbucks]

I think it would be cool to shoot one with a pistol. Have you gotten many that way?

I've shot 35 that I can think of with firearms in the last 17 years, zero in the 7 or 8 before that, some of them were quite small. We do a lot of party hunting, so I've had more opps that many people I'd guess. I've gotten 16 now with my bow in the last 11 years, what a rush it is every time. I'm sure some of the guys on here have undoubtedly shot a lot more. Man are there a lot of deer out there.

[SartellMN]

I am new to the board, so excuse me if this has been asked before.

I bow hunt approximately 10 minutes from my house. I want to get out there every day I can for a few hours. I just don't have the time to go home and shower every time before I go hunting (with the scent free stuff). It sounds like a lot of you try to get out more than just on the weekends. What do you do for scent control?

[Stratosman]

The answer to this question will vary from person to person. I believe in total scent control, others have thier own methods. But here's what I usaully do. I always try to shower with odor free soap and shampoo, use odor free deodorant. Put all my hunting clothes in a scent safe bag. Do not wear them in the truck or car on the way to the field. I always spray a scent killer type solution on all my apparal as well as my bow prior to geting in the woods. I also wear a scent lock liner under my hunting clothes. I pin a earth scented wafer to my clothes as well. All of this and I still am very concious of the wind direction. I know this sounds like alot, but I believe in it 100 percent from experience. 3 years ago, after I climbed down from my stand in the morning I had a doe surprise me by trotting by directly downwind from me at 10 yards. I was able to draw back as she stopped, she never smelled me, just peered and moved a little to try to figure out what I was, but by then it was too late. I fully believe if I hadn't taken all the above steps I would have never had that opportunity.

Now others may argue with this logic and that's fine too. But I believe scent control in some way is a requirement. And I won't risk entering the woods without taking these steps.

[EXTREME]

First of all, welcome to the board. I do the same thing as you all the time. I leave work and head to the stand. I just wear my scent-lok suit and spray down with scent shield before I hunt. Really the best policy is to never hunt a stand when the wind is wrong. This will eliminate the worry of scent control

[leechlake]

I did the total scent control on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon/evenings. No deer winded me up wind and three deer eventually winded me that were downwind. They all smelled at the grass that my pants brushed against got skidish and after 2-3 minutes adios, could have shot them all though. All clothes had been washed in scent killer detergent, I showered with scent freee soap and sprayed scent killer. The wind swirls most times also, do your best to control your scent and have fun. Sometimes they wind you know matter what but you can do your best to make it less stinky.

[fishgetter]

What I do is I shower in the morning and for pit stick use your non-sent for the day it can do what all the others do and I do not use any sprays like hair spray or body none of that. If you do not have a Sent-lok suit get one so you can activate it befotre you leave for work put in in a trash bag with your other hunting stuff and it will help eat some of the oders on your cammies to when you get off work go to your favorite spot spary down for extra scent control and your are on the way to getting that big buck sent free. Hope this helps good luck

[Deputy Grizz]

I use the scent free deo, and ivory soap, and use scent free detergent. I do NOT use a scent blocker suit and have really never seen the need yet. (although if I came to the woods right from work-I see your point)
One thing I do that hasn't been mentioned yet, is to cut some evergreen branches and bag them with my cammies. WORKS GREAT as a cover scent!

[bigbucks]

Deputy Grizz, I'm assuming you hunt near evergreens? There aren't any near most of the places where I hunt, so I don't think it would be good there at all.

[Captain B.R.K]

I use all scent lok gear (except gloves), and the no scent detergent.
I also use cover sprays on the ground I've been around and no scent sprays on all my gear before I head out.
I have yet to be smelled by my presences when I've had deer in shooting distance of me this year.
I am a true believe in SCENT STUFF.

[BLACKJACK]

I think the key is the wind direction, you need to place your stands with a wind direction in mind, where the deer will most likely approach from the upwind side, you need to approach the stand from the downwind side, and never hunt that stand when the wind is wrong. Stand height will help, if you're high, your scent does dissipate better, last year I shot a deer that approached from downwind, she had smelled me and was spooky but couldn't pinpoint me.

Playing the wind is the key for me!