Scent while huntin?

What are your thoughts on this. My buddy spends a lot of time and money becoming scent free and I do not think it is too big of a deal. I agree that it helps however I do not think it will make or break your hunt. From my experience your scent may alert the deer but they will not spook until they see or hear you. I think it would be better to not have them know you are there at all but I also think being completely scent free is futile. I also hunt in an area that is pretty close to people and they are always smelling people scent which may make a difference. What are your thoughts?

 

I am pretty careful with my scent. All my hunting clothes get washed in the sent eliminator soap and than they go into a big plastic box with leaves and a piece of pine to keep the scent away.

 

not sure if it matters or not. Ill go straight from work, smelling like greese and oil, and still see deer.

 

For hunting with a bow i need them a lot closer than with a gun so i am going to try and make myself as invisible as possible.

 

i am also careful. i will usually set mt clothes outside a couple weeks about this time of year (maybe a little cooler) then spray a earth scent on them. i really like the idea bout the leafs and the pine.

 

Dead down wind is what i use.
Then i roll around in the dirt before every hunt.

 

I grew up hunting with my dad, and every time we went out we used scentlock, scent neutralizers, special hunting detergent...etc...my dad was (and still is) religious about it and it never seems to help....IMO deer are more sensitive to sounds than smells...

We have never had success during dear season in FL, but have had great success in Pennsylvania. But IMO, thats because down here the humidity and warmer climate makes scent more imporatant vs. the dry, cold air in PA.

We have literally stumbled out of bed, got dressed and tramped out in the woods drinking coffee and killed deer in PA....The deer population is much larger up there though iirc.

Another factor may be that here in FL the woods are so thick that when you see a deer its 50 yards away or much closer, so the deer could be more sensitive to scent. The deer I killed in PA have been at 300 yards, 150 yards, and 75 yards.

 

From my experience, covering your scent is probably the most important aspect in hunting deer. I have probably spooked more deer that have smelled me/blown at me than have seen or heard me. If the wind is in your favor, it is usually not a problem, but if the deer is downwind, you're usually screwed, from my experience. This past weekend was opening weekend of bow season where I am, and I had several deer (that I know of for sure) smell me and spook due to the wind swirling, and that is after attempting to cover up my scent. Growing up hunting in FL/GA though, almost all the deer you see are pretty close, so that probably increases the importance of scent protection

 

Problem in South Florida is that walking in to where the game is found works up a lot (lots!) of sweat making scent protection pretty useless.

 

That's definitely true too. As big of a deal as scent protection is, I think that products have gotten to the point where you can cover your scent almost completely. BUT, that is pretty impossible in the Florida heat, especially during bow season! So I do try to mask my scent, but I mostly pay a lot of attention to the wind relative to where the deer will most likely come from. As long as the wind's on your side, you're usually safe

 

Read a story one time. Old farmer took all his diesel fuel filters he changed out on his tractors and scattered them around his farm in different fence rows and hunting locations. He would go hunting in his coveralls that smelt like diesel fuel and harvested plenty of deer, including trophy bucks.

I try to control mine best I can without going insane. But one thing is for definately sure, If a mature whitetail, doe or buck, smells a strange smell that they have never smelled in that location before, they will go around the area or spook, dependant on time of year and hunting pressure. I've seen it happen.

All that said, I have hunted right after work all stinky and taken deer, as well as tried to control my scent well and still get busted.......do what allows you to still have fun and enjoy time outdoors without it becoming too much like work.

 

That makes sense, because deer definitely get used to certain smells/sounds, etc. It is things out of the ordinary that spook them. I used to be on a hunting club in GA that bordered a military bombing range, so there were constantly very loud jets flying low overhead. The deer would act like they didn't hear it though, since they were so used to it. If you made any sort of sound in the stand though they would darn sure hear it (even over the sound of the jet).

You are definitely right about mature deer, it's happened to me too many times. A mature buck will also often come in downwind of a spot, whether alerted or not, to smell what's there before he shows himself.

I agree though, you cannot let something like sent control drive you insane and ruin your fun, I have had the same experiences both ways, deer are just too unpredictable haha. Like you said, the bottom line is just have fun and you're definitely gonna kill more deer by spending time in the woods than sitting at home thinking of ways to cover your scent.

 

Well, I go all out, and for me it has paid off, had does bed down 20 feet from me, and buck walk in with in yards. And all of this being on the ground. I guess if you do your homework and do the research it will pay off. I have been using Conquest scents and hands down they work. Also use a number of Scent Lock suits depending on the temp.

 

Scent lock is most of what I use for scent free clothing and I really think the technology is there to almost completely cover up your scent, but that requires covering up your head and face and everything and I just can't do it in bow season here in fl when it's 85-90 degrees out. That stuff is too damn hot! I'll go pretty much all out when it gets cooler but bow season I'll usually just wear lightweight scent lock shirt and pants