Scent Control in Hot Weather?

[LanceS4803]

Putting out my cameras today, and was quickly soaked in sweat. (This land is all steep hills, ravines and plateaus.)
There is no way to get up to these areas without arriving stinking to high heaven.
How do bowhunters, who start in Sep, handle scent control in hot weather?

 

[easy45]

I just try to play the wind cause there is no way not to sweat during early season.

 

[hunterncoach]

same as easy, but I do take a change of clothes & put my old ones in a zip lock baggie when i get in my stand & also use the body powder that someone makes...i forget who it is

 

[Pursuit Hunter]

Set up downwind from where you expect them to be. That's the only effective strategy any time of year, hot or cold.

 

[BHC]

what I can never decide is whether to wear my scent blocker suit which is a little warmer and makes me sweat a little but may retain some scent, or to where very very light clothes that will likely not retain any scent but keep me cooler. This yr im going to get me one of those frog tog towels to put on my neck maybe thatll help some..

 

[102]

I do not hunt my high confidence big buck areas in early bow season unless it is an area VERY easily accessible.
OR...unless I have good intel on a mature buck pattern and have to hunt NOW or blow an opportunity. In that case, I play thermals or wind.

Let's face it, I rarely if ever worry too much about scent control. I stink. There is not much I can do about it in the heat.

Element of surprise, minimal scent saturation in an area (low repetition on hunts), and having LOTS of high confidence areas to hunt spread over several different doe groups is my best advice.

102

 

[Boll Weevil]

I do not hunt my high confidence big buck areas in early bow season unless it is an area VERY easily accessible.

102 beat me to it; no way I'm blowing my very best stands early.

I have a Rubbermaid tub of cotton T's + pants/overalls that I wash and rotate every nearly every hunt. Odor-free detergent, body wash, spray, and unscented deoderant all-over. Final consideration for stand location is the wind.

 

[BowGuy84]

I do not hunt my high confidence big buck areas in early bow season unless it is an area VERY easily accessible.

102 beat me to it; no way I'm blowing my very best stands early.

I have a Rubbermaid tub of cotton T's + pants/overalls that I wash and rotate every nearly every hunt. Odor-free detergent, body wash, spray, and unscented deoderant all-over. Final consideration for stand location is the wind.

I have like 4 totes of clothes one for pack and harness and one boots. That being said my top spots aren't hunted until the late prerut.

I also don't hunt without the correct wind.

 

[Bone Collector]

I just try to play the wind cause there is no way not to sweat during early season.

This^^^^^^

 

[Super8]

When I am 18 feet up in my climber I do not think they can smell me before they are in shooting range. Hasn't seemed to bother them in 20+ years.
I do use non-scented laundry detergent and deodorant and play the wind but I worry most about them catching movement and always move slow and easy.

 

[Phil1979]

I just try to play the wind cause there is no way not to sweat during early season.

This^^^^^^

Yep. Play the wind or don't hunt that stand if wind not right.

 

[Deer Assassin]

never worry about it

 

[ImThere]

I take my time going in so i don't sweat as much and climb a little higher

 

[redblood]

i dont hunt when its hot

 

[htnseymour]

I stick to my early stands as well, but I have also found using a ground blind helps a lot. I spray down the blind after each hunt to kill any scent left behind.

 

[Bottom Hunter]

I love it when hunters think that deer can't smell them if they get really high in a tree.....all that does is put the scent reaching the ground further out , so they pick you up further away and avoid the area, while you never know they are there.

being that high off the ground works well if deer come in from another direction and can't pick up your scent before they get out to it, walking away, giving you lots of time to get a shot.

But, then again, they can smell your footprints, the cells off your skin as you walked in, where you touched a limb, and most anything else ......

so....anything other than down wind is mere luck that the deer doesn't bust you , maybe even before you know it's there...

I still know people that will hunt a stand every day regardless of the wind direction.......lol.

I love it when they tell me that they aren't seeing any deer and can't figure out why???????? lol

 

[MUP]

I just try to play the wind cause there is no way not to sweat during early season.

Yep, and this keeps me out of the woods for the most part b/c I do not want to stink up the place I'll be hunting, so I have "bow" spots and "gun" spots to hunt to keep from messing a good place up for the whole season.

 

[Mossy Oak]

never worry about it

Same here. There is no way I would miss a day of hunting just because the wind is not right. My theory has worked for the past 20 years.

 

[hunterncoach]

Old Timmers used to tell me to hang old clothes that you have worn out all summer around your stand to let them get used to the smell & no adverse reactions. Then you may be able to get by with them smelling you the first week or two of season. Of course that won't last all year, but if it helps you score early then its worth it! I have never tried this, but makes sense that it would work

 

[MUP]

Old Timmers used to tell me to hang old clothes that you have worn out all summer around your stand to let them get used to the smell & no adverse reactions. Then you may be able to get by with them smelling you the first week or two of season. Of course that won't last all year, but if it helps you score early then its worth it! I have never tried this, but makes sense that it would work

That reminds me of the story someone told of putting a manequin in your stand dressed to hunt so the deer would assume it was still there on opening day, when in fact it was the hunter! :grin:

 

[hunterncoach]

Old Timmers used to tell me to hang old clothes that you have worn out all summer around your stand to let them get used to the smell & no adverse reactions. Then you may be able to get by with them smelling you the first week or two of season. Of course that won't last all year, but if it helps you score early then its worth it! I have never tried this, but makes sense that it would work

That reminds me of the story someone told of putting a manequin in your stand dressed to hunt so the deer would assume it was still there on opening day, when in fact it was the hunter! :grin:

Even better. You should just build a treehouse and live in it year around

I believe Gene or Barry Wensel were the ones who I saw put a maequin in their stand...I know I have it on VHS somewhere. Can't argue much with their success!

 

[TN RDG RNR]

Do what I can, short of dressing up a manequin..... .. then hunt every chance I get.

 

[Football Hunter]

play the wind as best you can,all you can do

 

[Bottom Hunter]

Old Timmers used to tell me to hang old clothes that you have worn out all summer around your stand to let them get used to the smell & no adverse reactions. Then you may be able to get by with them smelling you the first week or two of season. Of course that won't last all year, but if it helps you score early then its worth it! I have never tried this, but makes sense that it would work

That reminds me of the story someone told of putting a manequin in your stand dressed to hunt so the deer would assume it was still there on opening day, when in fact it was the hunter! :grin:

Funny you mentioned this.....I had a friend that did just this, many years ago . The thing is, he forgot he put the dummy in the stand and when he went to it in the dark on opening day it about scared him into a heartache.....lol.

he actually climbed up the ladder before shining up in the stand and when he got there, he about pooped his pants.

he admitted to this, I'm not so sure that I would have...lol.

 

[TITANSFAN2104]

I love it when hunters think that deer can't smell them if they get really high in a tree.....all that does is put the scent reaching the ground further out , so they pick you up further away and avoid the area, while you never know they are there.

being that high off the ground works well if deer come in from another direction and can't pick up your scent before they get out to it, walking away, giving you lots of time to get a shot.

But, then again, they can smell your footprints, the cells off your skin as you walked in, where you touched a limb, and most anything else ......

so....anything other than down wind is mere luck that the deer doesn't bust you , maybe even before you know it's there...

I still know people that will hunt a stand every day regardless of the wind direction.......lol.

I love it when they tell me that they aren't seeing any deer and can't figure out why???????? lol

I have always been under the impression that during hot weather that scent molecules would rise with the heat rather than fall and cold weather they tend to descend more. Barometric pressure might actually play a part in this as well

 

[turkeyhunter]

i agree titansfan, i dont believe a deer's nose is as good during hot dry weather. It is still good but not as good. Critters dont lay down as much scent during hot dry conditions,neither do humans. But i still do what i can so limit my scent early bow season and thru out deer season.