Wind direction and scent control

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tsc

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I've got a buddy that's all jacked up about scent control with the showering and scent free clothes washing and scentblocker etc. He said he thinks that the deer still smell you but it's like your 500 yards away instead of say 60-75??? I may be way off base but I ain't buying it, I think the only way you beat a deer's nose is by keeping him out of your scent cone by being downwind of them. He does the boots in a bag,never wearing them except from the truck to the stand and back,that I do believe helps and do to but it's a different thing than thinking you can hunt with the wind at your back. Any opinions?
 
I guess that makes me a scent control freak. I do the same as your friend. I wont hunt a stand without the correct wind. My opinion is that anything i can do to eliminate as much of my scent as possible can only help.
 
My thoughts are that a lot of the misconceptions of scent are pure marketing by these companies. Personally all that I do is wash my clothes with baking soda (scent free and no color brighteners). If I can't hang them outside to air out, I will store in an air tight container with earth wafers (dirt cover scent). When going into the woods, wear my rubber boots in most cases.

I've had deer walk right down the path I walked in on with their nose to the ground and not spook; I've even had this happen with leather hiking boots.

Also with my techniques I've had deer 30 yards down wind and not get busted (this was on my recent hunt in Michigan).
 
I'm just like your friend- A scent control freak. I don't believe that all the sprays and "scent free" clothing will 100% prevent a deer from detecting you, but I firmly believe that taking steps to control scent help. If you could always hunt with the wind in your favor it wouldn't matter. But there have been many times, especially hunting the hills and hollers of TN that the wind swirls and changes directions. I cannot tell you how many times I've had deer come in downwind that I was not at all expecting.

I have killed several mature bucks that came in downwind. I do all the scent control stuff I can. I have hunted 5-6 days this bow season. I've seen 30-40 deer. Many of them mature does downwind and I haven't been busted yet.
 
I'm betting there have been a lot more deer killed by those paying attention to the wind and using scent control than there have been by those that don't; particularly mature bucks. Scent control isn't 100% but I do agree with your friend in that by using it the deer may think you're farther away than you actually are. Under no circumstances would I rely on them enough to set upwind of where I expected to see deer.
 
I try my best to hunt the wind. I also hang clothes out on the line for a few days prior to hunts. I also change into hunting clothes when I park my truck at the farms I hunt. I will also spray down with scent control. I don't consider myself a freak, though.
I do think I have, temporarily, ruined an area or two by poor scouting techniques by not being careful about spreading scent. However, where there is agricultural practices I have found deer get used to the routine and you may be able to get away with being less cautious with scent. Just my 2 pennies.
 
Poser said it right, do it all or don't do it at all IMO

I use scent free body wash daily this time of the year
I wash my clothes in scent free , and have dryer scent free pads, and i run the dryer with the pads before I put clothes in it
I use a scent loc bag for clothes and a tote for boots,safety harness, back pack, etc
mainly hunt my farm so I change at the cabin
i live in my truck working, 28-30,000 miles a year so this time of the year a spray down the truck inside, and always before getting
in it in the before driving to the farm road I'm walking in on
I use scent loc the Savannah line, had it for years, its quiet, and I find it keeps the ticks off too
I warm weather i'll spray down again once I'm in the stand

But I also hunt with the wind on the set that I'm hunting or I don't hunt

i also have found with my shooting houses, RedNeck and a Texas made brand that keeping windows closed until shooting
during gun season has upped my success


And yes I'm hunting for target bucks which I feel requires the need for a lot of this

But some people say it doesn't work, but for us it does
 
docg":2lak5ffo said:
I'm just like your friend- A scent control freak. I don't believe that all the sprays and "scent free" clothing will 100% prevent a deer from detecting you, but I firmly believe that taking steps to control scent help. If you could always hunt with the wind in your favor it wouldn't matter. But there have been many times, especially hunting the hills and hollers of TN that the wind swirls and changes directions. I cannot tell you how many times I've had deer come in downwind that I was not at all expecting.

I have killed several mature bucks that came in downwind. I do all the scent control stuff I can. I have hunted 5-6 days this bow season. I've seen 30-40 deer. Many of them mature does downwind and I haven't been busted yet.
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Could not have said it better myself.

I practice scent control to the best of my ability and use the wind to the best of my ability. I don't think i am invisible by any means and have killed some monster bucks in my days.
 
I wish there was a study on whether deer can know distance/danger based on the potency of scent. I think that scent potency is only one signal that must coincide with other clues to signify enough danger to cause a deviation in behavior of a deer. I think it goes like this. A young deer is traveling along its path and smells a little something odd. Now it's on alert but still has not deviated. Next it picks up clues from other deer in the group that also smell something and they are also on alert. The scent is getting some stronger as they get more downwind of the smell. They have now pinpointed the area of the smell and are looking for more clues. Anything unusual, movement or anything unnatural or new. Wait there is something new in that tree. It just moved slightly. Busted! A more mature deer once they pick up an unusual smell will avoid the area, even a faint distant smell will cause them to deviate until they are moving away from the scent. I believe they are not confused by potency anymore than you or I would be looking at an approaching tornado. Close or far we see it as something to avoid. Just my thoughts.
 
tsc":183k0w7b said:
I've got a buddy that's all jacked up about scent control with the showering and scent free clothes washing and scentblocker etc. He said he thinks that the deer still smell you but it's like your 500 yards away instead of say 60-75??? I may be way off base but I ain't buying it, I think the only way you beat a deer's nose is by keeping him out of your scent cone by being downwind of them. He does the boots in a bag,never wearing them except from the truck to the stand and back,that I do believe helps and do to but it's a different thing than thinking you can hunt with the wind at your back. Any opinions?
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You are smarter than your buddy, you cannot fool a deers nose, therefore hunt with the wind in your favor, and most of all past that, pay attention to every detail and sound and sight. Let the obsessors obsess....................just hunt.
 
Poser":29opdxt5 said:
I also tend to think that scent control is basically a all or nothing affair. Taking some steps here and there but skipping other steps had very little to no overall effect since you are undoing any steps you took by not doing something else. You really do have to commit to the entire process to gain any real advantage and, again, that's a lot of effort for a small advantage.
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This... I don't spend a dime on scent control but I pay attention to the wind. No spray or special clothes here but if the wind isn't right for the entrance and sit at my planned area than I don't go period.
 
I've never understood "cover" scents.

Take a nasty dump and spray some air freshener to try to cover up the smell. What do you smell? Crap and air freshener.

I do believe in scent reduction products but you aint going to be able to "cover" up your scent. The deer will just smell a human and raccoon piss combined and know something is REALLY off.
 
UTGrad":352fpt1d said:
I've never understood "cover" scents.

Take a nasty dump and spray some air freshener to try to cover up the smell. What do you smell? Crap and air freshener.

I do believe in scent reduction products but you aint going to be able to "cover" up your scent. The deer will just smell a human and raccoon piss combined and know something is REALLY off.
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I agree to a point but if one scent completely overwhelmed the other then it could confuse the deer. If you were cooking muffins and a skunk sprayed in your kitchen all you would smell is the skunk. Deer can distinguish different smells but a really strong odor would overwhelm their senses. If that overwhelming scent such as smoke was non alarming then you could temporarily confuse your human odor especially if that odor was coming from the same source. I'm not a scentologist but it's the best explanation I have for something that does work.
 
I also read the article in the October Field and Stream that is mentioned above. It really implies that you don't get a lot of benefit from all the scent stuff, and I feel the same way. Arriving extremely early, and letting your scent dissipate naturally, seems to be the best option, as well as choosing a wise entry and exit route. I think during the rut, anything can happen though, due to a buck being a little more pre-occupied. On more than one occasion, I have killed a mature buck, downwind, while smoking. Not advocating the idea, but when it has happened, I had all but given up anyway.
 
I consider a good scent reduction program extremely important. Like several others above, I wash in scent free, no UV brightener clothes detergent, am showering daily with the scent killer soap and shampoo, scent killer deodorant, clothes in air tight bin, rubber boots. The whole nine yards. But notice how I said a "scent reduction program." Can't kill it. Can't control it. You have to breathe. You've got skin cells and hair follicles. I'd add that it is probably more important to not fill up the gas tank, smoke (notwithstanding all smokers and this ex-smoker's experiences), avoid other environmental contaminating smells, even be mindful of what you eat.

Wind is most important. However, where I hunt on the Highland Rim the wind is going to swirl and you have to take it as it comes. Reinforcing in my view the importance of scent reduction. I also think hunting out of an elevated stand helps with scent dispersal and paying attention to the effect of thermals where you are hunting could have as much, if not more, effect than wind direction especially in ridge and hollow hunting. I firmly believe at times in the past a wind change should have ruined my hunt but for the help of thermals.
 
I wash my clothing in scent free soap. Keep my boots outside and only wear them to the vehicle and from the vehicle to hunt and back. Use scent away spray on my stand and safety harness and play the wind. To be honest, playing the wind is the only way to fool a mature deer. Sure a young deer might screw up, but a mature deer will try to use the wind to their advantage.
 
I remember watching a couple dogs trail me to my stand once, nose to the ground. So much for my rubber boots and scent control that morning. Hunting the wind and taking advantage of thermals is so much more important, IMO.


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i used to be a scent control guy but i do less now adays than last year and year before....read an article on deer tracking human scent and they tested different scent eliminators the veridict is the dog found every track regardless the spray and rubber boots used.....its said that a deer has a way better nose than that of a dog....now im focusing more on wind direction and how it blows in relation to where i suspect a deer to come from
 
TN Whitetail Freak":2qer4r99 said:
i used to be a scent control guy but i do less now adays than last year and year before....read an article on deer tracking human scent and they tested different scent eliminators the veridict is the dog found every track regardless the spray and rubber boots used.....its said that a deer has a way better nose than that of a dog....now im focusing more on wind direction and how it blows in relation to where i suspect a deer to come from
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Exactly. Common sense says not to brush up against foliage around your stand or pump gas in your hunting boots. Much more than that and it becomes a PITA.

Maps coupled with woodsmanship, Garmin, smart phone, compass, wind powder, and my little canister of fibers that I float off from my stand are what I rely on for "scent control".


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