If I'm in for a three hour tour I'll refrain, but if I'm able to stay out longer I'll have a few here and there. No more than one an hour.
Doesn't make much sense (neither does smoking reall but....)seeing asI soak myself with cover scent before I go out and before I put my clothes back in the bag.
Personally I've seen does, yearlings and fawns while smoking, but never a mature buck. Whether they actually see me smoking, catch a whiff of the smoke once the wind does that swirly twirly hey it's been in my face all day until now crap I don't know. I just know that I've only seen bucks and even mature does when I was smoke free.
The smell of smoke isn't new to the deer in my piece of the woods, but the smart/mature deer know that the smell is accompanied by a smoker.
I may never get a wallhanger but like you I just like to enjoy myself and have fun. I don't take things as seriously as I used to.
As a side note, and I think it's
very important, as a ruleI don't smoke when hunting with others. If someone spent several hundred bucks on scent-lock this and scent free that I'm not going to be ignorant and cover them with the smell of smoke. And unless they've given me permission I won't smoke while on stand in someone else's piece of woods.