Okay guys and gals, I want to tell a little story of my hunt this morning and raise a couple questions as well as some awareness. Seems in many threads concerning either camouflage or Scentloc/ScentBlocker clothing, Scent Elimination sprays, Gum o Flage or just basic human heigene we get those guys that say, I don't do anything and I can kill deer with my bow. Yes, that's prolly true but how many deer are they not seeing or blowing out of the area.
We all know we cannot eliminate human odors entirely from our bodies, we can however reduce them to an acceptable level. Also, IMO I feel open pattern camouflages like Predator, ASAT and the new Enigma are far more effective in breaking the human outline and hiding said person. Okay, on to my hunt.
I was set up in a oak near a bedding area, at the far end of the CRP field that contains my food plot seen here.
I didn't see any deer until 8:30 and I had deer around me until I decided to get down within eye sight of a maternal doe. Why, to test Enigma.
Anyhow, I had does and fawns circling the area most of the morning when I saw this mature doe move in behind me in the CRP field. She was coming straight at me, directly down wind. At 52 yards (rangefinder) she stops and proceeds to stare at the base of the tree I am in for exactly a half hour. She stood in one spot for an entire half an hour looking for me, trying to wind me. I couldn't believe it, I had my back to her and every now and again I'd turn to see her ears sticking up, swiveling, head up in the air, stretching her nose upward trying to wind me, staring a hole through the base of the tree I am in and standing there, just standing there all most completely still for over a half hour. Imagine.
Now, how could I get away with having a mature doe wind me yet not find me and not spook. It's easy, whitetails unless they live in an area void of humans will accept some level or human odor. If they didn't they'd be on the run all the time, literally especially in my area here. I know that I cannot eliminate my human odor although my wife tells me I always smell good, I'd bet that doe would disagree. I'm very fanatical about my scent when I go to my bow stands. My cloths are washed in hunters detergents, I am fanatic about my breath, teeth and mouth. I brush alot and use mouthwash and take extra care during the season. I shower before the hunt with hunters shampoo and soaps. I wear Scentloc Base Slayers with an overlay of ScentBlocker. My outter clothes are sprayed down with Scent Killer. I use unscented deoderants and I spray down again once I reach my stand. Why? Because of this doe. If I did very little I know she would have blown and took most of the deer in the area with her but she didn't, she stood there and was still there when I got down.
Yes, I got down. Enigma is a new pattern. All the research, field stories and users stories are all coming in positive and amazingly. When I purchased my suite I told the inventor that I will put it through the paces and report back. If it fails I will tell him, if I have success's I will tell him and so far, nothing but success. As it evolves I feel it's going to be one of the best. I digress,
I stood in the stand with this mature doe down wind of me, trying to find me, the source of what she thinks she smells. As I stood there I glassed her from time to time. I decided to tease her. As see stared at the base of my tree I decided to wave my arms like a bird. When I did this I was glassing her and watched as her eyes went from the base of my tree to me, okay she caught my movement. When I stopped moving she would again, look at the base of my tree wondering what is going on. It was obvious to me that when I stopped moving, I disappeared. I was glassing her and she'd look around and then look at the tree. I'd wave my arms again and she'd look up but when I stopped she'd either look down or look away. Now, that's all about an open pattern and I wonder if the store shelf patterns would work this well. I doubt it with the experience I've had in the past with those patterns. I'm convinced that open patterns like the Enigma camo that I was wearing as well as Predator and ASAT allow movements. Think about how nervous you get when a deer is in bow range and your afraid to stand or move or draw. When I was tired of messing with her I decided to get down. I lowered my bow, I lowered my back pack and dropped the rope. I turned expecting her to be gone, nope, stood there, same spot looking. I started climbing down, in doing so I had to circle the tree on her side, she stood there directly down wind. As my feet hit the ground she no longer could see me and as I snuck out I'm convinced she was still there, never spooking.
Moral of the story, I'm convinced after 25 years of bowhunting, wearing just about every conceivable pattern and maturing in scent elimination, that we make our own success's. Yes animals will be killed wearing anything and everything and yes they will be killed by people paying no mind to their scent but how many of you can honestly say that you could have a mature doe down wind, wave at her and climb down in her presence and never have her spook. She's not the first one for me, Last Saturday my friend Kurt and I sat side by side and had not one but 3 buck and 3 doe directly downwind without spooking and without being seen.
Just something to think about. You can kill deer but I wonder how many you don't see, spook or could have if you mind what you wear and do?
Okay, pick away.