I've never worn anything else (except rubber boots), while deer hunting. I spray down.....but I've had two occurrences that make me wonder how much we can actually depend on them being "scent-free".

1. I walked through a pasture beside the house one morning to set up on a ridge (trying to ambush a family group of 4 does that were traveling through every morning). I look up at first light to see my family cat stalking the exact trail I walked in on. I could tell by the displaced dew where I had walked.

2. I had a doe and twin fawns some in when I was sitting on the opposite corner of the pasture one evening. The fawns were running around playing......until they got to my entrance route. They both stopped and stuck their noses to the ground and walked right up to the base of my tree.

Now I know they don't have to smell me or my boots (they can discern displaced earth/broken grasses and twigs), but both of these instances make me wonder how much we actually can do to mask our egress.

As hot as it is in NC, early season, I might elect to wear some lighter kicks in the early season this year. Comfort means a lot when it's in the 80's.