jellio5

This is what happened......believe it or not.......5 years ago (my second year bowhunting) I didn't have really a routine and didn't pay much attention to scent well one day I was in a hurry to get to my stand I threw my clothes on and even my boots at home it was cold out so I had my hat,gloves and all my camo on and headed out the door. So I get to my spot and get my bow out and head to my stand it was later in the winter so it got dark pretty early so I had about a 2 hours sit before it would be dark out. Now keep in mind I wasn't used to seeing alot of deer maybe one deer ever 5-6 times out I just didn't now enough yet. Anyway about 30 minutes into my sit a doe comes out to the edge of the field about 40 yards away sticks her nose in the air smells for a minute and promptly turns and heads back in the woods...I shook my head and wondered what had happened...then it hit me the wind was at my back and went right over the deers nose....as I cursed at myself I had 4 more deer come in from various points in the field and promptly turn and leave all does then it happened,,,,about 10 minutes of legal shooting light left and a big and i mean big buck stepped out if you ask me how many points this deer was I couldn't tell you all I knew is that it was big. Sure has heck the deer was about 35 yards away and at that time a shot like that just wasn't an option he looked around sniffed the air stood there for a second and turned around and left.....I was so mad I could have thrown my bow....instead I turned into a scent junky...call it an addiction from that day foward this is the only way I'll go into the woods it may take a minute or two longer to get ready when you hunt but it's well worth it.

I have a friend who used to laugh at me constantly about my scent issues when we hunted together he'd be ready to go before we got out of the truck at our hunting spot while I was minutes from being ready. Here's what I did for him. It was after the rut 2 years ago early December and my hunting was done for the year and I was gearing up for ice fishing but he had yet to shoot anything (gee I wonder why) anyway he called me one Saturday night after another fruitless day of hunting and wanted to now if he could hunt one of my stands as he was out of options so I thought for a second and decided to humor myself. I have a stand that is about 125 yards from a trail cam I leave out year round. I check the pics once every 2 weeks or so well I had noticed the last time I checked the camera which was 3 days before he called me a doe had been passing by everyday between 2 and 3pm for the last 12 days leading on a trail right by the stand. So we met up at my land at about noon the following day and he got ready and I ribbed him about being scent free which he laughed off. I led him to about 150 yards of were the stand was and told him what to expect and told him to call me if he shot anything. What I didn't tell him was I had my trail cam out there and that I knew this doe was coming down this trail daily he had no knowledge of that. So I went home and turned on the tv and watched some football till about 4PM at which point I got ready and grabbed my laptop and drove back to the land. My buddy who I knew would sit till dark was still in the woods so I waited and about 15 minutes later he came walking out and was suprised to see me. Thats when I laid my trap......I said well what did you see he said nothing all afternoon but a squirl. There was a slight swirling wind that day no more than 2-3 miles an hour. I told him to follow me as I headed back into the woods with my laptop he huffed and puffed but fell in behind me about 10 minutes later we arrived at the trail cam and by this time is was completly dark. I powered up my laptap and popped the card in and downloaded the pics and sure enough right there on the screen was the doe that walked down the trail that very day at 2:35PM. My buddy just shook his head and wondered what had happened I muttered under my breat I knew what happened but I don't think he heard me. I led him back toward the stand down the trail following the doe's tracks. Sure enough about 75 yards from the stand the doe turn right so I kept following the tracks pointing this out specifically to my buddy sure enough the doe tracks did a complete half circle right around the stand and back to the trail and continued on my buddy by this time he knew where I was goind and the gig was up....he said he knew what I was eluding to. I think I taught him a lesson that night but he still was to proud to accept defeat and said it could have just been luck,,,,,so with that in mind I told him I would hunt there tomorrow and if that doe came threw and winded me and did the same thing to me as it did to him I would wash his truck the next summer once a week if the doe showed up and I got a shot at it and killed it he would gut it and drag it out and butcher it. The next day came around and we decided to meet at my land so he new everything was on the up and up. He watched me get ready and I headed into the woods at 1PM. The weather conditions were almost identical to the day before. Well to make a long story short that same doe came by at 2:10PM and I loosed an arrow and she went maybe 30 yards and that was that. I promptly called my buddy and stayed in my stand until he got there. I had him grab my laptop out of my truck when he got there and head toward the stand when he arrived I climbed down and showed him the doe.....we walked down the trail and popped out the trail cam card and put it in the laptop and looked at the pic to verify I wasn't up to anything shady. He stuck to his end of the bargain and gutted and cleaned the deer and butchered it a day or 2 later at which point I gave him all the meat as I didn't need anymore which he was greatful for. The next summer he called me in August so that he could learn my scent control system. He still isn't as obsessed as I am but his hunting and deer sightings have improved alot in the last 2 years.