i also train protection dogs and part of that is tracking. one thing that dogs use a lot is not always our scent but the scent of crushed vegetation. it is a strong smell. think of when you cut the grass how it smells. that how it smells to a deer when you step on even one plant on your way to the stand. its not natural. watch how deer walk, they do not go trudging through the woos trampling all the plants in their way, they are careful in their steps. another thing is even in a field a deers hooves are at least 15 times smaller than our huge huge hunting boots, so we are still making more scent that way then they are used to. I like to make a trail to my stand and i mean a long on. i take all the vegetation off the trail as well as the sticks and leaves. this also make me quieter going back to the stand. since ive started doing that, ive noticed tracks going up and down my trail, the deer use it. I used to use that scent away stuff, but i realized that may cover human scent, which I doubt, but it also has its own smell which does not smell the same as the woods. I think if you know where your deer are coming from and you use that and the wind to your advantage, you should have no problems. also i noticed the higher up you sit helps as well. it sort of tricks the deer into thinking you are a little further away with your smell, and when they get close they have a harder time smelling you especially with a good wind blowing your scent away. so my opinion, forget cover scents. and like those other guys said they can still smell you anyway. one thing i have always wanted to try is to hang something that has my scent on it really strong where I am hunting using bait. I would be curious to see if deer would start to ignore it as it would be part of their everyday life. when i lived in the mountains i noticed deer would literally come up and eat right out of the flower beds. it shows that they can learn that human scent is not always dangerous.