This argument for the wind comes up a lot, and it's as valid as can be, but it isn't the only card in the deck and should be played along with all the other elements. The Native Americans (I know it's a tired subject, but hear me out and then judge) did use scent control in the way of standing in the smoke of a camp fire, rubbing the burnt ashes and charcoal from past fires on themselves, as well as moss, grass, pine needles and countless other things. Most of us do not want to go to that extreme, so we use the cleaner modern day alternatives.

If you put any stock into Tom Brown and his tracking and woodland skills [link]http://www.trackerschool.com/[/link], he uses all of the above and more to control his scent, and then he plays the wind. It's all pieces to the total puzzle. He was trained by a native american and this was how he was taught. These pictures of indians hunting in clean, bare legs and buckskins is a myth generated by past and present media.

The other hole in this 'play the wind only' train of thought is that you are assuming that deer will only come in up wind of you. I've been out four times now this season (and countless times last season) and each time have had deer come in from behind me, or pass by me and then get down wind of me, and many times while there were deer still in front of me. What do you do then when the big buck is standing up wind of you and you're ready to draw but a doe gets behind you and smells your aftershave or tide detergent and snorts and sends every furry creature running?

As for not being able to eliminate all of your scent, I agree, but I also believe it may not be as much of an all or nothing prospect as some would believe. The reason is, I believe, is that a lot of us hunt in areas where there is some amount of human scent spread throughout the year. This is true on farms; on public hunting land where hikers share the woods, or small game hunters, or whatever; suburban hunters; etc. The deer are used to smelling 'traces' of human scent that may be anywhere from fresh to a few days old. They have learned, I would assume, to distinguish between a recent concentrated human scent of a non protected person to that of a trace odor that is a few days old and no longer a threat. I think that if we can contain most of our scent so that all that is getting 'out there' are small percentages of our odor, be it from our breath, or our wallet, or our watch band or whatever, they may believe it is an older odor and not one to cause alarm. I have no proof on this, it's just a layman's theory.

Just my two cents on 'just' playing the wind. It's important, and undoubtedly the most important part, but it's not the only part to increasing your odds in consistently seeing and harvesting deer.