Tom,
I wasnt a big fan of cover scents but check out one called Ever Calm Deer Herd. It just flat out works.. Can't imagine paying $20 for a underarm deodarant size thing but we did. We all had more deer close that never spooked..wind blowing at them. Also we hunt 20ft+ in lock ons and this scent was rubbed on base of our trees.

I store my hunting cloths in a scent lock bag with earth wafers all year long. I shower with scentless soap and leave it at that!

Now during the rut, i will use doe estrus.

Vanilla is an attractant/curiousity scent.
Again - it is impossible for one scent to hide another from a deer.
They simply smell both.

I don't normally use cover scents either. I try to take a shower in scent free soap, and I spray Scent Killer or Scent Away on me sometimes, but I don't usually use cover scents. I've tried them and never had any luck. Infact, when I've had them out, I've never seen a deer. I've got a few friends that swear by them, but I've just never had any luck.

That being said, I was helping a guy cut up some ply wood and hang it in his shed while taking a break between hunting in the stand that morning and afternoon. I had saw dust all over my coveralls I hunt in since it was cold and I didn't want to take them off. One of the guys with us, that is a good hunter I might add, laughed at me as I left in the evening to go get in the stand. He told us we'd never see anything as deer would smell that fresh scent of cutting dry wood and they'd know that there was nothing like that around there. Well, boy was he wrong. Not only did the biggest deer I've ever seen come out to me, but it was the biggest deer than most people including ones in their 60's had ever seen in that town.

That coupled with the fact that one of my friends smokes in the stand, has made me wonder if these things really work. I'm sure being scent free is better than not, but it seems like people kill big deer just as often when they aren't anywhere near scent free. I don't think it's as big of a deal as they make to out to be on tv shows.

If using cover scent works or not is up for each individual to decide I guess, since the deer are not about to let us know.
But I find using it is a huge confidence builder. And without confidence in your hunting spot and the methods you use, weapon, clothes, scents (cover or attractant), decoys, tree stand, ground blind or still hunting to hunt deer I believe you are setting yourself up for failure.
Without confidence I have found myself restless and non-attentive to my surroundings and much more likely to either not see a deer or miss an opportune moment for a shot when it arises.

I use Fitzgeralds Deer Dander with great success. I also de-scent shower before hunting. I spray down at truck with de-scented clothes in a tupper ware tub and use a Scent-Lok suit. I spray down again at tree with scent-away spray. I place the cover scent on my boots and a dash on my pants legs walking in. I have a photo of a 139" 8pt (My brother killed him later) licking my screw in step of my lock-on stand with deer dander on it and the tree base. Works for me. I have used it all over the US and Canada hunting bear and never had an animal spook cause of it.

Thanks guy's:cool2: A lot of options and decisions to make. No real reason at all, but the deer dander sounds like i might need to try it.