Scott Radish

I chew on stand and have never had a deer respond unfavorably to it. They don't respond at all really. I also don't spit into a bottle but straight down onto the ground. I've had mature deer walk into me while I was chewing and come straight down under my stand within seconds of where I had just spit. For some reason it hasn't bothered them. I don't know if smoking would have the same outcome but I would say that the movement from your hands going back and forth from your mouth would do more damage then the smell of smoke itself.

Kelly/KY

I've had a biologist friend of mine actual wizz in mock scrapes and will have bucks actually use it. I was also at a seminar by the Wenzels (sp?) and they stated in all their years of hunting, human urine has never spooked deer. Now, I seen and heard of guys who smoke having scent control issues. I do chew from the stand and while I've had deer pick up on the scent they are more curious than spooked, although leaning over to spit will get you busted more often than not.

Hoytail Hunter

Well Greg, since I want to be like you "when I grow up",I might have to rethink my hunting game plan. Maybe smoke and pee aren't asdetrimental as I thought?

Geee, now I'm confused. Why then is it, that deer patterns and travel routes start changing as soon as hunting season opens? I take it that it's moreso due to the violent encounters they havewith hunters rather than the scent that those hunters are leaving in the woods? But, if that's the case thenshouldn't they alsoassociate those smells belonging to those hunters with the violent encounters they've had with them too?

And if smoking and peeing out of your stand isn't that detrimental then why is it that scent control is the number one thing stressed when it comes to bowhunting? I guess that the deer aren't so much afraid of those smells as the smells (for example your sweat or breath) that tell them there's a live predator in the area right that second?

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MikeTark

I smoke in my stand, actually had 3 come in (up and over a hill)butted the smokeout, they walked within 20 yrd of me ,caught me on the draw......10 min later lite it back up and took 2 drags and had a nice 6 walk in butted it out and dropped him 15 yrs from my stand.....the wind wasblowingfrom the NNW and the 3 came in from the E and the 6 came in from the S..... so to each his own I guess you could say!!!!!

bigcountry

Yep, the internet is the king of misinformation. Anyone that thinks it doesn't affect or have an effect is just trying to justify what they do.

I would say it has alot to do with where you hunt and the smells the deer usually smell anyway. I know when I hunt up in Newfoundland, those moose probably never has seen a human, and we have been hiding before in black spruce and a moose would walk downwind from us, and even at 100 yards, would freak out when they get downwind, and take off running. My guides smokes like a frieghttrain.

I have seen bear do the same.

Its dadgone hard to put on a stalk on a moose if don't get downwind of him.

If you hunt in heavily populated areas where there maybe horse riders or alot of people around, I don't think it bothers them as much.

But you are not going to convince me that its better for you and hunting not to smoke or urinate out of your stand. Thats just silly.

ericstacy

Funny, I don't smoke and I try not to pee on or around my stand whileI am hunting.
But-- my wife does both. So I went buddy hunting with her the other day, and sure as
**** she has deer walk up and stay around her stand at the feeder. And the wind
was not in her favor. I always said DON'T but now I am not really sold it is bad or at
least negative to your conditions.
Eric S. Stacy

BuckRogers

From my experience and from what Ive seen where I hunt the crops are starting to come out when bow season starts. This can change deers patterns. Plus deer naturally change there habits in the early fall (this might early enough that you dont notice it though). Also while I dont believe that just human scent from walking around bothers deer. Busting deer walking around and letting them see you might cause them to change. Where I hunt there is enough agricultural activity that the deer are pretty used to seeing humans. They run away and dont like smelling you when your on stand, butthey dont change there habits just because of seeing or smelling me a couple times a season. just my 2 cents

arrow2512

Where i hunt,there are 3 house in the area and they all use woodburners and believe me i could smoke in my stand and it wouldn't bother them becaues some times thats all i smell when i'm out there .

GregH

Hoytail,
if you want to be like me when you grow up, then you'll have to start paying much more attention to the wind. The whole idea is to not let the deer know you are there. By making the wind direction my number one concern when choosing a stand and carefully picking my entrance and exit routes, I could basically grill a hamburger on a hibachi if it weren't for the visual and audio sounds that it'd produce. There's other details involved also, such as, I don't smoke in the mornings until the sun is up and the thermals are rising and I don't smoke during the last hour in the evening when they are falling. I carry a container so ashes and butts never hit the ground. Like I said, I don't recommend it, but I am weak and I smoke. I am going to try and kick the habit by the first of the year. I'm doing it purely for my health, seeing more deer may be a side benefit. It surly won't change the way I use the wind when I hunt.

Peeing from your stand won't hurt your chances of seeing deer either. It has been written that it may actually help. If I can help it, I won't pee from my stand, but if I gotta go, I go. Last year I actually had a 10 pointer come under my stand and thrash the brush where I peed with his antlers.

Lastly, you got to hunt for yourself and hunt smarter than those other hunters rather then come on here and whine about it. If they are screwing up your area so bad either get a new area or move to a more remote location where the others haven't screwed it up. That's where the deer will be.

The bottom line is that it really is about the wind. I don't care what scent containing, scent killer you wear or spray is, if the wind is blowing directly from you to the deer, he's gonna smell you.

Here's my personal scent control regimen:
1) Shower the evening before so my pores aren't wide open when I step out into the cold.I use any regular shampoo and Irish spring soap.

2) When I get up I apply my old spice deoderant and put on fresh, regularly washed underwear, socks and tee-shirt.

3)Then I put on my long underwear and remainder of my hunting clothes (mostly Treebark) that are only washed in plain water and air dried outside.

4) Check the weather (wind) one more time and jump in the truck and drink coffee and smoke cigarettes all the way there while listening to Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon. Really loud.

5) A good one for the way home is Queens....Another one bites the dust.[:-]

Side note: Every stand I set has a down wind side that blows my scent totally away from or over the top of deer that come from where they aren't supposed to. If the wind isn't right I won't hunt.

Oops, I forgot to mention that I'm big on the use of a particular cover scent.... I stand around in my buddies dairy barn BSing with him while he's milking. Works pretty good.

Good luck to you in your hunts.