Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Do any of you smoke while in your tree stand? If so have you had a deer come
in while or right after smoking?

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

As Much as I hate to admit it I do smoke on stand ( Nasty stinkin addiction), and the last two years in a row I' ve shot deer while smoking. The only thing I can figure is that because I hunt 25 to 35 feet high that the warm smoke is carried up enough to not alert deer.





I wish the wife would hunt with me

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I used to smoke but gave it up (best move I' ve ever made) so I don' t knock those who do . But will say that have hunted with several who do and seen lesser deer follow scent but mature bucks would stay 200+ yds out and circle around stand. Even when no one was in it so I' d hafta say they were pegged. Just my own experience and I think you' d be better off waiting till hunt is done. JMHO

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I couldn' t tell ya, cuz i don' t smoke. I dunno why, i guess i just am not to keen on the whole killing myself thing and would rather spend the extra money on a bow.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

thats right. thenuge15 smoking will killya.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Just for the record I do smoke but never in my stand, maybe thats why
I only hunt 3 hrs in the morning or 3 hrs in the evening. Sure wish I could
quit though.






GO EARLY STAY LATE

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I don' t smoke either, but know guys who do smoke, and do it in the stand...


It' s funny how the non-smokers usually say that smokeing does spook deer, and the smokers say that it doesn' t. I would think that it would sppok them, seeing that it would be an unfamiliar smell....but I know guys who have killed deer while smokeing. If I did smoke, I wouldn' t do it in the stand just in case it would spook them. I wouldn' t want the deer to get the slightest advantage over me.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I never hunted in a stand because of hard time finding a good place around here because : 1. Isn' t already over hunted 2. Isn' t private property and the owner is anti-hunting 3. Was once a good spot but no longer. But since this is about smoking and hunting. Happy to say i stopped smoking about 2 months ago, just now if i can stop chewing skoal. now THAT is a bad habit[:' (]

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I am smoking as I write this:(

But I have NEVER smoked when bowhunting EVER:)

Just not gonna take the chance, I am so anal about being scent free I cant see lighting up when hunting.

Bowhunting is such a high for me I can easily sit all day in a stand and never even think about a smoke:)

But when I get back to the truck.........look out!!!!:D:D

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I smoaked a cigar in the tree stand once. Was enjoying it, then from behind me, down wind side, I hear snort whezz snort and saw the deer going around me.:D
mmmmm.... maybe they smelled the cigar..:D:D:D

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Rack-Attack,
Can' t believe what I' m reading,after mostly reading replies and comments to all of these posts,I always found myself agreeing with either your advise or comments,but I' d hardly call it being anal about scent control if you smoke like a fien in your truck-smoke molicules permeate your skin,beard,hair,in short ,everything.Scent-lok can only do so much!

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

If your going to smoke on the stand. Save your money on Camo to buy Camels. I used to hunt with a guy that smokes, when down wind, I could always smell it. He did shoot deer, mostly yearlings, but I' ve watched mature deer sniff the air and make a wide circle around his blind.

If your going to buy camo or Scent lok clothing or use any type of scents, why would you smoke on the stand? Years ago I smoked too. Even during the time I hunting with the guy mentioned above...But I didn' t smoke on the stand!

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Bigbuck,

I go to pretty great lengths to keep my smoking smell out of hunting.

A good month or more before the season I stop smoking in my house and my truck. Doesn' t take long to clean up the air.

In the early morning I will have a few outside with my coffee, then shower.
My clothes are never inside and I get dressed outside the truck at my spot. I wont even set foot on the road or anywhere with my rubber boots. They come off as soon as I get near my truck.

If I only hunt the morning, any outer clothes I will wear again, go in a plastic bin. I change and then smoke outside the truck.

Any clothes I have smoked with will get washed.

I never smoke after a shower and enter and exit my stands with rubber gloves on.

Oh....The only time I will smoke with my hunting clothes on and while I am in the woods is after I take one down - those two or three smokes a year are by far the best smokes I ever have:D

Its a bad habit bigbuck:(, but I do my best not to let it effect my hunting:)

Don' t hate me for my weakness[&:]:D

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Well, I smoke, and I smoke on stand. Still manage to kill a couple mature bucks each year, and a handful of does. I don' t use any scent lok or anything like that, I just wear rubber boots that are stored in a tupperwear bin, and sprayed down with carbon spray before I walk in. I' m sure being fanatical about scent helps, but it' s not something I bother with, too much work for me. I just hunt the wind religiously, and will walk two miles out of the way to come in to my stand in a way opposite the deer. I won' t hunt a stand if the wind' s not steady and in my favor.
I won' t tell you smoking doesn' t hurt your chances a little. But I' ll be smoking this coming season, and I' ll be killing a few bucks and a bunch of does.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Rack,
I feel better now! Your in good grace!! Us reformed smokers are the worse,but again,you gave me a few good tips about scent control with your reply,by the way-Great picture! To give you an idea of my passion,I' m postponing shoulder surgery until after November so that I don' t have to be a crazy man for a year!!!

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I can be 150 yard' s down wind of a guy smokin, and not see him,, you figure it
out:D

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Friends and I have had this conversation before. But first, let me say D@mn Rack-attack you ARE anal when it comes to being scent free!:D
But there are also those who are that anal about having the fastest bow in the state as well. To each their own.;)
Personally, I try to limit the amount of cigarettes in the stand, but at the same time, I have killed most of my deer right after I got through smoking, or while I was puffing away. And that does include a mature buck that I shot on the ground at 10 steps. For a while I thought it might be my good luck charm.
All that said, do I believe that smoking has no effect on the deer? No, I just believe that it doesn' t always have an effect. JMO
By the way, Red Hawk, you gave up lung cancer for gum cancer? At least lung cancer you can' t see..:D
Also, just to toot my own horn, I have been completely nicotene free for 3mnths. now. NO CHEATING! If I can do it, believe me, anyone can if they really want to.
Now, I' m trying to convince my wife of that.:)[:o]:)

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Exactly what I say!

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I know smoking on stand is not a smart thing to do, but I will confess that I have, but only with a good steady wind, I have put cigarettes out to kill a deer. Last year I had just stuck a doe and light one up to give her some time to expire, I was about half done with the smoke when another doe came from the exact same direction as the one I just stuck had! I put the smoke out and waited for that doe to enter a shooting lane (we are allowed 2 a day in Va.), what amazed me was the doe I had stuck was laying right out in the open within 30 yards of the approaching doe, well I have to assume that this doe finally saw the other one and figured something was wrong and turned around and walked back the way she had just come. 2 more steps and I would have stuck her also.

I agree that smoking on stand is dumb as a box of rocks, but I do it sometimes and have still kiiled plenty of deer.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I' m an ex-smoker and I' ve smoked in my stand a lot. And I never had any problems tagging out even on state land, which s where I usually hunt. I' ve put cigarettes out in order to draw the bow. You could smoke a box of cigars and it wouldn' t matter a bit as long as you' ve got your stand downwind. By the way, cigarette smoke is a great for determining wind direction. ;o)

But I' m glad I don' t smoke any more. When smoking, scent control is limited to staying downwind. I don' t think all the scent eliminator, carbon spray, carbon scent control suits, cover scents, etc.... can negate the overwhelmingly strong and persistent scent of stale tobacco smoke and smoker' s breath.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Yes I smoke In my stand and killed many does and a nice 9pt while smoking,had to put it out before shooting him.I carry a tin for my butts.I use a pee bottle will not pee from tree.I use earth scent cover spay.Deer are used to smelling smoke for camp fires to smoke stacks,my dad used to hang his camos by the fire for cover scent and killed amany a deer.ITs the stange oders I stay away from and I hunt high up too.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I would agree that smoking is a lousy, dirty habit. I' ve quit for years and gone back to it, as I am now. As far as smoking on stand, I do. I am only aware of one young buck hightailing it when I was smoking and I believe he saw me move.
(I also relieve myself from my tree stand and have watched as a young buck walked up to the base of my tree, stuck his nose into the puddle and just slowly walked away. Not at all concerned.) I have taken four P&Y bucks while smoking on stand. I don' t think the smell of the smoke is alarming as it is a natural thing, as is urine. Incidentally, there have been studies done on the urine thing and the results indicate that it is just urine, no different than a deer or fox, etc. Just my two cents and 35 years of bowhunting. Below are my best.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Smoked for almost 30 years gave it up 7 years ago and by far see and kill more deer now. I think its more the movement of smoking that alerts the deer. Just my opinion.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

After the millions of acres of wildfires the west has had and a long term drought plus the radical enviros that don' t care if the world burns down as long as not one log gets cut and sold I guess we don' t have the same views as those with water and nice green woods. I dip skoal and have done good hunting but still think the animals can smell it. Just wonder if they might like it better than butt breath from a non tobacco user. If you don' t use it don' t start and if you have to smoke don' t do it in dry country. Good hunting.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

I don' t smoke either, but it just doesn' t sound like a brainy thing to do when hunting deer.

It' s a very pungent odor, one that deer either know doesn' t belong in the woods or that they would associate with fire if they have encountered fire before.

If they can pick up my human scent when I' ve gone out of my way to be scent free, I can' t imagine wanting to risk lighting up and tipping them off even more easily than usual. That' s not to say I' m easily detected-I' ve only been busted twice(that I know of anyway), and only one of those was by smell, and she got within 10 yards. If she wouldn' t have been directly behind me with too many bushes in the way, my freezer wouldn' t be so empty right now. ;)

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Personally, I believe in the scent free belief, but I also think that it can be gone overboard. I used to be a fanatic with it to the point where it was unconfortable to hunt. I have stepped back a little recently and want the whole thing to be an enjoyable experience. For example, I no longer wear my rubber boots throughout the season because it personally made me uncomfortable. Am I risking not seeing that big buck, maybe, but the risk is worth it for me cause now I can stay in the stand longer without thinking about how much my feet are sweating or how unconfortable they are.

Smoking is an addictive habit, one that can not be understood unless you are a smoker. I am not a smoker and never was and I am only starting to understand how addictive it is after seeing my wife trying to quit time after time. I feel for her, I really do.

So what I am saying is that each person needs to weigh the benefits versus the possible consequenses for you personally, and if you have to light up on the stand, then do it and don' t feel guilty about it.

I used to know some old timers that used to purposely blow pipe smoke on their hunting stuff before and during a hunt to disguise the human scent. Did it work? Who knows, but they did get some nice bucks.

RE: Smoking while in the tree stand?
 

Who knows for sure, right? I do know this, some of the greatest hunters of all time (native americans) used to stand in their camp fire smoke as a way to mask the human odor, long before scent killers and such arrived.
Deer typically will not spook just because they smell smoke or other foreign odors, unless they associate that smell to humans, as they smell smoke from burning fields and such all the time. What they do not like is humans. So if they smell you, your busted.
Just read an article last night that five different deer biologist from all over the country agreed that deer cannot distinguise human urine from fox, coyote, or coon urine. Therefore, you can pee in your stand, on your stand or anywhere near your stand and not spook deer.
Hummmm.....not sure I am ready to believe that or not. If I decide to experiment, it will definetely be towards the end of the season and after I' ve filled all my tags! Certainly would be easier to just let er' fly from the platform wouldn' t it?
Keep on keeping on........