I was wondering if you can have to much cover scent. In particular I am referring to the earth scent. At the beginning of this season I simply tried to eliminate scent. I would spray everything I was going into the tree with a scent eliminator spray. Then about half way through the season I started to use the earth scent wafers and dry my clothes with the earth scent dryer sheets and store them in a conatiner with an unused sheet. In the beginning of the season I saw a good number of deer and even had one 10 yds. downwind that never busted me. After I started to use the earth scent, the deer sightings dramatically went down. This was my first year so I am not sure if the deer decreased because of the scent or because of the season getting farther along. Please give me your thoughts and/or experiences as I would like to figure out what to do when next season starts. As you can see, I am anxiously waiting for opening day.

After hearing that you saw all those deer with the scent elimination spray before switching to the earth scent, I'd say go back to the scent elimination spray...good luck.

the more I hunt, the more I belive that no scent is better than cover scents. I have had my best luck do my best to stay scent free, and not try to cover my scent up. this also goes for the "buck lures". I have just about stopped using them all together.

TAKE YOUR KIDS HUNTING AND YOU WON'T BE HUNTING FOR YOUR KIDS

I agree with 5 shot, why alert them to anything! Think of cover scents used in most hunting situations. Folks put it on to 'hide/mask' there own scent right. Now take a look at trapping...have ya heard of call lures? Its a loud strong smelling scent to draw those animals to the bait. Using scents the way most folks do are doing just that. Carrying there scent with that 'cover' scent. Instead of deer rushing in to eat ya, they stay away! Go as scentless as you can and you will find your success much much higher! After all the hole goal is to not alert deer, or any other critter for that matter, to your presence right?

I have had the same results with earth scent, everyone in my hunting area seems to use it and I believe the deer now associate that smell with hunters. I stoped using it about half way through the season and saw more deer???

I agree with 5SHot as usual. Go as scentless as possible. You'll never totally eliminate all human oder, but the trick is to minimize it to the point that it is no longer threatening to the animal.

Scentless is the way to go! if any thing I put a little doe urine on my boots when I walk in to my stand, but that is all.

Stinky Free I call it.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> As far as &quot;can you have too much&quot;? Have you ever stood next to a woman with too much perfume on. Man, it'll send me running.

I am glad to see that I am in the majority with scent free,I have been busted more times with cover scents than without.I rarely get busted now that I have gone exclusively to just washing my close in scent free soap and putting them in a plastic bag and not putting them on until I get to the woods.I will also bath with scent free soap before I go hunting.


Let me add this,as the season goes on and pressure increases,the deer get a little wiser and do get harder to spot.You may have overhunted the area and the deer may just be avoiding the place you are hunting.

My vote is with scent-free. Keep your clothes clean, use scent free soap, keep your boots as scent free as possible. ( It cracks me up to see guys all dressed for hunting, walking around a gas station with their hunting boots on.). Where I hunt, there are a lot of hemlock trees, sometimes I will rub a few of these branches on my clothes, but that's it. The cleaner, the better.