Just had a question that I've had for some time pop into my head.

A few years back I started useing used burlap bags (cut along the seam and lightly spray-painted for camo) on my treestands. The first thing I noticed was that they had a rather strong smell (burlap smell). And they seem to hold on to that sink for quite some time (its been over 5 years for some of them). It has faded a bit, but still there. Do you think that this would be a big deterant to the deer??

For me, I suppose it would depend upon how long the burlap was left in the area. I think that deer would get used to it sooner or later and ignor it, if it was there all the time. I say this because we have a lot of oil well locations in Oklahoma and the smell can be very strong around them. But, you will frequently find these sites covered with deer tracks. The smell is there all the time and so I think the deer get used to it.

On another note about burlap, try to be sure you never have the sun "back lighting" you or you'll get strong silloettes projected onto the burlap and every movement will be seen. I had this happen when trying to make a burlap ground blind this past season. I since got a commercial ground blind and will use it next year.