smoking in the stand
 

I have heard people say that they can't kill a deer unless they smoke in a treestand. Does anybody here smoke in a treestand and do you have good luck.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I don't think it matters, I know people that even smoke grass(pot) while hunting and it almost seems to have helped them. I'm not a smoker so all I know is what I've seen or heard.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

Bucky I smoke, but I try not to smoke on stand, but I will say that on more than one occasion I have put one out to kill a deer!

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I used to smoke and it never bothered my hunting as far as I knew .I'm sure it does though to some extent . Its just one more smell to alert the deer so it must have some effect .

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I smoke but I dont leave buts I put them out and bag them, atleast I know which way the wind is blowing, Ive killed every year I dont think it matters

RE: smoking in the stand
 

This is gonna turn into a "better than you" topic, but I can't count the times I had to put one out to kill a deer. I'm not much of a bowhunter but I do some. Don't seem to matter. I smoke, chew, dip and have never found it to be a problem. Yes I have some wallhangers. Some with bow some with gun. I live in a heavily congested area . They hear horns honking, sirens, cars, dogwalkers pass by every minute. My circumstance might not be the same as yours. Now I don't smoke "the good stuff", but we had a deer as a pet when I was a kid and he would eat a cig evertime you gave him one.

Good Luck. Capt Brad.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I also cant count how many times I've had to put one out to kill a deer. But , at the same time , I wonder how many deer I've never seen because they caught my motion while smoking before I ever seen them. I dont believe the smell bothers them at all , it's the movement that concerns me. My new years resolution is to become a non-smoker. I guess I'll have to find something else to check the wind direction.

<---Doug---<<<

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I really think it has to do with the terrain that you hunt, as well as which way the wind is blowing. Where I hunt I am sorta stuck with trees everywhere and deer will have to usually get pretty close &quot;within 25 to 35 yards&quot; to get a shot off. Maybe just not comfortable enough to take a shot with such a small margin through the limbs. In that case I dont think smoking would be the best option. On the other hand I was getting mad because I had not seen any deer &quot;while not smoking&quot; and ended up smoking 2 cigs in a row and when I put the butt out. I ended up having a decent size buck come right in front of me at about 20 yards. I ened up getting a clean shot at around 30 yards. Yet the wind I guess was in my favor. Mainly in my face, but on the top of a ridge it sorta swirls a lot. I think if the wind is right, then you have a better chance. Someone told me on this site last week to think like a deer. I guess if I smelled something for the first time, I would be a little apprehensive about going near the smell. Then again I am not a deer and really am not sure what he or she thinks about the effects of smoking.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I have quite a few members at our club that smoke while they hunt. You can still climb trees and find butts wedged in between the bark of the trees.

I wish they would bag thier butts but more than often they leave them in the trees!

To answer your question all of these hunters nail deer. Now, remember they are pretty high in tree and this may help with the deer not locating a direction?

I don't smoke, and if I did I personally wouldn't smoke in the woods.

KEEP HUNTING THE GREAT OUTDOORS & GOD ALIVE, PASS IT ON!

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I am a smoker but I dont smoke when hunting. I prefer to use nicotene gum to tide me over while hunting. Works for me.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I smoke on stand and have no problem seeing deer. I do hunt out of a treestand though. I think bowfanatic hit the nail on the head when he said the &quot;movement&quot; is what will get you busted.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

My opinion of this topic is if a deer can smell smoke then he can smell you. It's the motion it takes while smoking that most often gives you away because if he smelled you he'd be gone anyway, smoke or no smoke.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I no longer smoke but I did for 42 years and I have taken several deer while smoking but I feel as many here it is the motion that is the worst if they smell the smoke they will smell you if you hunt close to houses as is my case a lot ot the time they pay no attention to it. But its the deer that catch the movement that you will never see.

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RE: smoking in the stand
 

Yes I smoke on stand and have killed and seen my share of game while doing so. This includes several Bear at distances of from 15 feet to twenty yards also Bobcat and Coyotes. While I do not encourage anybody to smoke at all it really does not seem to be a major deterrent to seeing game. I do agree that there may have been many deer and other critters that busted me before I ever had a chance to see them, but that is like anything else, you can't prove it or disprove it. The Indians used to take steam baths before hunting, part of a religious ritual more than for purpose of overcoming human odor, then stand in the smoke of a fire made of willow or other pungent smelling wood or grasses to finish the process. Trappers used to use canvas gloves which had been smoked in similar fashion to cover human scent from their hands when handling their traps and they would also smoke their traps prior to the first use for the season.
I guess that smoke, no matter what the source, is as natural to the environment as a North Wind and does not alarm animals too much.

Coastie
&quot;Count the day lost whose low, descending sun
is not, in part, obscured by powder from my gun,&quot;
(Anon)

RE: smoking in the stand
 

In my camp, we have one or two members who smoke, and they seem to be able to kill deer, consistently. I was hunting once with a guy who lit up a doobie on stand when a 3-pointer showed up, and he was a bit upset that he had to put the pot out to shoot the deer. I've also heard that some successful hunters smoke cigars on stand; deer are curious animals, and they feel compelled to find out what that strange smell is.

Personally, I don't like smoking; but, hey--if you want to do it, that's fine with me. I have asthma, so even if I wanted to, it wouldn't be a thing I'd take up.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I don't want to preach at you smokers, but..... After watching my mother this last year, I have to wonder why anyone wants to smoke. She lost one whole lung to cancer after smoking most of her life. She is on oxygen all the time and can't hardly get around her house. I know I just made a bunch of you mad, but if I made just one of you think about quitting, then I guess that's OK. Sorry. Jim

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I've got a range buddy that smokes in his stands from time to time and claims it has never affected the deer...this year he stood up, peed out of his stand, lit up a cigarette and not 5 minutes later he shot a 210 7/8 pt. nontypical.

I'd imagine that it doesn't affect deer much if at all because of a few things. A. they probably don't associate it with humans, so are more curious than afraid B. it's entirely possible that it smells good to them (especially cigar smoke) C. If you're doing your job as a hunter, 90% of the smoke will be carried away from your range by the wind

That's not to say I recommend smoking in the stand, heck, I don't recommend smoking at all, but to each his own.

Screw the 10 ring, keep them in the zero!!!

RE: smoking in the stand
 

Bowfanatic,
there are a couple websites out there that explains in detailed what is going to happen to you during the first two weeks after you quit smoking. They will tell you the effects and what's happening to your body. I've had three friends stop smoking and they've said that list is extremely accurate. I'll try to find one of them and see if I can get the list for you..

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I smoke in my stand and have killed 61 deer in the last 17 years. I am sure it doesn't help, but doesn't seem to hurt.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

i dont smoke so i wouldnt know

http://community.webshots.com/user/jimmymo32

RE: smoking in the stand
 

Yep I smoke and I;ll say this you can get busted by the smell of smoke. I have also had to put one out to shoot. Its the motion also unless you're in a box stand.

Good Luck

RE: smoking in the stand
 

Well this is my first season not smoking . haven't touched one for over a month. maybe i have quit?
I have killed many with a cig in my mouth. i just happened to go to a box blind sunday. i had hunted it back in oct and found a butt i had to put out cause of a deer. i will say i had no deer in the last month blow at me cause i smelled like smoke! after 20+ years of smoking my hunting clothes don't stink like smoke. i don't see how that smell couldnt spook a deer. i now can smell smokers , i couldnt before. oh i still crave them but i am fighting not to smoke another.
Actually i have been busted by skoal more times than smoke.

SOUTH ARKANSAS REBEL

RE: smoking in the stand
 

after quitting for 14 weeks last spring I got back on them. I was sitting in the tree this year puffing on one and I thought of this same question I think it was back in the spring that some ask this question too. I came up with this idea yes they can smell the smoke and it doesn't bother them, I think the smell off the smoker does. Ie smell your fingers after a smoke and that is what you smell Like. that is the smell That spooks them.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

i use to smoke and never had any problem w/smoke bothering deer. im w/mdbohunter on this on. if they can smell the smoke from your cig then they're gonna smell you, so smoke or no smoke you're gonna be busted.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I am going to experiment with this and I will get back to you guys with my results.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

i think it would spook the deer

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I posted this same question some time ago, and the general over all input was that smoking in ones stand has not really stoped hunters from harvesting game.

I have quite a few members at my camp that smoke all day long in the stand and take deer every year. good deer!

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I do know one outfitter in particular that stongly discourages his clients from smoking in their stands while black bear hunting.He has had a few hunters in the past that seemed to have exceptionally bad luck and hardly saw any bears at all while everyone else saw many.When asked point blank all but one hunter admitted to smoking in his stand.The one that continued to deny smoking in his stand was finally found out when he was discovered hiding butts near the stand while waiting for his guide.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

If they smell the smoke then they smell you. It' s the movement that it involves that gives you up. Of course this is JMO

RE: smoking in the stand
 

mdbohuntr says-" if they smell the smoke they smell you" -I have to be very close to smell another hunter but I can smell someone smoking from many yards away.I don' t know how a game animals sense of smell works but I am guessing that it is similar to humans only much more sensitive.It is only logical then for them to be able to smell the smoke much further away as well.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I imagine that deer which walk close enough to a smoking hunter to get harvested . . . never knew what " that smell" was. However, since they should be able to figure out that association over time, it should be that much harder to harvest a big, mature buck while smoking than while attempting to be as scent-free as possible. If a buck smells cigarette smoke and then sees/smells/hears the hunter, he likely will make that association over time--esp if it happens again.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

after smoking for 20 years I quit cold turkey and found out quitting didn' t kill me but sure as hell killed a lot more deer.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

Than why do we even bother to shower? Why do so many hunters spend so much on scent elimination gear if there going to smell you anyway?

I just do not see how anyone can logically come to the conclusion that smoking in the stand has NO ill effect on taking a mature whitetail.

When you smoke you are blowing huge amounts of foreign scent into the air. Your fingers and cloths stink. If I can smell a smoker 100 yds away how far do you think a deer can smell you??. There is no doubt in my mind that smoke carries much further and is in a greatly higher concentration than a scent conscious hunter.

Of course you could stink something awful, and still take deer coming upwind. But what about the 200 yds down wind of you. I have had good bucks cross down wind of me that I am sure would of busted me if I were smoking. It’s just a chance I won’t take.

And I am a smoker, been smoking this crap for over 15 years. I have NEVER lit one up in my stand while hunting. I do bring in one though for a successful hit ;). I even stop smoking in my house and truck a month before the season ,that stuff lingers around forever.

Sounds like a lot of crazy reasoning from some nicotine deprived smokers to me.
:D:)

RE: smoking in the stand
 

RA, who made that statement? Not I.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I know a guy that had given up on a hunt, but claims it was such a beautiful day, he figured he' d just sit in the stand for a bit, so he stood up, took a leak, got out a cigarette, had it about half down and picked his bow back up and shot a 210pt non-typical that just happened to be walking by.

RE: smoking in the stand
 

I believe those, who say that smoking on stand does not significantly decrease their odds in tagging their deer. Do deer smell this smoke? Of course they do. That being said, I personally think it' s how the deer reacts after having full knowledge that there is smoke in his close vicinity. I believe in most cases this scent that the deer obviously is aware of, does not constitite a threat to the deer. Some deer may react differently than others, but the smell of cigarette smoke does not cause the reaction that the smell of man does while hunting in their back yard. If deer were as suspicious and threatened of smoke as they are of all our other odors, then smokers would be consistantly leaving the deer woods without punching their tags...and that' s not the case. The smell of man is always going to cause a negative reaction to deer, the smell of smoke apparently is not the same....just my .02

RE: smoking in the stand
 

For starters, I am a non-smoker. However, there' s something about having a cigar in the woods almost as fulfilling as taking a great sh&t!. I' m not sure about your cigar brands in the US, these are Cdn brands. In 2001 I smoked Colts and was enjoying one on the last day (wind in my face) when a beautiful buck crossed my path. I couldn' t get a clear shot (he went behind some trees and a road was not far away) [:@].

In 2002, I switched to Captain Blacks (the ones made with pipe tobacco). They have a really sweet smell and I bagged my first two bucks of my life (first two deer for that matter as well [8D]).

For sure, the wind was in my face for the first one, but I can' t remember for the second. A beautiful 10 pt buck (f/d at 200 lbs) passed only 40 or 50 yards away in wide open hardwoods. In both cases, I never finished the cigar I was smoking, but it was well worth lighting up another one! :D

RE: smoking in the stand
 

Mdbohunter,

My post was not really directed towards you. I just used your quote as what I felt was the general direction of the thread. I wasn' t singling you out:)