Scent Control Advice
#11
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 320
I know a lot of guys that pay no attention to scent and then wonder why they only see habituated does and small bucks. <smacks forehead> LOL! I know one guy that takes no scent control, drives his ATV right up to his ground blind (he's a gun hunter, doesn't bow hunt)...and then proceeds to spray about $8 worth of scent killer on his clothes, as if that is going to help at that point.
I think TurkeyGuide hit it on the head. It's about how much scent you leave in an area. The faster it accumulates, the more pressure your applying to that area even if the deer aren't sensing your movement. Movement control, scent control, noise control...they're all part of the bigger picture IMO. Let any one of them go unchecked and you start adding extra pressure on that area.
Last edited by UPHunter08; 12-05-2009 at 05:22 AM.
#12
That’s a huge question........
Common sense goes a long way when it comes to killing deer, especially ones with big headgear.......
You won't truly understand what works for you until you spend many, many hours in the woods with the deer trying all the things you want to try. Every situation and set up is different........
I have many seasons under my belt. I have theories that work for me. The deer also teach me something new every season.
Common sense goes a long way when it comes to killing deer, especially ones with big headgear.......
You won't truly understand what works for you until you spend many, many hours in the woods with the deer trying all the things you want to try. Every situation and set up is different........
I have many seasons under my belt. I have theories that work for me. The deer also teach me something new every season.
#13
I can tell you that the past two years, some of my hunters have come scouting without scent, sound control. Just wandered around talking and checking things out the day before season! To me, not a great idea, but they see big deer wandering around that day, and then it takes about two days of hunting, sneaking in before daylight and sitting on stands until after dark, using scent control clothing, sprays and everything before the big bucks come in. They sit and watch does for days because the bucks still smell them from their scouting trip, and won't risk coming into the area for a while. If they'd wait til opening morning to scout, with nobody having been in the area at all for weeks they'd have a better chance of shooting the first morning and being done. The locals who have plenty of time to scout and set stands usually tag out opening morning, so make a scouting trip 2-3 weeks in advance, set your stand, cut everything out of your way, go away and stay away until opening morning, then hunt. Or trust your outfitter to set a stand for you if you can't make a trip early. Pay your outfitter or his guide to get you to that stand opening morning, quietly,scent free and by the best route. Don't go looking for the stand the day before or try to get there with a map and directions in the dark. Your chances will be better, and you can move your stand in the middle of your second day if you want. I have a guy who has killed a big buck both years he has hunted with me, but instead of using the ladder stand I had set, he trims branches and uses his climber 50 yds away. This year he used a different tree, I don't know why, cause you can spit from one to the other, and both the deer he killed could have been killed from my already set stand and probably without sitting in the rain for two days waiting for his scent to clear.
Another man chain smokes and I have found two of his trees, days after he leaves, because I can smell his cigarette butts under his stands and walk right to them.
Another man chain smokes and I have found two of his trees, days after he leaves, because I can smell his cigarette butts under his stands and walk right to them.