Scent Control Advice
 

Ok I am new to bowhunting so I am a bit new to total scent control. I have been reading on how to control scent and here are the questions I need answers on:

1) When scouting, to what degree do I scent block myself?

2) I know camo must be scent free and stored in an appropriate container/bag. What happens after each hunting day when it gets wet or sweaty? How do you dry it out without brining it indoors if it is below zero outside?

3) What is the best footwear for bowhunting not to leave your scent in the bush? (something that I can walk in as well to stalk deer)

4)Do I need to wear a certain type of glove at all times as not to leave my scent?

5) If baiting, how to you avoid leaving scent?

Thanks in advance everyone!

What I may say, may be taboo to another hunter and cause upheaval, so I tread lightly...

1. I always spray myself prior to scouting and setting up trail cams, I spray down my boots and do a once over on my clothing.

2. After a hot day of sweating in my camo, I would normally just hang it up outdoors, but I see that you are asking about what to do when it is cold out; I have no good answer. ;-)

3. The best footwear I have found is rubber boots, it doesn't matter the brand or kind to me, but something with insulation is a must if you plan on hunting into late November and December.

4. As for gloves, I have never had a problem using any gloves, as long as I treated them the same as my clothing, scent elimination.

5. As for bait piles, they are not legal where I hunt so I am once again no help...


Goodluck and welcome to the wonderful world of bowhunting...

Man I wonder how all them deer got shot proir to "Scent Control clothing" must of been luck. Maybe the deer have never seen the Marketing hype! lol

Movement will get you busted 9 times out of 10 over scent.

I have just recently observed running whitetails stop dead in their tracks when they crossed my path, put their nose down, smell the path, and turn around and bolt. I never stepped in anything unusual, but my boots were subject to being inside the hunting cabin and some smells may have bonded.

Now that I want to take up bowhunting I know to get them in close I will need to figure out the above questions.

You can spray those boots down with Scent Killer when you put them on and that will kill some of the scent. Most Bowhunters use rubber boots to help reduce scent.

Fork Horn, so during scouting season I could possibly drive them off with scent? Should I worry about them seeing me or just glass them from a distance?

As far as sweating, maybe I have to wash my camo in scent free wash anyway, dry and store in a bag. It my camo clothes are wet I will bring home in a bag and throw in dryer with a scent blocking anti static sheet I guess.

That's a load of crap. A deer can smell you way before it will ever see you. Being scent free as possible, I guarantee you, will result in more deer sightings.

Agreed. Also, it can smell you even after you've left the woods. Think about it...busting a deer without even being there. You can't do that with movement. ;) It's just a smart precaution to take, but you don't have to go overboard IMO with carbon suits, etc...just a little common sense and not much effort goes a long way.

That was really my point. I personaly think some guys give deer way to much credit.

Keeping your face in the wind will do more than anything else. Eliminating your scent entirely is pretty much imposible. But eliminating most of it will help. They will smell you anyway but the stronger the smell the more likely that you are nearby. A weak smell may assure them that you have been gone for a while and it's safe to step out.
Take your clothes off outdoors and bag them in clean bags with a cedar branch or some fresh earth. Then bring the bags inside to warm. The odors from the room cannot penetrate the bag but the heat in the room will release odor from whatever natural scent you use in the bag, like the cedar branch, to permeate your clothing. Bag your outer clothes before you get in your truck at night, and put them on just before walking to your stand and use scent killer on your boots too. Most of all, pay attention to the wind.

I agree on that point, but I think deer bust you more than 1 out of 9 times on scent. Movement can certainly get you busted, but your scent can continue busting deer after you've left the area.

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.

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.