Maybe, as my Mother says, I am getting " Old and Crochety" , but once in a while something comes up that just annoys the daylights out of me. This subject is one of them.
To worry about whether or not a deer may or may not be spooked by your visible breath is carrying things a bit too far. In the past 25 or 30 years we have been conditioned to be so paranoid about every little thing when it comes to concealment that the over riding effort on the part of most hunters is to attain invisibility in every regard, this may not be bad, but seems to be a bit overboard for most. The basics are being ignored and everybody seems to depend on high tech clothing, boots, blinds and wonder formulas to get close to a deer or elk or bear.
What ever happened to old fashioned skills in stalking, scouting and preparation not to mention knowing the habits of your intended quarry, getting out there, sitting down, walking quietly, sitting still and keeping quiet?
The old timers (very successful oldtimers) that taught me to hunt used these skills along with their green woolen pants, red and black woolen jackets and their barn boots to stalk and kill game for years before any of the new gadgets were thought of.
My point is, get back to the basics, use the new technology where it makes sense for comfort and camoflage but have fun for Petes sake. If you are concerned about a deer seeing your breath, use a scarf and pull it up over your mouth and nose and breathe through that but quit worrying so much.

Why that question would bother you Coastie, beats me?

Your feeling regarding hunting is basic and so are mine for that matter and I would agree that hunting has become some what of a technical sport for some, due to all of the gadget out there.

But, this is a basic question and involves no technical needs. A legitimate question. I to was tought how to hunt from old timmers.

And many (old fashion) hunters have mentioned the effect of your fog breath regarding being spotted.

Just last year, while hunting in my tree stand waring no camo and using no sents I was spotted by a deer, and was in question as to how this happened.

The wind was in my face and I do remember a ton of fog pouring from my noise and mouth.

So, to the original question can this effect your hunt as far as being spotted?

Am I worried? no by far. But would I like to know others input into this question yes.

A question is simple either you have an answer or not.

Thats one issue on this board, a member can post a queation or comment and end up getting anything but positive input or critisized for posting it.

Aw now come on Coastie. You know its pretty cool to enter the field all decked out from head to toe in camo. Camo hat, camo balaclava, camo shirt, coat, pants, underwear, socks, boots, bow, sling and gun. Heck, can' t even see yourself on account of so much camo. Someone needs to begin research on how to add camo to our breath.

I have also wondered the same thing about deer seeing the condesation of your breath. They are right about the breath carrying scent though. -- CDH

jred, Go back and read my reply again. Look closely at the opening remarks then consider the rest of the reply in that context. You may also notice that I posted a reasonable solution to your problem, the use of a scarf to cover your mouth and nose when it gets to that stage of cold, the fabric absorbs the moisture and does not allow it to condense into the air. Did you ever consider using this phenomena to your advantage? There is at least one documented story of one of those " Old Timers" using the condensing breath of a Bear to locate him in his den. I have observed animals breath condensing myself, makes for an interesting set of possibilities doesn' t it?
You may also notice I didn' t say that I did not use all of the modern gadgets and conventions available because I do, from my Goretex lined boots to my Thinsulate underwear.
It' s just once in a while the apparent lack of common sense applied to everyday minor distractions and problems sets me off.

Coastie, like you said look for the animals breath, it is alot easier to spot sometimes than the animal itself. As far as a deer spotting you, I once got done hunting my morning post and changed weapons clothes etc, and went pheasant hunting when I walked up on a nice 6 (I saw its breath). It saw me and we both just starred at each others breath. For 5 min it was a stand off and I realized I wasn' t going to shoot it so why waste time on a stare down . So I continued my hunt and he trotted away. So in conclusion the breath alone didn' t scare him it was when I moved. By the way he was only about 35 yds away,and I was in an orange vest. That was the last time I split my day hunting both deer and small game.

Coast,

I did consider your first statement and yes I would agree and did consider that you are crotchey and like you said this is one of the times you read somthing and got really annoyed.

Like I mentioned " why' would this ever annoy you? Hey, thats apparently you and your personality towards the post I made and my reply is based on how I read your post.

As far as the scarf thank you for the suggestion but my common sence has already kicked in before your suggestion.

The truth of the matter is I really do not like anything around my face, clausterphobic.

In any case I have no issues with you and hope to be able to have a productive atmosphere with you and any other member on the board.

Best of luck during you hunting season!

Jred