ma archer

what are some good cover scents aside from just trying to eliminate your scent with sprays? something that actually smells like something from the woods.

rogerstv

I've used a lot over the years. Seems a mature deer will focus on any scent that appears out of place. I want the area to smell neutral so the deer go about their business without being on edge or just curious about a scent they detect.

I no longer use cover scents while in the field. I prefer to be scent free to the highest possible practical extent. In my opinion, scent free toothpaste is unnecessary. If a deer is smelling my breath, they are in the tree with me.

I store my outer hunting clothes and boots on top of large round hay bales at the farm where I hunt for the weekend or several hunting days in a row. I dress while in the field. I wear my thermals under sweat pants in the vehicle then swap them for my outer gear and boots when I arrive at the farm. Switch back at the end of the hunt. Hunting clothes are transported in plastic tubs which have been washed. Hunting clothes even the sweats and socks are all washed in scent free detergent and dried outside. Take a scent free shower and dry with a scent free towel before every hunt. Use this and hunt the wind and you should be fine.

Erno86

I like fresh earth scent --- Cuz it smells like fresh topsoil.

I haven't tried this yet...but it sounds like a winner --- Hunter Specialties Scent-A-Way Max Fresh Earth Spray.

flyinlowe

I've always kept my gear in large bags with one of the fresh earth scent wafers in it and I pin one of those to my hat. I kill deer every year coming in from all directions. I'm sure I've been scented and never known it but I see plenty of deer that way.

Oldtimr

The scent sprays and all the other gimmicks catch more hunters than they do deer. If it gives someone confidence it doesn't hurt I suppose.

mrbb

HAHA< I fully agree with this, hunters are suckers for gizzmo's and gadgets, as so many all seem to want a short cut to a BIG buck and willing to open wallets to do so, over spending more time in the woods!

I remember back in the early 90's when Tink's was marketing/selling, TURKEY scents LOL
and folks were buying it!


cover scents can help I guess,
IF I was to pick one, I would try and find one that smells like the most common thing in your area
and keep it mild in use
any thing that smells strongly will draw attention from any critter with a nose, making them focus on your area and often lead to them spotting you trying to find the new smell or STRONG smell

I tend to think the less you smell the better, not adding anything has done me very well over the decades!

Divenut2

I just use what's on the property I hunt. Cedar boughs and oak leaves in the totes with my outerwear. And rubber fresh cedar on my clothes once in the stand.

RaySendero

We keep mothballs in our shooting houses year round !!!
Keeps mice and rats out, the deer get use to it and covers your scent.

BOWHUNTERCOP

I use fresh earth scent, or autumn scent

Ramhunter71

I have posted this a number of times, but I think it still holds true:I know some people feel cover scents have value, but one observation on the effectiveness of cover scents leads me to strongly doubt their utility. Years ago in the Yukon on a sheep hunt, I mentioned cover scents to my guide who had never heard of them. He laughed and related a story of a hunter he had guided on a grizzly hunt. They were observing a grizzly from a distance of about 200 yards with the wind in their face. The bear was feeding on an old rotting moose gut pile that was putrid and about two weeks old. Suddenly the wind shifted and they felt it on the back of their neck. Instantly the bear jerked his head up with rotting entrails hanging from his mouth, turned and ran like hell!

That bear was able to detect human odor from 200 yards away with a snoot full of one of the strongest "cover scents" I could imagine. I suspect that when a game animal smells someone with cover scents he smells the stench of a human mixed in with the odor of fox urine, or dirt or whatever.

I also read an article by Chuck Adams who has a lot of experience with scents. He also characterized the theory behind cover scents as "baloney". Adams did feel, however, that attractant scents did appear to work on occasion.