Fire or no fire

[dieselchessy]

I’ve personally seen game move off when smoke from a camp was flowing down the drainage more than once.

But I’ve often seen the same without the smoke as well. Sat and listened to campers talking off in the distance, ect..

I suspect the animals recognize the increase in traffic, activity, ect.. and react to that. There are studies that show this.

I tend to think campfire smoke would add to the cacophony of sounds and smells hunters bring into the area.


But, as far as slash piles. Deer and elk seem to go out of their way to walk in exposed dirt or ash in my area. I’ve always wondered about that behavior.

 

[Coues123]

You can cheat their eyes and cheat their ears but not their nose.
I'm of the opinion do all you can to keep your scent down but they are going to wind you no matter how hard you try to cover it.
I don't have a fire for the time involved and I think it just makes you dirty quicker.
When I take my kids/grandkids I have one for them.

 

[def90]

If I'm camping overnight by the time I get back to camp and eat it's usually time to hit the sack. No time for campfires. Generally in Colorado it's a bad idea to have a fire that time of year anyway.

 

[lamarclark09]

I don’t know about the scent but yes fire is a go for me of course if there aren't fire restrictions of any sort.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Generally no fire for me. If I am hunting with someone then I'll probably have a fire at camp for social gathering more than anything. I would rather have top notch gear than have to rely on fire to warm myself or dry my things at the end of the day.

Having a fire during the day while sitting or glassing has never made much sense to me. If I suddenly see an animal I want to pursue I then have to deal with putting out the fire first, which to do properly takes more time than I would want to spend dealing with it.

This past fall I watched these two guys with a day fire on the very top of this hill which could be seen for miles in all directions. Maybe their goal was for every hunter in the area to know their location. If so it worked.

 

[Stickmark]

Last elk hunt, no fire, just stove and stars.
Bowhunting ,sometimes, a hot tea can be nice after a hard day of just out of range deer .

 

[Chuckybmd]

Only if I feel like I’m about to freeze to death.

Otherwise I like not to have that smoky feeling all over.

Makes for faster time to sleeping bag and time to trail not to have it.