Tree stand guys and scent control

[Fadetoblack188]

is their anyone who doesn’t care much for scent control with their clothes and still kill big bucks every year?

 

[wind gypsy]

Dan Infalt and the hunting public guys sure don't seem to worry about it much.

 

[WCB]

I don't kill big bucks every year but that may depend on what you consider big...I use 0 scent control besides hunting the wind and don't walk across where the deer will be walking. Works pretty well for me.

 

[OXN939]

A lot of people say it doesn't matter, but I've found the amount of noise you make to be a good analog for the rest of your sensory profile in the woods. It's probably not possible to be perfectly silent getting to your stand, but it's sure as hell a way better idea not to set your car alarm off and snap a bunch of branches on the way in. The 5.5 year old 10 point I killed last year walked downwind of me at 150 yards and didn't spook. Would I have gotten the shot opportunity I did if I had been ripping cigs and playing with my dog right before I got in the stand? Who knows, but I doubt it.

 

[jmez]

My best friend does. Pays zero mind to scent control. Pays very close attention to wind and thermals. Hangs his stands and hunts the accordingly.

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[cobbc03]

Its been proven time and time again that scent control does absolutely nothing to actually kill your scent. The only thing proven to work using dogs has been ozone. There have been several "studies" of this done in magazines like Field and Stream, and Outdoor Life. I hunt wind direction as much as possible and manage to kill bucks every year, its NY so my 130" 7+ year old isn't all that big, but he was still a mature buck.

 

[crich]

I dont go crazy but make an effort to mitigate odor for sure. Dont pump gas, rub on the dog, wear perfumed deodorant etc... Rubber boots are huge IMO. I've personally seen deer react totally different when cutting my trail if I wore rubber or leather boots that day. Talked to others that have observed the same.

If youre hunting a semi permanent fixed stand the mature bucks know its there. You can hunt the wind all you want but they'll go downwind before they come into an area where theyve smelled a human in the past. Getting up higher and wearing rubber boots have allowed me to noticeably see more bucks. Using milkweed instead of a scent puffer bottle will let you see exactly what the wind isndoing with your scent. Wind direction isnt the whole picture.


All that said, my moms cousin gives 0 shits about any of it and smokes in the tree. He has quite a few nice bucks in his living room. To each their own...

 

[Nkustan]

I don’t really believe in any form of scent control, if a deer gets your wind you are screwed no matter what. Just try to be quiet as possible in transit and pay close attention to your wind.

 

[Scottyboy]

I killed my first and only whitetail buck this year In Nebraska from a tree stand, peeing not less than 10 minutes before I launched my arrow.

I do what I can to minimize my scent I suppose but no means go the extra mile.

 

[Michael54]

Its just a whole bunch of extra money spent for a false peace of mind. Regardless of what you do your scent is still there. Limiting movement, sound, and hunting the wind is more effective.

 

[Gman12]

I think most hunters do not fully understand much about scent. They believe that when a deer smells a hunter that the deer has smelled his clothing which is mostly false. Humans smell like humans to a deer. For instance anyone who has been around a farm knows what a cow smells like and they also know what a horse smells like. Cows and horses have a certain scent and we, as humans, can easily tell the difference. The deer's sense of smell is so great that it can easily pick up on the smallest hint of human scent. While I bathe in unscented hunting soap, wash my clothes in unscented detergent, wear rubber boots, use unscented deodorant, etc, it is only a tiny fraction of what the deer is actually smelling. What he is smelling is you and there is absolutely nothing that can change that other than hunting the wind.

 

[Se7en39]

I think most hunters do not fully understand much about scent. They believe that when a deer smells a hunter that the deer has smelled his clothing which is mostly false. Humans smell like humans to a deer. For instance anyone who has been around a farm knows what a cow smells like and they also know what a horse smells like. Cows and horses have a certain scent and we, as humans, can easily tell the difference. The deer's sense of smell is so great that it can easily pick up on the smallest hint of human scent. While I bathe in unscented hunting soap, wash my clothes in unscented detergent, wear rubber boots, use unscented deodorant, etc, it is only a tiny fraction of what the deer is actually smelling. What he is smelling is you and there is absolutely nothing that can change that other than hunting the wind.

Agreed!


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[cuttiebrownbow]

Unscented shampoo, soap and laundry detergent. I try to know areas well enough to know what wind gets them moving through and set up so the wind isn’t going to bow them out or prevent them from coming my way.

I do a lot of random hunts over many properties that I don’t really scout. I just assume travel routes based on topography, food and cover then make sure my wind isn’t blowing where I think they would be traveling.


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[LostArra]

I think most hunters do not fully understand much about scent. They believe that when a deer smells a hunter that the deer has smelled his clothing which is mostly false. Humans smell like humans to a deer. For instance anyone who has been around a farm knows what a cow smells like and they also know what a horse smells like. Cows and horses have a certain scent and we, as humans, can easily tell the difference. The deer's sense of smell is so great that it can easily pick up on the smallest hint of human scent. While I bathe in unscented hunting soap, wash my clothes in unscented detergent, wear rubber boots, use unscented deodorant, etc, it is only a tiny fraction of what the deer is actually smelling. What he is smelling is you and there is absolutely nothing that can change that other than hunting the wind.

Agree but a deer's reaction can vary greatly. Sometimes they come unhinged and exit immediately and sometimes they almost act like they don't even care.

Has anyone else noticed that a deer you have decided NOT to shoot will give you all sorts of opportunities both upwind and downwind? This is usually not a mature doe.

 

[Aces11]

I used to do everything scent free, that included washing clothes in scent killer, keeping clothing in tubs using ozone killer, showering scent free, scent free deodorant, etc. I don’t shower in scent free anymore and don’t keep my clothing in tubs with ozone either. Most of the time I hop in a boat and drive to my spots. Haven’t noticed deer busting me anymore than they would before. Try to play the wind and expected travel routes is the best. Like Gypsy said, there is proven killers that pay zero attention.

 

[CharlieTX]

I hunted this year from a 17’ ladder stand and had deer walk directly underneath me, and actually shot my buck at 21 yards, the past years I hunted front a pop up and had deer within 5 yards and most times I would come straight from work not even change clothes and go straight to the blind, I have never used any sort of scent control. Before I had the pop up I sat in a lawn chair in my leafy suit on the edge of farm land and had deer within 15-20 yards then too, occasionally had a doe that would be wary but I would be super still and didn’t have problems .

 

[ewescue]

MY belief is that scent control is nothing more than a marketing ploy in the hunting industry. One that works, and has made some companies a lot of money. I won't go into the specifics as to why I believe that, as many of my thoughts have already been said above.

I will say, I haven't done any form of scent control in years and have more than a few encounters with mature bucks every season. Kill atleast one or two every year, zero scent control. There are far more important factors to killing big bucks than scent control.

That being said, learn the wind, learn thermals, learn how air acts as a fluid when traversing the landscape. How it eddies behind hills, swirls in bottoms, how air reacts differently on north vs south slopes, etc.. Dive into this, learn as much as you can, and you will be a better hunter.

 

[WhatToHunt]

I think like others have said there is a mixture of over the top marketing on scent control as well as legitimacy to taking some precautions. I'm not going to apply Old Spice deodorant and then go into the woods or launder my clothes in Tide. I'd rather err on the side of caution and do what I can to limit the amount of scent I bring into the woods. For me, that means showering with unscented soap and washing my clothes in scent free detergent. But I completely agree, knowing the wind and understanding thermals is most important.

 

[mustangpalmer1911]

I am just getting into archery hunting and learning sent control. As simple as so much of it is it cant hurt. Built an outdoor storage area under our deck, and keep the cloths in the Hardigg mil surplus waterproof crates I had for storage. I think deep woods deer are going to be a lot more influenced by scent than the typical rural farming area where they are eating in yards and fields regularly frequented by man and machine.

 

[CharlieTX]

Also to add I always set up with the wind in my favor