Scents for Hunting

[SteveMcD]

#5513

Not to hijack the other thread on Buck Lure. But who uses scents when bowhunting? I always thought “traditionally speaking” hunting unobtrusive meant no scent or scent free.

To me… and I’m sure to the deer it’s pretty obvious when bow hunting season starts because the woods smell like the equivalent of a Bordello on a hot July night, once hunting season starts. The deer are smelling all sorts of strange scents, some bottled with preservatives from other deer (questionable) that are not known to the area. Or some other synthetic manufactured scents.

Mature bucks are nocturnal to begin with… all these new strange scents in the woods is the equivalent of a fire alarm.

A store bought bottle of smell for some lucrative price cannot replace – Scouting, Woodsmanship and Archery Proficiency preparation.

I use to run every morning when I was younger, and I used to run past an apple orchard at 5 AM each morning and a motion light would go off, and I use to see some huge bucks that otherwise no one would ever know they were in the area or even existed.

[FUBAR]

#41937

I use scents off and on. Sometimes they work, most timnes not, lol. I like trying different things and different techniques. Just like using calls, I like the idea that I fooled something enough to have it respond

[ReadyHawk]

#50677

Yeah I hear ya Steve, scouting and woodsmanship are the way to go in an ideal traditional world. But lately it seems that one is up against “High-tech” bow hunters (come’er deer, cover scents, trailcams, fancy tree stands, modern photo print camo not to mention a bow that will shoot 320FPS). So this year I got me a ghillie poncho (ameristep 3d, just got it yesterday) and some buck lure. Who knows,,,all that just might scare them off. I agree that all that kind of stuff makes the woods smell completely different to the deer. (Just like hoppe’s on you gun during rifle season.) I used to just hide behind my quiver of arrows, now I got this poncho which may be more trouble than it’s worth, but gonna give it a try.

[SteveMcD]

#50723

ReadyHawk… the Gillie Poncho sounds cool! I am not immune to trying scents in the past. Experimentation is not a bad thing. I guess like anything else – use in moderation. I tried one of those locally famous doe urine scents in the early season several years back. A doe did come directly to it, tip toeing in – on full alert I might add. She sniffed the scent placed in drops on a log… and then spooked. It was a scent from a deer supposedly yes. But, not any deer she recognized from the local herd and she knew it and wasn’t buying it. So much for deer reaction to “authentic” scents.

Anyway.. all the best with your new set up. Please let us know how it works out. 8)

[William Warren]

#50741

Everything seems to get commercialized. There is nothing like the real thing, ie, a doe in heat. Find where the does will be when they go in heat (Apply Steve’s Woodsmanship Here) and you will likely see a buck… soon. No need to buy scents, the deer will make plenty. If you insist on playing with scents, and I’m not saying I haven’t, you can collect your own. Ever roll a single doe out of a bed during the rut? Go check out that bed carefully, you might find where she urinated before lying down. An upturned leaf full of urine will fill a small glass bottle. As I said, nothing like the real thing.
As a side note, one problem we face when we dabble with scents is the introduction of our own scent. One can never be sure that we are not contaminating an area while putting out the deer scent. I would bet that most instances of deer spooking from “scents” are actually detecting the one who put it out.
Just my 2 cents
Duncan

[SteveMcD]

#50756

Hi, Duncan.. I agree. Folks need to understand that many animals smell like we hear. You can observe this just walking your dog. They read many scents all at once, and then break them apart as to what they are smelling. Kind of like listening to an orchestra, and picking out the different sounds of the instruments.

I found found as long as you know where the deer are going to be. The best scent is no scent. And yes, I do use a scent elimination spray, but that is no substitute for being clean and clean clothing and footwear either. I keep my hunting clothes in a foot locker to minimize scent as much as possible.

I also carry Honey drops for my breath. Sorry I refuse to even consider “GUM-O-FLUAGE” LOL!!! 😆

[William Warren]

#50825

“Like an orchestra” I like that analogy! I guess when we use scents we are hoping for a deer that has lost it’s “touch” at picking you out!

[SteveMcD]

#50951

Duncan wrote: I guess when we use scents we are hoping for a deer that has lost it’s “touch” at picking you out!

In my case, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while! 😆

[Patrick]

#51875

Personally, I don’t use scents at all. I’ve always loathed the idea. It just seems to be the lazy way out, which is ironic because I am lazy. 😆

[gidaddy911]

#53533

I read somewhere (I think in Tips from the Old Timer) that before you go out, put some pine needles in your camp fire and step through it. The sent from the pine oils stick to your clothes and works as a natural scent. Haven’t tried it yet, but looking forward to it.

[SteveMcD]

#54011

gidaddy911 wrote: I read somewhere (I think in Tips from the Old Timer) that before you go out, put some pine needles in your camp fire and step through it. The sent from the pine oils stick to your clothes and works as a natural scent. Haven’t tried it yet, but looking forward to it.

There is a lot of merit to that. Provided there is Pine where you are hunting. There was an article a while back in TBM about home remedy scent elimination using the flora of your local hunting area. Makes sense. No pun intended. I am also beginning to think deer are getting wise to the scent of rubber boots too. So keep ’em clean and spray them down as well.

[David Petersen]

#54097

And provided you have a campfire before daylight when you go out. Steve’s note about boots is significant. Think about how much concentrated scent from your hands you are putting on your boot laces each time you lace ’em up. Hands and boot laces are the two biggest depositers of scent to your surroundings. I keep one hand on my bow and the other tucked under a pack shoulder strap or in a pocket when walking, to avoid the natural habit of moving brush and touching trees with hands as we go along. If you are upwind or downwind of game, well there you have it. But it’s temporary. If you walk through an area and leave your scent trail behind, and do it repeatedly, soon you’ll be out there all alone, even with elk which aren’t so spooky as deer. That, in my experience, is where scent control really counts — avoiding applying it to your surroundings for the long-term.

[Patrick]

#54195

David Petersen wrote: I keep one hand on my bow and the other tucked under a pack shoulder strap or in a pocket when walking, to avoid the natural habit of moving brush and touching trees with hands as we go along.

I’m so used to keeping my hands up and off the grass and off of the trees when I’m scouting/hunting from my dad drilling it into my head when I was a kid, that I find myself doing it even when I’m just on a casual hike.

[hrhodes]

#10841

I see that deer communicate with scents… it is their language. If I start spraying scents around where I am trying to hunt, it would equal someone jumping into a conversation in a foreign language when they only know a word or two… I prefer to hunt into the wind, keep myself and my gear as scent free as possible, and try not to be noticed. I also try to keep my gear as simple as possible. A bottle of some magic store bought spray just wouldn’t go with my homemade bow and army surplus woodland camo. I think Dave made a great suggestion about your bootlaces… if you tie your shoes with bacon grease on your fingers from cooking breakfast that morning, you have pretty much announced your presence to everything in the woods. To each his own on the use of scents, but there is my two cents.

[SteveMcD]

#12763

hrhodes wrote: I see that deer communicate with scents… it is their language. If I start spraying scents around where I am trying to hunt, it would equal someone jumping into a conversation in a foreign language when they only know a word or two… I prefer to hunt into the wind, keep myself and my gear as scent free as possible, and try not to be noticed.

Amen, Brother! 8)

[skifrk]

#13660

Sometime I use a scent but it is more of a cover and not doe in heat or anything like. The one scent I have had success with the elk ignoring me over is skunk cover scent.

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