Discussion: Intentional lack of scent control

I listened to a guy talk about hunting mainly private property. He said he tries to smell the same every time he goes on his property and takes no steps to prevent his scent in fact he rubs around on trees and bushes throughout his property every time he goes on. His claim is the deer no longer associate him with danger. He said he does this year round. My thinking is, if this is true, what happens when he does shoot a deer and his scent is in the area when it happens.

Yeah. I know some guys that will tie their worn t-shirts around the trees during the off season in hopes to get the deer accustomed to the human scent. I can't really say if it is effective.

I think hunting the wind is probably the easiest best thing to do if you're worried about it. I can't say I always do that though.

I don't intentionally leave my scent, but i don't use anything to mask it either. IMO, there's no way to fool a deer's nose with something manmade. If there were, drug runners would be using it to fool drug dogs.

All the TV shows and celebrities say it can be done so obviously that's true right?

I think it has less to do with scent in particular and more to do with general exposure to humans without getting shot at.

That's why I can drive a tractor with a couple bales right by them feeding cows. If I shot at them while doing this that wouldn't occur. Seems to work better with does. Mature bucks still seem to head the other way.

A few years ago an old hunter told me that it isn't the human scent that bothers deer, it is the introduction of some different smell. Ive come to believe he is right.

I just try and leave no scent at all.

I have known a few guys over the years that use ZERO scent control. And a few of them smoked like chimneys and they killed the hell out of deer. They simply hunted the wind. I personally use cover scents but I also hunt the wind.

I try to hunt the wind if possible but still try to eliminate odors

I dont hunt a stand if the wind is not right period. Otherwise its just a goat , go shoot one if you like.

I know a guy that slays them with a bow every year. And smokes his ass off in the stand... And I have stopped worrying about taking a leak out of my stand anymore. Even considering pissing in active scrapes... I DO try to hunt the wind, and keep odor down. But have also been turkey hunting - ZERO scent thought whatsoever. And freaked a bunch of deer out. They came around, scented me, couldn't find me and lost it. Hung around downwind for over 30 minutes stomping/grunting/blowing - never did figure out what or where I was. Had same basic things happen more than once during deer season. just depends...

I use tobacco smoke and farts as cover scent.

Geno, i actually had a 50 y/o man tell me one time that he had to come down out of his stand because he had gas and didn't want to spook deer. He was dead serious.

Scent free is the way to be.. Hehe i try to be any ways and always hunt the wind no matter what. the wind will make or break any hunt when critters with good noses are envolved

Hunting the wind is far more important than spending $1,000 dollars on a Scent-Lok suit, scent free detergents, sprays, toothpaste, mouthwash, chapstick, buttwipes, etc.

Most of that crap is made to fool hunters rather than deer.

this ^^^

purely anecdotal, but the deer-killin'est man I knew never wore camo and never worried about "scent control".

He'd drive his Suzuki Samurai to wherever he wanted to hunt that particular morning, back it up into the trees a little bit to halfway hide it, leave it running so he could keep the heat on, smoke and drink coffee, and then roll the window down and shoot when he saw something he felt like shooting.

take it for what it's worth.

Wind, Wind, Wind. Nothing man made will cover your human scent totally. I have a friend who has never bought any camo, no cover scents, doesn't own rubber boots and kills the heck out some bucks and has for 25+ years. He eats, drinks, spits dip, and pees out of the stand, he said play the right wind and your good to go.

I do as much as I can to reduce foreign odor in the woods, but the wind is ultimately what makes or breaks your hunt IMO.

You'll never see that old buck if you're wind is wrong, assuming he's thinking with the head on his shoulders and not the one between his legs.

I'll spray my boots and clothes with Scent Killer spray periodically, since it's cheap, but that's it. Otherwise, play the wind.

I've been within 10-15ft of deer during turkey season, covered in bug spray and sweating like Hugh Freeze in an NCAA investigation hearing, and they never knew I was there because the wind was in my favor.

I like that analogy Gomer haha.

Wind. All else is bullchit. sprays, wafers, ozonics, powders, detergents all waste of money. the four i killed this past year were done without "scent control".

Scent products (along with any "must have" camo) are just another marketing ploy of the tv hunting show generation. Knowing how to scout, hunting the wind, and being still are 20x more important than what camo pattern you use or whether you use scent control.

90% of the time,I hunt in blue jeans and whatever shirt. When its cold, I slip on my camo coveralls. Wind is your friend.

I use cover scent..... that said, I haven't always and it didn't hurt then. I used to smoke and I shot deer with a cig hanging out of my mouth. it does make sense to just get them used to your scent. what happens if they later get shot while your scent is around? well, that deer won't care. he is dead. the others that are around won't care either. they won't be afraid of pine all of a sudden either. the point is to make sure something bad doesn't happen to them the ONE time when that scent is present.
How did people hunt for thousands of years without "dead down wind"? haha

Also, we have to remember that scent isn't like sight or hearing. yes, they can smell better than us, but they can lose it too. it's not like staring at something or listening to a song playing. their sense is better, but it's still smell. it depends on the wind and they can't "aim" at it as well as you could with sight or even sound.

now remember, I started this by saying i do use a cover. i think it can help in some cases. but it's just one part in a bigger strategy.

But let's scale smell! Even humans can smell ppl that haven't showered in days. Shower with a non-scent soap and ppl can no longer smell you.

Scale this to a deer's nose. It's all about PPM of scent molecules. You CAN reduce your scent to a degree where a deer may NOT smell you. But if you have more PPM of scent, then a deer will be more likely to smell you.

Reduce your PPM and you'll get busted less. No, you can't fool a deer's nose but you can take steps to lessen the detection. IMO, of course.

Antlerfluke, people have some of the worst smelling ability in nature. You can't even compare the two. Deer have over 300 million receptors on their nose. Dogs have only 200 million. Drug dogs can smell dope wrapped in plastic submerged in a gas tank. Think about that for a minute and then try and convince yourself that the soap your using is going to keep an animal that has better smelling ability than the drug dog, from smelling you. It ain't going to happen. Thats the reality of it. Dogs can smell cancer growing inside of people, you really think showering before going hunting is going to keep a deer from smelling you? Really? Thats how commercialized deer hunting has become. People make millions of dollars advertising for companies. Even they will admit they get busted by deer. Its all about thermals. I don't use anything and have had deer directly down wind of me and them not smell me. Why? Because my scent plume was not reaching the ground due to the air rising and going over their head, in the mornings. BTW, deer don't always blow when they smell you, thats another urban legend. I had an 8 ptr come within 10 yards of me in September one year when i was hanging a stand. He was casually walking until he got downwind and freaked out and hauled ass, but never blew. I looked at my son, and said "See they don't always let you know when they've smelled you, bucks anyways. If it gives you more confidence to go hunting and sit longer by all means do whatever it takes, but it wont help.

I agree with blumsden, don't believe the dang advertising, they laugh all the way to the bank. Hunt the wind.

Would have been better to stay up there and let her rip. lol

Marketing/advertising gets the best of everyone sooner or later. I know I've bought stuff that I didn't need.

blumsden, do you really think I don't know all that? I am well aware of the superiority of any animal's nose and how Parts Per Million of scent molecules work.

I said a person can stink (it's bacteria growing, usually or it could be from a petroleum product) and be smelled by another human. Then, that person can shower with an unscented soap, and A PERSON (A "person". I did not say deer!) could then, not smell or detect that formerly stinking person.

Putting smell detection "on a scale", I certainly realize that a human ranks way low HOWEVER, putting smell detection on a scale of Parts Per Million or PPM helps understand and scale scent detection.

I.E. 2000 lbs of "crap" pilled up will have MORE PPM of scent molecules than one pound of crap. Put that on a scale which goes from a ton of crap to one oz of crap.

The further the distance is from the scent originator (crap), the less likely scent is detected, right? (And to take away an argument, the wind is blowing horizontal at 4 mph from the crap to whoever's nose.) A human can smell an oz of crap within a few inches but back off 100 ft, and the human can't smell the crap. Well, AT SOME POINT in distance, the same will hold true for a deer. A TON of crap has more PPM than the oz of crap. You can't argue with that, right?

So, because of the PPM, it is physics that would dictate that scent detection for the "ton" of crap would be greater than the "oz" of crap, right?

At some point in distance, the ton of crap will not be able to be detected, right? And I know the human detection will be at less distance than a deer.

Let's use paper mills... at some point in distance, scent detection of a paper mill, even for a deer, will become non detectable, right? Why? Because the PPM of scent molecules will play out or become DILUTED!

So, if you scale it out scientifically, scent detection is a matter of PPM of scent molecules. Lessen you scent molecules, lessen your scent detection. This applies for humans AND deer.

So my point, a hunter CAN lessen his PPM of scent molecules and maybe, just maybe, get away with not being scented at a further distance. The hunter with fewer scent molecules or PPM's is scented less than the hunter with more scent molecules.

Can you fool a deer's nose? HELL NO!!! Not if the deer scents you. Can you lesson your chance of getting scented by a deer by being "an oz of crap rather than a TON of crap", yes you can.

Opinions are opinions. Science or PPM of scent molecules is science and facts IS facts.

IF YOU REDUCE YOUR SCENT MOLECULES, from a standpoint of physics, you reduce an animal's ability to detect you.

So my point... when you're in the woods, be an oz of crap and not a ton of crap. You cannot argue with the science of scent molecules in a PPM scale and the science of scent dilution.

Still and yes, hunt the wind but do what you can to lessen your scent molecules. Final note... don't paint me into a stance where I claim to throw all caution to the wind (no pun intended) and use commercial scent eliminators. I do what I can to eliminate my scent AND, I hunt the wind.

Dang fluke, sounds like you have it all figured out.

I just use logic and science and, common sense. I am not so delusional to think I ALWAYS fool a deer's nose but I am not going to make it easy for the deer to smell me. I do what I can to lessen my scent molecules or PPM and maybe the buck won't smell me until he gets at, say, 100 yds from me instead of 300 yard.

A human can smell another human dunked in gasoline from several feet away. A human cannot smell another human that's showered in non-scented soap from the same distance.

The Same Principle applies to a deer's nose EXCEPT, the distances would be much further.

Part Per Million of scent molecules or PPM lives matter.

https://i.imgur.com/WxrddRn.jpg

Camo clothing for me makes it easier to move around and to have the ability to put thermals on underneath and I do practice scent control. NO one knows when the wind will shift or a deer will come in from a different direction or even cross the path you've walked in on and leave the area

the whole intentional lack of scent control is a huge LOAD OF CRAP and ranks right beside global warming in the good idea arena.

Ok Antler, i completely agree with you that you can reduce your scent, but you'll never convince me that you will do it to a scale that will be enough so a deer wont smell you.

I have gone to lengths to reduce my scent to the point that my plan will, and has, bought me yards and seconds before I am detected. Sometimes that is enough distance or time to allow me to seal the deal. One will never be able to stay undetected by a six year old doe standing downwind IN the scent stream...but I may be able to fool the two year old doe that the six year old buck is following into my shooting zone.

seconds and yards don't matter as much gun hunting but can make or break a bow hunt.

Blumsden, I don't disagree with you, to a point. My scent reduction may only give me, like B'Fred said, a few extra yards before the deer busts me.

I used to wear all that ScentLok stuff and wore it on my head too but you're still going to get busted. I just reduce my scent, as I said, from a ton of chit to an oz of chit!!!

LOL! And I'd be FOS if I thought those scent reduction products all work!

I've had deer within 5 yards of me plenty of times, and they never knew i was there. Problem with this discussion is, nobody has anyway of proving anything. It's just what we do and how we do it that gives us confidence and no matter what anyone else says, we'll continue doing it that way because it works for us.

Still waiting for that girl on her period to chime in.

I agree with all the "wind" guys, with one caveat. If you are hunting a large, old buck and trying to kill him in a food plot, playing wind, it won't work, or won't work a lot of the times. Why? An old buck enters a food plot from the downwind side no matter what. The modern technology of cameras has shown me this. better to play the wind and get him early in morning on the route you know he is likely to travel.

ALFisher, I don't hardly ever hunt right on a food plot unless I'm in a box stand while it is raining or I was running late. Usually when I'm trying to catch a big buck he is circling the plot looking for does anyhow. So I usually set up 30 to 40 yards off the plot. They typically circle between me and the plot.

I hunt the wind..... always

But checking cameras ECT I Don't bother trying to hide anything. Doesn't seem to bother my deer at all. Guess they are used to me being around all the time

You can reduce your scent but if he is down wind from you he will smell you. Now that doesn't mean he is always going to bolt because sometimes they can get distracted by other things, especially during the rut if a hot doe has been in the area the last day or so.

You are kidding yourself if you think you can fool them if they are on alert, which they normally are.

And during the rut is the best time to hunt off of a food plot. They will come in it if there are does in it, but before the does come out they will circle the plot on the downwind side to see if anything catches their nose's interest. Blahblah is correct, they will be about 15 to 20 yards in the woods off of the plot and generally won't enter unless they smell does out there. When I bowhunted a plot, this is how I did it. Now I try to watch the woodline as much as I do the plot until the does come out.

We had about 200 feet of elevation change at my old lease in South Ala. On any given day, the wind will blow from all directions. When the wind was steady from the N or NW, the hunting was better because most of our stands were set up that way for the prevailing wind. I always keep cotton in my back pack, so I can turn loose tiny pieces to see what the thermals are doing. When your scent starts going down, so do your chances of killing a deer. Pine needles are about my only scent control.

I hunt a piece of public land in Fl that is a long narrow strip of woods between a bicycle trail and a river. The bike trail is very heavily used and the river gets some use from canoes and other small boats. I've never had a deer act like it smelled me there. I guess there could be some that I don't see because they smell me, but I've never had one blow at me or even act like they smelled me at all. Those folks on bikes really talk loud also. You can hear most everything they say. Deer don't seem to mind that either. Killed several bucks there over the years.

My guess is that man killed deer because he hunted. I bet he stayed in his stand longer because he was warm and comfortable.

This may be the biggest crock of shucks I've ever heard. No wild deer will ever associate the smell of a human with safety. They may get used to the noise and sight of people but I find it hard to believe that a deer is gonna smell a human and think everything is ok. The goal is to minimize the human scent in your hunting spot so staying the hell out of there until you hunt that spot makes more sense. But, to each his own.

I don't do anything with scent control other than hunt the wind. I will not hunt a place if the wind is wrong. I don't have any BC bucks on the wall but I see a helluva lot of deer by just trying to stay downwind.


Dr. B

I do zero scent control and try to just use the wind as a guide.

But I will "smoke up" before a hunt fairly often if I'll be in an area with unpredictable wind. Or if I'll be stalking. It is amazing what a good smoking of leaves, pine needles will do to cover your scent...just bring a little 2' galvanized pan with you, start a fire, add some green needles and leaves and let it roll white smoke for 5 minutes. Stand right over it and let it soak into you fabric and your pores. Pee on it to put it out or put a lid on it to snuff it out. Be on your way.

I've been upwind of many deer and typically they don't spook. Sometimes, but not often. Hint: Whree smoke drifts, go hunt in that direction.

The best hunter I know, and also know of makes scent control the biggest priority. Out of hunting clothes as soon as the hunt is over. Scent away shower before each hunt. And I you even think you sweat he washes clothes with scent a way again. I started doing it two years ago and it works. I saw bucks nearly every hunt.

Hunting with a gun is different. They won't smell you with the right wind and shooting over 100 yds. Being within 20 yds is a whole nother ball game.

Meh i kill good bucks every year, they must like the smell of my Grape Swishers

I always wonder how many deer I could have seen had it not been for me being smelled without my knowledge.

I'll add I've never bought into the whole dogs have way less receptors than deer, therefor deer are superior "smellers" . When someone can prove to me all receptors are created equal I might. I know what a cold nosed hound can do and I've observed deer for 40+ years. If deer can smell better/longer than a hound , where there is any hunting pressure at all , they'd never move in daylight.

i wish beer belly would post that article about the scent study the goverment did. Very informative and intresting.

So you say you don't believe wildlife biologist's? I do, and because i do, thats why i don't buy into fooling a deer's nose. I used to dog hunt years ago and rabbit hunted as well. I've been around those same cold nosed hounds you speak of. And yes a deer has a better nose than those cold nosed hounds. Mature deer, don't move much during the day, in most places, except during the rut. Guess what? A polar bear can smell blood from like 20 miles away, so maybe they have better smell than a deer, don't know.

I've had discussions on here and on the old QDMA forum about this subject and nobody has told me if all receptors are created equal. One biologist says a dog has 220 million and a deer has 290 million and that makes deer better smellers, BS! All dogs are not created equal, hounds and shepards have more receptors than other breeds. There is also something called Olfactory Genes that are needed to smell, dogs are #9 on the list, no member of the deer family made the top 10. For decades it was thought birds could not smell. But now it's know that buzzards have some of the keenest smellers in the animal kingdom, scientists really don't know why. They can home in on decaying flesh where the scent molecules are measured in parts per BILLION ! So if you wanta believe just because a deer has about 40% more receptors they can really smell better than a hound, knock yourself out. Me , I need more evidence.

It's not about beating a deer's nose completely, it's about a slight edge that might make him come a few steps closer . I fully believe that is possible as antlerfluke explained as well as I've ever seen.

I worry more about the scent I leave on the ground for deer to smell when I'm not there. RUBBER BOOTS