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