Since our UP camp is two rooms (eating, kitchen, lounging, wood stove in one - sleeping in other) I kept my hunt clothes,boots in my vehicle. Best option I had.
I feel like I have done as good of a job as a I can over the last few years on the deer that I see. I have not seen any deer bust my scent trail on the way in nor get down wind and bust me that way as well, but I try to play the wind as best I can for my setups. Now again, those are only based on deer sighted. For the last 10 years or so I have worn ScentLok and kept my clothes in air-tight pouches. I take scent free showers (as scent free as possible....) and get dressed outside at the truck each hunt. I also have a large tote for my rubber boots. Over the years the tote has collected leaves, dirt, etc. and I never use those boots for anything other than hunting. Over the years I have sprayed Scent Killer over my boots liberally multiple times each season and allowed it to air dry on the boots before hunting. This year I thought I’d try Nose Jammer in situations where the wind was likely to be swirling. I used it 3 or 4 times early in November and had a few occasions where 1.5 yr old bucks, younger does, and fawns were within 5-10 yards downwind of my tree and they never thought twice. I sprayed some my boots and also a few of the trees nearby my stand. I understand there is really no way to fool a mature deer’s nose and that playing the wind is the best thing you can do, but if doing things and also trying the "gimmicks" out there give me an edge on not disturbing the younger deer population well then I'm better off.
It is interesting how scentloc won that huge court case arguing scent loc does work by using activated carbon as an effective media for human odor adsorption.
Cover scent. A scent loud enough to step on part of my scent? I have used fresh earth fabric sheets in the dryer for a brief tumble. A half a sheet , and then toss it in a bag with my cloths. Result , scent of fresh earth. Not overly alarming to deer. But some if not many get kind of curious if whiffing fresh earth. That would be my choice if delving into cover scents again. Most others I've tried are either too loud , or out of place. I have noticed my wool shirt smells like wool. Butterscotch is my inaccurate description. Don't know the last time deer I watched caught my actual scent. Playing the wind helps. My usual spot has my back pretty well covered from deer getting downwind of me though. For "normal"/more common air flows anyway.
The day I need to cover myself in dust to be able to enjoy a hunt is the day I find something new to enjoy. Hunt an area with the wind in mind. Light a smoke, drink a coke, take a poke. Put the check in the mail and thank me later.
I used scent web acorn and vanilla last week. I wont use it in bow season due to the number of bear in the area. Thought the bears were sleeping, I thought wrong...
I have a set of scent lock coveralls I keep in a zip scent lock bag I put on over base clothes when I get to hunt site. All my jackets, hat, gloves, pack, etc I keep in big plastic tote with fresh cut balsam, white pine, and cedar boughs. The clothes smell like an evergreen forest when you pull the out. I put scent lock head covering over cap when I get to stand. I pick a small apple off the tree at parking spot to eat on way to stand. Figure it gives me apple breath for at least a little bit. There are apple trees around most of my stand locations as well as pine, balsam and cedar. Still hunt the wind but occasions where something comes in downwind there is usually not an issue. I also shower before each hunt with scent free soap. Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman
Everyone knows once Thanksgiving is over, you have to eat apple pie in the stand and the deer come runnin'!
Before all the new-fangled scent controls, there was skunk scent. Killed a lot of deer using it. Don't anymore, thanks to scent free soap.
This year I found the teriyaki jerky & goldfish cracker cover scent was the ticket for me, paired with a properly chilled Diet Coke. It’s money!
My venison stew and beer farts cover my garlic n butter backstrap breath. My hunting clothes usually sit in a pile by the door where I take them off. I may have washed them once in 2 years. I think the pike slime from last years ice fishing trip may be a cover scent. If not that then I know steelhead jizz has to be.
Anybody ever hear of using one of those bee keeper smoke guns? A guy on my Facebook does fills with, pine, cedar or whatever he is hunting around smokes his clothes says it works