[Bucman]

I stand by a campfire to get my clothes all smokey it works very well (old timer taught me this).Deer are so use to people burning wood and leaves all the time that it doesn't even phase them. Have had many deer the past few years in close and down wind of me walk right on by and have no idea I was there.


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I witnessed the same this year. Burning leaves had virtually elimimnated my scen deer weer surrounding me and never alerted.

 

[jiggin is livin]

I witnessed the same this year. Burning leaves had virtually elimimnated my scen deer weer surrounding me and never alerted.

It makes sense. I have never tried it, but it makes more sense than changing everything about your life to try to do something you will never actually do, eliminate your scent.

 

[don]

Other than body and clothing cleanliness the most effective thing I can do is to not be there.
By that I mean having enough stands, blinds, ground sets, etc. choices available so I am not leaving residual scent in any one location on a regular basis.
The first time I hunt a stand has almost always been the most productive for me as long as I play the wind.
Hunting a stand more than once in 6-7 days has always resulted in fewer sighting, I believe no matter how careful you are, you are always leaving something behind as far as residual scent.

So my answer is no coverup scent at all for me, I’ll put the money saved towards another stand etc. giving me even more flexibility and as always and just as importantly, play the wind.

 

[anagranite]

The amount of money and time spent trying to be scent free could be spent on an additional hunt, treestand, more time to scout, and more time picking milkweed pods (best wind direction indicators and free).

 

[Dish7]

It makes sense. I have never tried it, but it makes more sense than changing everything about your life to try to do something you will never actually do, eliminate your scent.

I wonder if there is any carbon in smoke?

 

[Biggbear]

When I was a kid I used to sit with my Grandpa before I was 14 and old enough to legally hunt. We always sat in a natural ground blind, no roof, and in the U.P. it could be as cold as a mother-in-laws kiss. We used to sit dark to dark. One time I was freezing, I mean I thought I was gonna freeze to death before it was over. Around noon he built a small fire to warm me up, himself too I expect. At first I protested, I asked him if that would spook the deer? All he said was "don't worry about that, just keep your eyes open while I finish this." We shot a nice buck a half hour later. The wind was swirling bad that day, I could see the smoke changing direction every few minutes. That buck could have cared less. He told me later he used to start a small fire all the time when it was that cold, and it never bothered the deer one little bit, not even the bruisers. That was back in the days of red plaid wool, always a fire burning in camp, and those guys never changed before going out. They wore their red plaid hunting pants all day around the fire too.

If I was gonna worry about cover scent, I would hang my clothes near a wood fire. No clue how much it might help, but I know it won't hurt.

 

[retired dundo]

When watching the guys on the hunting public they hardly ever talk about any scent control .It is allways about hunting the wind

 

[bowhunter426]

When watching the guys on the hunting public they hardly ever talk about any scent control .It is allways about hunting the wind

Hunting public land spot one to two times doesn't really require the best scent control if you can keep the wind i your favor. There was an episode where Aaron missed out on a opportunity on a big Iowa buck. As soon as it hit his scent stream it was gone. Had they done some scent control the deer might not have reacted so negatively

Since using an ozone generator in my hunting gear tote I have noticed I have been hard scent busted less. Soft busts(deer winds you and alters path before you notice) is unknown. I attempt to have my stands positioned so deer can't won't likely come from that direction but it rarely works out that way.

I am still struggling with thermals, wind and deep ravines. Almost every time I hunt a certain spot I can tell that the deer know something is up. Milk weed shows my scent moving away but it must swirl further out and down into the ravine. My extend of scent control is to minimize walking where I expect the deer to be, using ozone in my tote and spraying down my boots. Anything more isn't worth the effort

 

[Bucman]

I have 2 spots like that. You just cant get a good wind with the lay of the land.

 

[jeffm]

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.

It's all I use. Picked up several boxes of this back in the early 80's when I lived in payson, Az. for calling critters. Just dont use it up wind of your sit.

 

[Macs13]

The smart guys on here have pointed out that a "cover" scent adds a new scent to the bouquet, but a deer's nose still smells whatever is there, you can't cover up what is already there, best thing is to try to eliminate your odor.

And yes, I have had good success with scentlok. It eliminates a significant amount of odor (not all, but enough to fool a deer into thinking you might be farther away and not a risk, at least that is the theory).

Actually, that's exactly what I like about the nose jammer line. The idea is that it covers you in a smell that is normal to deer. The deer still smell you, but you smell like plants that they're used to smelling.

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[Rasputin]

Actually, that's exactly what I like about the nose jammer line. The idea is that it covers you in a smell that is normal to deer. The deer still smell you, but you smell like plants that they're used to smelling.

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Typically, it seemed that the idea of a cover scent was to copy what works with humans. If we walk into a kitchen where they are making lasagna, you won't smell the daisies on the table, as our sense of smell is only able to pick out the stronger smells.

What you seem to be indicating is that you think the nose jammer changes what you smell like. Interesting thought. My understanding, though, is that if you have an odor (BO, stinky feet or bad breath) the deer will still smell that in addition to the new smell that you introduce. Apparently deer can smell numerous odors and separate them and identify them all at the same time. So if a deer walks into the kitchen, it will smell the lasagna, the daisies, the mouse under the cupboard and all 17 things in the garbage can.

My conclusion is that since I can't cover up my stench, I should try to reduce it and NOT introduce new, foreign smells to the deer's living room.

 

[Skibum]

It's all I use. Picked up several boxes of this back in the early 80's when I lived in payson, Az. for calling critters. Just dont use it up wind of your sit.
View attachment 610679

That was my go to in the 70's. Had a pin on felt dispenser on my coat. Don't think it helped but to this day I like the smell of skunk.

 

[Bucman]

Typically, it seemed that the idea of a cover scent was to copy what works with humans. If we walk into a kitchen where they are making lasagna, you won't smell the daisies on the table, as our sense of smell is only able to pick out the stronger smells.

What you seem to be indicating is that you think the nose jammer changes what you smell like. Interesting thought. My understanding, though, is that if you have an odor (BO, stinky feet or bad breath) the deer will still smell that in addition to the new smell that you introduce. Apparently deer can smell numerous odors and separate them and identify them all at the same time. So if a deer walks into the kitchen, it will smell the lasagna, the daisies, the mouse under the cupboard and all 17 things in the garbage can.

My conclusion is that since I can't cover up my stench, I should try to reduce it and NOT introduce new, foreign smells to the deer's living room.

While I agree you can't cover your stench but reducing it is a benefit. I only use nosejammer on my boots. I hunt the wind so I'm not concerned about downwind as much as not leaving my scent on my entry and exits.
It works

 

[Macs13]

While I agree you can't cover your stench but reducing it is a benefit. I only use nosejammer on my boots. I hunt the wind so I'm not concerned about downwind as much as not leaving my scent on my entry and exits.
It works

I think you said it better than I did. I spray it on my boots so that my tracks are at least covered up a bit. I do use the body care stuff because it seems a sensible alternative to normal soap and shampoo. I don't think it makes me invisible but instead that it makes me smell somewhat less intrusive.

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[Shawnxbow]

I think deer in zone 3 are use to a human smell. It’s the strong odor I think effects them. Think about people are everywhere. I had my BIL take a walk and shot a buck hour later. Now it was not a monster but a good six point. Last year the last day of ML season had 3 bucks come out and one was a monster. This after the neighbor removed his stand which was down wind and 80 yards from where they come out. So who knows


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[Captain of the 4-C's]

Deer that are frequently exposed to human scent are much less wary of smaller amounts of human scent. I could get away with a lot of laziness in Oakland County. Up here in Kalkaska county - its a whole different story. In a UP cedar swamp on a deer that almost never encounters humans - it is even harder yet.