PoisonSnake Tip of the Week (Week 6)

[PoisonSnake]

Let's talk scent control here. Now, if any of you fellows were to know me at all, you would know I am a bit OCD. Anyway, here is how the Snake does things.

I use Scent-Away natural or fresh earth soap and baking soda for my clothes. I wash everything and store them in the plastic totes. I separate everything in to about 3 boxes. I have undergarments (yes, this includes towels and underwear), lightweight, and then heavyweight clothes. Prior to washing my clothes or taking them from the washer to the dryer, I always spray my hands and arms down to eliminate human scent. Do the same prior to folding them and putting them away. I use the white oak and earth wafers in the totes, although I think this may be a bit overbearing and unnatural to a deer's nose. I take showers before every hunt, and I spray down my entire body right after drying off. I never get dressed until I reach my hunting area. I generally wear shorts and a t-shirt on the drive over, but, I have been known to drive over in my underwear as well. I spray down again once I am dressed, and do the same once I get to the stand. Going in light as I do (see previous tip), I will generally try to carry any heavier clothes as to prevent sweating. I use baking soda on my head, under my arms, and around the crotch area. I am a bit anal and have been known to wash clothes and shower between a morning and afternoon hunt (note: I always will shower).

I may not kill big deer like some fellows continue to do. But, this works for me. It does freak the wife out when she sees me spraying down just to get clothes out of the washer though. Oh, and I used to hang dry all of my clothes until my neighbor got one of those outdoor wood furnaces. I've been reading up on smoking your clothes though, and I am a bit intrigued by the thought of that as a cover scent.

[RB]

We usually have a fire every night and wear the same clothes the next day. We might use a cover scent and that's about it. Probably why we don't kill a lot of deer.

[hunting170]

I`m not 100% convinced that you can fool a deer`s nose. I have a friend that is almost as anal as you about scent control. He even has a washer & dryer exclusively for his hunting clothes. One morning we were hunting close enough to each other that I could see the woods he was hunting. I was amazed at the number of deer that ran out of that woods, directly downwind of him.

The only thing I would suggest that you change would be to use mesh bags, full of dry leaves, in your totes. It`s about as natural a cover scent as you will find.

Carry on.

[Warmouth]

I do all of that Snake, except that I washed my hands with baking soda instead of spraying them to handle my cleaned clothes. From the deer I observed it did make a big difference. I also put my clothes in a giant ziplock right out of the drier (dried with a big handfull or two of baking soda thrown in with wet clothes) before putting them in rubbermade containers. I even washed my glasses with baking soda.

Lately I've just been playing the wind and not paying near the attention I used to give to scent control.

What convinced me to go this route was getting busted a couple times hunting a swirly little north facing steep slope. Wind was from everywhere ever few minutes, and I got busted a couple different times from 50-60yrds out.

I don't know if it is the bow grip, boots, or what, but in the area I hunt now, I get busted more often no matter how much effort I put into it. That, and the few times I got lazy with scent and hunted anyway with the wind right, I saw just as many deer as ever.

[PoisonSnake]

Oh, I still get busted. I don't believe you can fool them. But, at least I try.

I have thought about using those big bags as well. May do that next year.

[Warmouth]

I dump a bunch of baking soda in the bag with the clean clothes before a hunt, and to store them in the off season. I do think I have flat tricked deer before with scent, but there is something not quite right about what I've been doing the last couple of years. That, or the deer at the old place weren't as tough as the deer at the new place.

[RB]

The wind is the most important. When I use to smoke I had upwind deer walk right to me and bam cig and all

[PoisonSnake]

I would tend to agree with that statement RB. But, during the rut, you hunt. If the wind is blowing 90 to nothing, you hunt. Sometimes, you have to take chances. So, you have to do your dangdest to put the odds in your favor.

Late season, I play the wind big time. And, a couple of times during late season, after all of my preparation.... I believe I have been smelled by deer up wind of me. I can't be certain they were blowing at me. But, they were sure as heck blowing over on the next property a couple hundred yards away.

Nearly every sit this past season, I could have killed deer. But, I'm not just hunting deer. I'm hunting a deer.

[RB]

I would tend to agree with that statement RB. But, during the rut, you hunt. If the wind is blowing 90 to nothing, you hunt. Sometimes, you have to take chances. So, you have to do your dangdest to put the odds in your favor.

Late season, I play the wind big time. And, a couple of times during late season, after all of my preparation.... I believe I have been smelled by deer up wind of me. I can't be certain they were blowing at me. But, they were sure as heck blowing over on the next property a couple hundred yards away.

Nearly every sit this past season, I could have killed deer. But, I'm not just hunting deer. I'm hunting a deer.

PS, that is correct as well and important for a bow hunter more so than someone with a 7mm Rem mag. I don't bow hunt so if they run off and I can see them and get a shot it's over. With a bow its not even going to happen.

[Rafe Hollister]

2010 season I got lazy one day and overslept. I skipped my shower and half-assed sprayed with my Evolve scent killer. I went out to a stump where I had stacked some sticks to make a blind. I knew deer would be coming one direction or another on that trail. Well, the east wind was awful light, but enough that a doe walking the trail with her 2 fawns winded me. She stopped, left her fawns in the trail and circled around behind me thru some brush, to look at me from behind the blind. She made me out and she and the fawns bolted.

So I went back to the cabin to do things right. I showered, sprayed every stitch of clothes, and went back out. On the walk to my next setup, I spotted 3 deer in the main road. They appeared to be headed up the hill, so I let them get up into the trees, then walked very slowly and quietly to look up the hill where I thought they'd be going. I got about 50 yards away and saw it was 3 young bucks, 2 forkhorn and a 6-pt. While I was standing on the hill, about 10 yards off the road, those goofy deer decided to come back down the hill and hit the main road. They walked right beside me. I was standing still as a statue and they were right on the edge of the road and trees, immediately to my west. None of the 3 winded me. I could've done a PS and stabbed any one of them to death.

Now, that first deer that winded me was an old doe with 2 babies, while those 3 stupid young bucks never noticed me. Point is, even though I don't think you can really fool most deer, the scent control products have to help some. I will continue to use them, as well as put the wind in my face as much as possible.

[SAMCRO]

I do nothing for scent control.

[RB]

I do nothing for scent control.

SC does not need scent control...............he kills good bucks...........because



















he smells like a doe.

[SAMCRO]

SAMCRO learned long ago that you will not fool a deer's sense of smell. I don't use special soaps, I don't wash my clothes in anything special, and I don't use sprays. I just stay clean, and I don't hunt unless the prevailing wind is what is going to work.

Now, the wind will swirl and change around on you like a mother, so this isn't foolproof for most stands. There are exceptions, but most stands you could get screwed at any time.

I tied a surveyor's ribbon on a tree this year at eye level just to see what the wind did. My yard dips off into a deep draw that flattens to about 100 yards wide. Because of that steep draw, the wind does crazy things. No matter what, you can count on the wind changing directions multiple times in a given sit. All you can do is hunt the prevailing wind, and hope your animal wanders in when it's doing what you like.

All of the special soaps, sprays, boots, clothing, wafers and rituals are utter bullchit that do nothing except make the hunter feel as though he's done the impossible. He hasn't.