How Late Is Too Late?

[Gunowner99]

Umm, well it has Stilbene disulfonic acid triazine derivative which says it The compound is a popular optical brightener for use in laundry detergents.

[unclejumbo]

Umm, well it has Stilbene disulfonic acid triazine derivative which says it The compound is a popular optical brightener for use in laundry detergents.

https://www.amazon.com/SPORT-WASH-LA...001OPJ5OW?th=1

[Gunowner99]

Sounds good. Thanks!!

[TooBigToFit]

Sometimes, I'm a cheap bastard, and use pure unscented baking soda instead of expensive fancy hunting detergent.

[Gunowner99]

I bought some, will last me 64 washes which is plenty cheap for me.

So, wash everything in that? From jacket down to socks and drawers?

[Sandcut]

I used to walk in very early in the dark and make a lot of noise tripping over sticks and logs that are never quite illuminated by my headlamp. I've realized that I make less ruckus if I walk in just as it becomes light enough to see where I'm going and can chose where I place my feet. If deer are around, you may bump them regardless of when you walk in, in which case you still have to wait until the next one wanders through. But sometimes, if deer don't consider you to be a threat, will let you walk right by. The less ruckus you make, the less likely they are to get bumped from where they are (which is generally where they want to be).

Don't overthink hunting. This is hard to do when you're new, especially when you watch a lot of hunting shows. My recommendation is to stop watching hunting shows. Most of these guys do this for a living. Many of the hunts take place on game farms with food plots to concentrate the deer, cultivated genetic stock for big racks or else they hunt over feeders. Or, they are just in better geographic regions with bigger deer and a whole lot of scouting. Either way, watching them builds an unrealistic expectatin of what hunting really is like. The end result is that your average PA hunt will NEVER stack up to it and you will only ever be disappointed because reality can never match this cultivated fantasy. It's destructive in much the same way that some pornography can be to a relationship.

Forget most of what you've read about strategy. After the first day of rifle season (if not sooner because of all the hunters in archery and early muzzleloader seasons) a deer's regular behavior patterns go right out the door anyway. Your best bet to get a deer is not wearing the correct clothing patterns or the best scent blockers. You best bet on getting a deer is to simply be in the woods as frequently as possible. By getting in the woods you begin to start to see where, when and how they move in thst area. You begin to be able to spot game trails and browsed plants and piles of deer poo that you normally won't see right away when you start hunting. You have to build a search pattern in your brain for both sight and sound. You have to learn to "see" not just "look". And that takes time. And mostly, you need to learn to sit still. I absolutely suck at sitting still. But deer have much better eyesight than you do and they will see you fidgit long before you see them.

Just get out there and learn to hunt on your own. Learn what works for you. The guy on TV is selling something that he wants you to buy, even if it's just the airtime for his show.

[Hodgie]

I agree with Sandcut about hunting TV being 95% unrealistic bullshit.

The only hunting shows worth watching is The Meat Eater with Steven Rinella. He shows what realistic hunting is since the greater majority of his hunts happen on public land with no special access and he refuses to use pushers in order to guarantee a kill unlike other shows that are all game farms and push hunts. There are a quite many episodes where he goes home skunked.

Jim Schockys Uncharted is also great but that’s more like a National Geographic show where they might shoot something.

[Marcus99]

Don't get too crazy about the scent and clothes wash stuff just yet. YES deer can smell very good, but a lot of these products you see advertised are just gimmicks. The most simple and effective scent management is knowing which way the wind is blowing.

That being said, I know plenty of old timers that chain smoked in the woods, cooked lunch, etc.... and still shot deer. Hell I have a friend who starts a damn fire at his stand if it gets too cold.

[Marcus99]

I agree with Sandcut about hunting TV being 95% unrealistic bullshit.

The only hunting shows worth watching is The Meat Eater with Steven Rinella. He shows what realistic hunting is since the greater majority of his hunts happen on public land with no special access and he refuses to use pushers in order to guarantee a kill unlike other shows that are all game farms and push hunts. There are a quite many episodes where he goes home skunked.

Jim Schockys Uncharted is also great but that’s more like a National Geographic show where they might shoot something.

Rinella is great. I like Shockey too, but im not into many of the exotic hunts he goes on anymore. If you like Rinella...check out Leupold's Fresh Tracks with Randy Newberg. It's only on Amazon and youtube now, but its another quality public land real hunting show.

[Sandcut]

Don't get too crazy about the scent and clothes wash stuff just yet. YES deer can smell very good, but a lot of these products you see advertised are just gimmicks. The most simple and effective scent management is knowing which way the wind is blowing.

That being said, I know plenty of old timers that chain smoked in the woods, cooked lunch, etc.... and still shot deer. Hell I have a friend who starts a damn fire at his stand if it gets too cold.

I guy that I used to work with was dragging out a doe that he had already shot and tagged. While he was dragging down the middle of the forest road, another doe walked up to him within about 30 yards. The dumb thing stood there long enough that he unshouldered his rifle, loaded it and shot the damn thing. Totally legal since the first deer was already tagged. Old deer can be cagey. Young ones not so much.