Get the deer used to your scent

[Baratheon]

Okay, there seems to be a lot of misconception about scent IMHO. I see guys spending literally hundreds upon hundreds of dollars to stay scent free. [&:]

However, I have taken a different approach. I check my feeders regularlyand never worry about my scent. Actually, when the deer smell my scent they associate it with corn. I've literally had manydeer an hour after I leave come hit the corn with not a worry in the world (I know this because of my cameras.) If you are in your woods enough and don't worry about scent protection they won't associate this "new" scent with danger.

I also love the guys in the carbon suits who are freakish about their scent, but ride to theirlocation on a 4 wheeler. Or the guy peeing off his stand.

The simple logic is they not only get used to your scent, but associate it with feed. Kind of like Pavlov's dog experiment.I have no problem spraying your clothes down with a little scent shield, but some people go too far IMO. My dad taught me this a long time ago, and we have never had a problem taking deer. Maybe some deer react differently, but I haven't experienced any problems in my area.

[DukeConnor]

Sounds like you are baiting deer using your stank. Better check with the game commission. 😊

[Bang]

All the $$$ sucked from the sportsman with scent-proofing and altering defies one inescapable dimension. A deer hunter has to breathe. There is nothing to be done about the content of exhaled breath. The deer detecting it is going to associate it with something has changed. Change to a deer (and most people) is alarming.

[Gunowner99]

My natural stank, what an attractant ha ha!

[Emptymag]

You'd think that people never took a deer before the advent of "technology".

Boots, jeans, coat/jacket, sporterized milsurp with iron sights, an apple and Hershey bar in a pocket, itchy/sweaty orange knit hat...

How ever did we do it?

[PAwhitetailbowhunter]

When bow hunting, I pay attention to the wind and figure there is nothing that is going to trick a deer's sense of smell. The mosquitoes were so bad in Oct. I was hunting with a thermo cell and figured what they hell, if deer get down wind they are going to smell me anyway. Scent free stuff works on the hunter's brain but not the deer's nose.

During gun season I don't really worry about scent so much. The gun extends range enough it doesn't worry me.

[Yoder]

Shooting deer over bait is killing, not hunting. When you actually hunt deer in the woods, they are pretty sensitive about your scent. I think all the scent gear might help a little but you can't beat a deer's nose. I have no problem with people shooting deer over bait, but it's not hunting.

[gghbi]

Rather than focusing on smell, I think not washing your hunting gear in detergents with a lot of brighteners is more important. Deer can see things outside our spectrum and the additives in many detergents that give you a brighter cleaner look just make you easier to pick out. If you have the luxury of spending enough time in your hunting area to make your scent familiar or even better, associated with good things, all the more power to you. Few of us have that. Glad it works for you.

[fallenleader]

i thought they had masks that filtered your breath through charcoal... you know, for the insane.
and i thought most people just left their hunting clothes outside to "air" out and figured the best way to mask your scent was just to roll in the dirt.
next year might be my first year hunting something bigger than squirrel but i won't be doing anything special for it, finding that stupid stick that goes in my shotgun tube is about all.... it's in a box, somewhere.

[STBear]

i thought they had masks that filtered your breath through charcoal... you know, for the insane.
and i thought most people just left their hunting clothes outside to "air" out and figured the best way to mask your scent was just to roll in the dirt.
next year might be my first year hunting something bigger than squirrel but i won't be doing anything special for it, finding that stupid stick that goes in my shotgun tube is about all.... it's in a box, somewhere.

Don't need the 'stupid stick' for deer but you do need it for squirrel.