Picture evidence of our impact long after we leave the woods

[Chrighton]

That damned old man... Haha good update.

 

[bigmike23]

I agree with location. If it's a spot they've come to expect human scent I don't think it's a big deal. Every bedding area I hunt way up in the remote Mtns where theres nobody for months on end they freak out and go on defcon 1.
I didn't walk on the right side of the picture. I did the left. This is much clearer on the video but he walks in pretty relaxed then immediately freezes and starts to raise he tail in alarm. I was there the previous morning to put that cam up. That buck completely vanished after that for almost 3 weeks. They have a zero tolerance policy up here

 

[neonomad]

I can 2nd your comment.
I've had zero busts (of severe intensity) from ground odor for several years now.
Yesterday was another example. Had a 1.5 year old buck follow my access trail for at least 50 yards to the base of my tree, at which time he stood there smelling where I'd just taken a leak within 15 min. earlier.
A couple hours later, I had an adult doe standing in the same spot with zero concern that the boogie man was 15 feet above her.
She was under me for many minutes and then she finally worked her way down wind. My milkweed floaters drifted no more than 7 feet directly over her head. I knew it as a matter of time until she got a stronger whiff of me, which she did. But the extent of her alarm was to nervously look around for a few minutes and then just walk away. I guess you could classify that as an odor bust, but it was about as mild a bust as I could hope for.
Last week I had a mature 10 point walk down the same access road as I walked 15 minutes earlier. I wheezed him off of that road and into the cover I was in but he just wouldn't commit enough for a shot. Once again, he showed no awareness that he walked where a human just walked.
I killed a doe last week that was standing exactly where I entered the stand. She was as calm as could be.
I used to worry (and get busted) by deer cutting my trail to the point that it effected where I would even consider setting a stand. Not any more.
Clean body, clean boots, and don't touch anything along the access route and busts are a thing of the past. It's so rewarding when you fool them.

Sunday evening was a great hunt in spite of no trophy buck showing up. Saw a bunch of small bucks and does, and five of them spent time a lot of time dead down wind of me, ten yards, right on my access trail, I could not believe they didn’t blow, especially the does. I was in fresh out of the dryer Scent Lok and rubber boots. Have to admit it incremented my confidence in ScentLok up a little.

 

[Bwhana]

Different deer will react differently, just be sure to have fun and kill more deer!

I put up a new cell cam yesterday at 4pm wearing shorts, tshirt, and Hoka’s - all washed in Tide and dried with Gain softener sheets. At 5pm I had a small buck come by it and follow my exact trail in and out to the camera with no reaction or even head down to the trail. Over the next 6 hours, there was a doe parade, followed by 2 shooters, and two coyotes. Zero reaction.

FWIW, I continue to use Tide on my hunting clothes and Old Spice Stronger Swagger antiperspirant. I always hunt with the wind in my face and never get busted unless thermals do something unexpected, which happens to everyone, unless you don’t go in the woods. There is no right or wrong answer here, just the one that works for you.

I have thought about adding a spritz of diesel fuel to the mix simply because tractors are always around my private lands and they give zero shytes about smelling, hearing, or seeing them and usually come out to watch.

 

[Plebe]

I agree with location. If it's a spot they've come to expect human scent I don't think it's a big deal. Every bedding area I hunt way up in the remote Mtns where theres nobody for months on end they freak out and go on defcon 1.
I didn't walk on the right side of the picture. I did the left. This is much clearer on the video but he walks in pretty relaxed then immediately freezes and starts to raise he tail in alarm. I was there the previous morning to put that cam up. That buck completely vanished after that for almost 3 weeks. They have a zero tolerance policy up here View attachment 95097View attachment 95098

You’re paranoid, lol. Or not. But you’re driving yourself crazy with wind variability and scent history. That’s September.

 

[Jammintree]

Ok, I’ve got to add a correction here. I showed these pics to my Dad and he said. “Oh, I came over and hunted your spot that morning and shot a practice arrow into the road when I got down.” The scent the deer was reacting to was 7 hours old not 57 hours.

What a great caveat. This is a good reminder that we have little control or knowledge of what goes on in the places we hunt when we aren’t there.

Edit: what kind of boots was your dad wearing?

 

[bigmike23]

You’re paranoid, lol. Or not. But you’re driving yourself crazy with wind variability and scent history. That’s September.

I'm well beyond driving myself there

 

[woodsdog2]

I’ve had deer sniffing around me all season with no spooking. I don’t go nuts with scent control but also am aware and try to keep things in bins or in my capped truck during the season. I used to religiously wear rubber boots but switched to hikers thst I only wear for hunting. I drymy boots out every night in pert boot dryer even if it wasn’t wet out to dry out any perspiration odor. I also spray the bottom half of me down pretty good with a scent spray before walking in and also go through slight puddles or whatever to try to knock down on any residual scent. I hang my clothes outside after my hunts and use scent free detergent and dryer sheets. I also wear a light glove with a rubber or some kind of waterproof coating on the palms and fingers to keep my scent off of vegetation going in. I do think all of this helps. I shower before each hunt too if I can.