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Save your money on “Scent Control”

keep shooting at it until its dead. :tearsofjoy: :eek: :tearsofjoy: ;)
In all seriousness, I look at wind in relation to the general deer movement be it am or pm sits. So last year my best morning set up (because of access) was up on the flats just past a ridge line by about 20 yards. The wind was from the west(that day) the general deer movement was from north to south. I was on a wood lane with two primary scrapes. I was east of them. I accessed from the east as well. But the general deer movement was from the north to the south. The deer would head southerly to go back to that ridge I was set back from I detailed above. I was on the most eastern side of that property that day but back far enough that the thermals from the ridge weren't pushing my scent north more than the general wind direction was pushing my scent eastward. I was set up to watch what I was hoping was a majority of the deer movement to my west. If they walked past (and several did before the buck I shot came in) they would keep going south down into the gorge below the ridge just 20 yards south of my setup. So that's how I played that location. That spot also works great for evening sits sometimes too if the wind is from the south or southwest as they will come up out of the gorge from their beds and crest the ridge and I'm back far enough so if thermal shift occurs, it doesn't matter as the south or southwest wind is carrying my scent away from them.
 
I'm telling ya fellers, hang your stuff in a cow barn and then put it on and go hunt (if you have farms around you). I think woodsmoke works too. When I was growing up my parents burned wood to heat (I still do too in a different location) and they lived in a valley and everything always seemed to smell like wood smoke. I think it works pretty good too.
 
Nobody is mentioning bow versus gun hunting. I assume most of us are bowhunters that talking odor versus wind. I seldom gun hunt anymore but I know it's a lot easier to just hunt the wind or to be less concerned about odor when I can sit 100 yards off the deers' travel route. I assume it's a lot easier for long distance archers (shooting ~50 plus yards) than it is for us trad guys. I gotta have deer in my lap in order to have a shot. Playing wind and reducing odor is all part of the package.
 
I suppose it depends on where you're hunting but have come to the opinion their reaction to scents is more about year-round pressure than anything.

If you're in an area with alot of predators year-round, they seem to be far more skittish about unknown scents. In my area however, predators aren't as much of a concern. I've watched them shortly after crossing a trail in the summer with zero scent control. They'll walk up, sniff around and keep walking. My general belief is they think "I walked this way yesterday and it was safe. Therefore, today is safe too".

Point being, I wouldn't be callous about it but don't see it as imperative unless you're in an area with alot of predators.
 
Nobody is mentioning bow versus gun hunting. I assume most of us are bowhunters that talking odor versus wind. I seldom gun hunt anymore but I know it's a lot easier to just hunt the wind or to be less concerned about odor when I can sit 100 yards off the deers' travel route. I assume it's a lot easier for long distance archers (shooting ~50 plus yards) than it is for us trad guys. I gotta have deer in my lap in order to have a shot. Playing wind and reducing odor is all part of the package.
For me personally, I'm talking about my bow setups but in all honesty, I don't change my tactics or my setups regardless of what I'm shooting as we get a lot of pressure during gun season and I would venture to guess our biggest bucks are even more difficult to find during legal shooting hours during firearms season. I know I've seen more and bigger bucks during our bow seasons than I do during gun so I mostly double down on most of my bow season setups during gun season in terms of heading into thicker cover or on points or sidehill areas. I have hunted with my bow during gun season and I've certainly hunted with my ML during gun season but I agree, I think wind and odor control are very important I'm a bowhunter at heart and like getting close. Personally I started bowhunting because I wanted to see more deer on natural movement which I didn't see and still don't see during our firearms season.
 
I was there for a few hours. Why was it a disaster?
Fairgrounds/casino didnt know what trappers were. They apparently freaked out when they started getting whiffs of the lures.
Didn't allow fires or even campstoves in the camping area
Didn't allow campers to deploy awnings
Had to be talked into letting dogs on the ground
FBU banquet ran out of food and the caterers were nazis.
Im pretty sure they didnt allow guns.
Attendance was awful, under 2000 IIRC
 
Or do as much scent control wise as possible and play the wind. Not sure where the anti-scent control people hunt but I've never hunted somewhere that the wind blows the same direction for the duration of a hunt. Why would you not do both?

because I still don’t believe you’ll beat their nose and I sleep better at night worrying about one less thing. :laughing::sweatsmile:
 
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While I get the joke, this isn't necessarily a bad idea. If they get use to a common scent but no longer feel in danger, the scent is no longer a concern. Kinda like the cow barn/wood smoke comment earlier. If it's a smell their use to and haven't been threatened, there's no danger.
 
While I get the joke, this isn't necessarily a bad idea. If they get use to a common scent but no longer feel in danger, the scent is no longer a concern. Kinda like the cow barn/wood smoke comment earlier. If it's a smell their use to and haven't been threatened, there's no danger.
Honestly, last year I had an idea to tie up old tshirts in various trees throughout my property in July. Then go back through and refresh them in August. We rarely ever go back there though so I never got around to doing it.
 
People don't realize how much scent they put off. Unless you wear a self contained biohazard suit, you're putting off scent. You're shedding thousands of skin cells every second .

And your breath. Human breath probably smells like the stench of their impending death to a deer.
 
While I get the joke, this isn't necessarily a bad idea. If they get use to a common scent but no longer feel in danger, the scent is no longer a concern. Kinda like the cow barn/wood smoke comment earlier. If it's a smell their use to and haven't been threatened, there's no danger.

As a teen, I bowhunted right outside the city limits in the woods next to tons of houses. If you hunted near houses, then the deer were not very scared by your scent.
 
Fairgrounds/casino didnt know what trappers were. They apparently freaked out when they started getting whiffs of the lures.
Didn't allow fires or even campstoves in the camping area
Didn't allow campers to deploy awnings
Had to be talked into letting dogs on the ground
FBU banquet ran out of food and the caterers were nazis.
Im pretty sure they didnt allow guns.
Attendance was awful, under 2000 IIRC
Not to get political but yeah, Erie County.... lets just say they are more of the "Left" persuasion. Catt. County Trappers way different. We had Bob Noonan and Mike Whilite there before from Trappers Post, Russ Carman, Epler's Furs, Hal Sullivan, the Mink guy from PA, its been there for years. We give two scholarships away each year for kids pursuing a career in wildlife conservation.
 
The guys in Erie County Trappers Association are awesome fellers but they can't help the "climate" in that area.
 
And your breath. Human breath probably smells like the stench of their impending death to a deer.
I have thought that most of your sent comes out of your mouth. In his book Come November, Gene Wensel wrote about a couple guy's he knew that went vegetarian during bow season, so they did not smell like a predator. I phoned Gene and asked for the guy's names and numbers because I wanted to learn more. One guy was from PA and the other from Mich. These guys were sent extremists. They wore two layers of sent control clothing, went vegetarian., did not put on there hunting clothes until they parked the truck and so on. They both felt that this helped, but they both said they still have deer smell them. Now I agree that a hunter should do everything they can to reduce odor. The biggest buck I have ever shot was on a trail 20 yards down wind. I was 20 feet up in a tree, the buck smelled me, but probably did not realize I was that close.
 
The guys in Erie County Trappers Association are awesome fellers but they can't help the "climate" in that area.
There was some extenuating circumstances that resulting us going to new York to start with. Namely because nobody else wanted the host it that year. There's a lot that goes into hosting and some of our members have PTSD from the last time we hosted.

Ohio is hosting it next year in Lima then its back to Escanaba in 23. I think if escanaba had its way, we'd have it there every year.
 
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