John Eberharts Scent Control

[Nick Grider]

He doesn't hunt the suburbs. He hunts in rural Michigan on small homesteads and public land. He hunts big farms too but generally shares those with other hunters.

I live an hour from jays where all his bucks are. On his commemorative bucks of Michigan certificates it says what county each deer was killed in. The vast majority of the book bucks he has killed were taken in very very wealthy suburb type counties in the Ann Arbor, Royal oak, Detroit areas. Again, in his book he talks about hunting tiny private properties. This tells me that he’s hunting a lot of suburbs.

 

[Nick Grider]

I live an hour from jays where all his bucks are. On his commemorative bucks of Michigan certificates it says what county each deer was killed in. The vast majority of the book bucks he has killed were taken in very very wealthy suburb type counties in the Ann Arbor, Royal oak, Detroit areas. Again, in his book he talks about hunting tiny private properties. This tells me that he’s hunting a lot of suburbs.

It’s not a shot at him. Good for him having the opportunity. But I know that the deer he is hunting is very very tolerant of human scent.

 

[g2outdoors]

It’s not a shot at him. Good for him having the opportunity. But I know that the deer he is hunting is very very tolerant of human scent.

This is very interesting. I've never heard him speak about hunting suburban deer. I'd like to hear @John Eberhart talk about it.

Sent from my Galaxy S8.

 

[will4554]

I ozone my clothes and all my gear including stands and the like, use a scent and dye free detergent year round and rarely (never in season) use any scented soaps. I don't think I can beat a deer's nose. Deer can distinguish individual scent molecules. Dogs smell drugs in fuel tanks and deers noses are out of their league. Confidence is the real key. I've seen to many dogs beat a scent lok suit to interest me in buying one. My wife follows a pretty similar regimen except she won't give up the fruity shampoo's. We are just as successful hunting together as we are apart, take that for what it's worth.

 

[John Eberhart]

Certainly. If you’ve read his books he says he kills a lot of the deer on very small pieces of private property (2-4 acres). This tell me that he hunts a lot of suburb type situations. And those bucks get absolutely huge.

Nick

Your comment here on me hunting suburbia is 100% wrong!!!!!!!!

I did have permission on a suburban property back in the mid 1990's for 1 year before it was developed, but I never took a buck from it!!!!!!!!!! Did take a couple does for the freezer during the late bow season.

I have taken 2 record book bucks in Michigan on 2 acre parcels and for you to even suggest that they were suburban areas just because of there size is ludicrous. There are lots of rural properties in Michigan that are 1 to 5 acres in size that hold deer because they are nearly 100% bedding areas with excellent security cover. It's not the size of the property, but rather the quality of it and I'll take a 1 to 5 acre parcel of bedding area over a 200 acre parcel of ag with some timber with no understudy anytime.

I hunted a 20 acre free permission property in Michigan for 6 years and took 3 P&Y bucks from it while the other 2 hunters that had permission as well and lived in the area and hunted it much more frequently than I, took none in those 6 seasons. They were hunting the back side of the property where it butted up to an ag field while I was hunting within the heavy security cover that ran along the road. I lived a couple hours away and when I did hunt there yet was in before they were on morning hunts and came out after they did on evening hunts so I never met them until I took a 136 inch 10 point during midday in 2006. When I was dragging the buck out one of them drove in and saw me and that was he end of me hunting there because he knew the property owner personally and I had just stopped by and asked for permission. My point is that they were hunting the typical obvious spots on the small parcel while I was hunting someplace they never thought about hunting because it was so close to the road and dense cover. It's not the size or the amount of competitors, it's where you hunt vs. the competition.

Concerning my 25 to 30 foot hunting height that has been brought up on this thread many times as to why I pay ZERO attention to wind direction and don't get winded, I've been hunting that high since the 70's and I always got winded when mature deer were downwind no matter the height. The reason I hunt high is to get away with minor movements at crunch time and to keep out of a deer's peripheral vision.

Again, no matter what the naysayers think, I pay zero attention to wind direction and know how to properly care and use ScentLok.

 

[Anobody]

Nick

Your comment here on me hunting suburbia is 100% wrong!!!!!!!!

I did have permission on a suburban property back in the mid 1990's for 1 year before it was developed, but I never took a buck from it!!!!!!!!!! Did take a couple does for the freezer during the late bow season.

I have taken 2 record book bucks in Michigan on 2 acre parcels and for you to even suggest that they were suburban areas just because of there size is ludicrous. There are lots of rural properties in Michigan that are 1 to 5 acres in size that hold deer because they are nearly 100% bedding areas with excellent security cover. It's not the size of the property, but rather the quality of it and I'll take a 1 to 5 acre parcel of bedding area over a 200 acre parcel of ag with some timber with no understudy anytime.

I hunted a 20 acre free permission property in Michigan for 6 years and took 3 P&Y bucks from it while the other 2 hunters that had permission as well and lived in the area and hunted it much more frequently than I, took none in those 6 seasons. They were hunting the back side of the property where it butted up to an ag field while I was hunting within the heavy security cover that ran along the road. I lived a couple hours away and when I did hunt there yet was in before they were on morning hunts and came out after they did on evening hunts so I never met them until I took a 136 inch 10 point during midday in 2006. When I was dragging the buck out one of them drove in and saw me and that was he end of me hunting there because he knew the property owner personally and I had just stopped by and asked for permission. My point is that they were hunting the typical obvious spots on the small parcel while I was hunting someplace they never thought about hunting because it was so close to the road and dense cover. It's not the size or the amount of competitors, it's where you hunt vs. the competition.

Concerning my 25 to 30 foot hunting height that has been brought up on this thread many times as to why I pay ZERO attention to wind direction and don't get winded, I've been hunting that high since the 70's and I always got winded when mature deer were downwind no matter the height. The reason I hunt high is to get away with minor movements at crunch time and to keep out of a deer's peripheral vision.

Again, no matter what the naysayers think, I pay zero attention to wind direction and know how to properly care and use ScentLok.

John I don't post on here much. I do know from your books and dvds you use scent control and hunt high. My question is even when you do these things does the wind factor into your approaches to your setups? if this has been covered I apologize

 

[Nick Grider]

Nick

Your comment here on me hunting suburbia is 100% wrong!!!!!!!!

I did have permission on a suburban property back in the mid 1990's for 1 year before it was developed, but I never took a buck from it!!!!!!!!!! Did take a couple does for the freezer during the late bow season.

I have taken 2 record book bucks in Michigan on 2 acre parcels and for you to even suggest that they were suburban areas just because of there size is ludicrous. There are lots of rural properties in Michigan that are 1 to 5 acres in size that hold deer because they are nearly 100% bedding areas with excellent security cover. It's not the size of the property, but rather the quality of it and I'll take a 1 to 5 acre parcel of bedding area over a 200 acre parcel of ag with some timber with no understudy anytime.

I hunted a 20 acre free permission property in Michigan for 6 years and took 3 P&Y bucks from it while the other 2 hunters that had permission as well and lived in the area and hunted it much more frequently than I, took none in those 6 seasons. They were hunting the back side of the property where it butted up to an ag field while I was hunting within the heavy security cover that ran along the road. I lived a couple hours away and when I did hunt there yet was in before they were on morning hunts and came out after they did on evening hunts so I never met them until I took a 136 inch 10 point during midday in 2006. When I was dragging the buck out one of them drove in and saw me and that was he end of me hunting there because he knew the property owner personally and I had just stopped by and asked for permission. My point is that they were hunting the typical obvious spots on the small parcel while I was hunting someplace they never thought about hunting because it was so close to the road and dense cover. It's not the size or the amount of competitors, it's where you hunt vs. the competition.

Concerning my 25 to 30 foot hunting height that has been brought up on this thread many times as to why I pay ZERO attention to wind direction and don't get winded, I've been hunting that high since the 70's and I always got winded when mature deer were downwind no matter the height. The reason I hunt high is to get away with minor movements at crunch time and to keep out of a deer's peripheral vision.

Again, no matter what the naysayers think, I pay zero attention to wind direction and know how to properly care and use ScentLok.

I didn’t suggest that they were suburban deer because of the size of the deer. I suggested that they were suburban deer because of the counties most of your deer were killed in. Also, I never attacked anyone for hunting the suburbs. I think that’s it’s awesome personally.

 

[EricS]

I believe Johns scent control methods work for him. I just started using scentlok last year. I only bought one suit and have worn it for most of my hunts the last couple years. I don’t care for my scentlok the way he does because my climate dictates that I will be covered in sweat before most hunts are over. I’m almost two seasons into my scentlok suit and I get about a day of hunting before I have to put it back in the dryer. I definitely got winded by a pig last Saturday in the first couple hours on the suit since it had been washed and dried. So after this season that particular suit will be used as a layer but not as scent control. To my knowledge I got winded zero times the first year using the suit. I do pay attention to wind even when I think I won’t get winded because I know deer pay attention to it. It seems to affect how and where they bed and the trails they use to get to and from feeding areas. I would love to just hunt the wind. When we finally get a strong enough wind for it to be dependable I don’t see much deer movement. This year having milkweed for the first time has taught me I know less about wind than I thought. I hunted just above a permanent stand this past weekend. I had road directly in front of me as I faced south. A ridge across the road that ran from the northeast to the southwest. And a creek about 100 yards behind me. The wind was 10mph out of the northeast. Dropping milk weed showed that some of my scent was going straight up and over the ridge. Some started the same but while floating across the road turned and went straight down the road in a WSw direction. So even though I had a good steady wind I was basically contaminating a quarter of the hunting area around me. That was with a steady wind. Those two to five mph wind days can literally blow in every direction over a couple hour sit. In those conditions you might as well ignore the wind or spend most of the season at home. I choose to hunt anyway and know that scentlok is at the very minimum lessening the pressure I put on the herd. I will continue to use scentlok.

 

[John Eberhart]

I didn’t suggest that they were suburban deer because of the size of the deer. I suggested that they were suburban deer because of the counties most of your deer were killed in. Also, I never attacked anyone for hunting the suburbs. I think that’s it’s awesome personally.

Thanks for that clarification Nick and if it were true I wouldn't blame you for calling me out on it if I hunted suburban deer because they are much easier to kill and they get to grow up because typically there is no gun hunting in suburban areas. I know of several hunters that have taken several bucks in the books from suburban properties, yet none from the other more rural areas they hunt where gun hunting is allowed and where there is competition.

 

[John Eberhart]

I live an hour from jays where all his bucks are. On his commemorative bucks of Michigan certificates it says what county each deer was killed in. The vast majority of the book bucks he has killed were taken in very very wealthy suburb type counties in the Ann Arbor, Royal oak, Detroit areas. Again, in his book he talks about hunting tiny private properties. This tells me that he’s hunting a lot of suburbs.

Are you serious! Ann Arbor is in Washtenaw County so does that mean I hunted in suburban Ann Arbor, NO never. When I was young and lived in Southern Michigan which is where Livingston and Washtenaw counties are I hunted Pinckney Recreation Area in Livingston and out near Whitmore Lake in Washtenaw county which is 15 miles from Ann Arbor.

As I said before, I've never taken a book buck in a suburban area, yes I hunted in a suburban area a couple years, but never took a book buck.

WOW, can't believe you wrote that.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Making assumptions is the big mistake. Assuming what the wind will or won't do, Assuming we aren't getting winded, Assuming every deer will react in the same way when they do encounter anything human is a mistake.
I assume nothing and take every precaution I can to minimize odor busts.
Whether it's an odor reduction regimen, or predicting and hunting wind patterns, nothing works 100% of the time, but it all works at least some of the time.
Cracks me up when I hear someone say they just hunt the wind, but then they also shower, brush teeth and launder clothes before a hunt.

 

[Kurt]

Agree. It's impossible to narrow down success to any one thing. I happen to think Eberhart could hunt in jeans with cologne on and he'd still kill big bucks
He'll kill the one that came in up wind , but not the three that were there but didn't come in from downwind

 

[Kurt]

I personally follow a pretty strict sent control system but when possible I do try to play the wind
I will say this if you are waiting for that perfect wind to hunt a particular spot just seems to me you're going to spend a lot of time sitting at home when you could be hunting up here in the thumb trying to plan and forecast wind conditions is just as reliable as any other of the weather going on it just ain't happening

That's why I got into saddle hunting. I can hunt the same draw or bench, just get on the side that gives me the wind advantage. Pick a route in accordingly. It's about position. I'm not looking for a 100% on anything, wind direction, or scent control, or even position, but I'm going to do what ever I think is important to help tip the odds, even ever so slightly in my favor. I think that's where it starts becoming a personal journey, based on what works best for each of us in the places we hunt. That's experience. I would be remiss if I didn't also include the fact that we are hunting animals that have personalities. They form habits based on their life experiences also. You can generally hunt immature deer based on general hunting knowledge, but when you start going after deer that have some time under their belts, whether it's that big loner buck, or that big momma, like the one flingingarrows took this year, we have to flexible and creative. I love the individuality of the game.

 

[BigAl]

Come on guys! Lets all have some mutual respect for each other......especially for John. We all know carbon works well! Not everyone is as thorough as John. Hunting higher will help disperse molecules i.e. "The solution to pollution is dilution". Let's all understand that each one has an opinion that is based upon experience and knowledge. I think that we can do well to remember that!

 

[Kurt]

I killed a 166 inch 12pt on public land, that gets the **** hunted out of it starting the day the bow season opens until the end of muzzleloader in Dec. It's where you hunt, your herd, and most importantly how you hunt.

 

[Kurt]

And luck.

 

[Treehopper2]

And luck.

That’s a big one there . Use all your tools , knowledge and wind direction and it all comes down to some luck on our part to finish the deal. Luckily for the deer they win most of the time .

 

[Kurt]

I haven't hunted the wind a day in my life. I've been using scentlok for 10 years and I hardly ever get busted. That is usually when its really hot and I sweated a lot or when I was lazy in my system.

So, just a quick question. Would you set up upwind of what you know to be a mature bucks bedding area? I would also pose this question to Mr. Eberhart.

 

[kenn1320]

Are you serious! Ann Arbor is in Washtenaw County so does that mean I hunted in suburban Ann Arbor, NO never. When I was young and lived in Southern Michigan which is where Livingston and Washtenaw counties are I hunted Pinckney Recreation Area in Livingston and out near Whitmore Lake in Washtenaw county which is 15 miles from Ann Arbor.

As I said before, I've never taken a book buck in a suburban area, yes I hunted in a suburban area a couple years, but never took a book buck.

WOW, can't believe you wrote that.

Don't know about back then, but now it's so pounded I don't even hunt it and I'm minutes away. So discouraging to walk it in the spring when stands aren't supposed to be hanging and count stand after stand. Crazy

 

[Kurt]

I've never really gotten that argument. If the deer at 20 yards or 50 yards aren't scenting someone, why are the deer that are further and out of sight? Ultimately it is something no one can prove or disprove, but I don't follow the logic.

I sat the edge of this bench one morning and as the thermals took over it started to blow the wind onto the back of my neck out across the bench. I started thinking I should leave because of the wind shift. I hunted there that morning hoping the forecast of 5-10mph from the WNW would keep me safe from those thermals. I lingered for a bit and a nice 8pt came right down the trail I was hunting about 15yds out from my stand. I killed that buck. Several mornings later I hunted that stand again. As the sun started warming the air below me I felt that wind shift to the back of my neck again. This time I had some milkweed chutes(no seeds). I sent a few out, the edge of that bench shot the wind up ,must have been 50' in the air and then out to the west, and didn't really come down anywhere near me. What that milkweed did out past 70-80 yds i couldn't tell you. It is one of my safe morning spots where I go to beat the thermal winds.