These "either-or" debates on odor reduction vs hunting the wind make my butt tired.
Very few of us, for a variety of reasons, can soly rely on one or the other.
Does carbon work? Yes, to a degree. But there is so much more to odor reduction than just wearing a carbon suit. Very few hunters have the discipline to follow a strict odor regimen.
Hell, few even have the AWARENESS of all the numerous details of an odor reduction scheme, let alone employ the necessary dedication to pull it off.
Hunt the wind? That works, too...but, also only to a certain degree. Of course, if a deer is never down wind or never encounters ground odor, then hunting the wind is 100%.
How many of us have minimum acreage to hunt which limits where and when we can hunt? How many of us have only 1 or 2 access routes that aren't really very low impact?
Once again...there are a lot of hunters that have no awareness of what "down wind"really is. We often alert, and more importantly, EDUCATE deer before we even arrive at, (what we think) is a well thought out stand for wind.
There is another thread about pruners vs saws. Guys are talking about busting brush or breaking branches along their access route with bare hands...Educating the herd? You bet! Total lack of awareness.
How about defining "down wind".
Our scent cone isn't a well defined and consistent line. It billows and fades as the wind takes it away. Take a look at the smoke coming out of your wood burner pipe. 6" wide and dense as it leaves the chimney. 30 yards away and the smoke stream spreads to 20 yards wide, but less dense. Then it encounters an eddy, or an updraft or downdraft. The edges become even less intense or defind. The edges of the smoke stream fades out on the edges. Is the smell of smoke nearly as strong as it is in the core of the smoke stream? No it is not.
Does deer "A" behave just like deer "B" when they encounter the fringes of the fringes of our scent cone? Definately not.
And we can't control where the wind takes that stream, either. Once again, a lot of us only have limited areas to hunt among complex terrain and structure where wind behavior often changes throughout the day...from dawn till dusk, wind patterns change. I contend that there are deer down wind and smell us and we never knew they were there.
Then, there are the deer that walk thru an hour after dark. I swear they explore odors. Ever watch a deer trail a hunter's route? I have many times.
They know we were there. We are home eating dinner and deer are exploring and examining all the odors we left behind. Ever wonder why stands go cold after a hunt or 2?
Minimizing odor busts ain't just about showering, brushing teeth and wearing a carbon suit we kept in a tub.
Each one of those 3 things has a multitude of aspects and a right or wrong way of doing them.
And...
Minimizing odor busts ain't just about hunting the predicted, prevailing wind. Blowing a puff bottle or releasing the occasional floater may tell you what the wind is doing at that moment, but do you really UNDERSTAND wind patterns? Not many guys do.
Minimizing odor busts...
Its about paying strict attention to as many details as possible.
Few of us can rely on one detail and ignore the others.
John pulls it off, but not many guys have the diligence to do what needs done, day in and day out...it take an enormous amount of dedication. And I do believe he gets busted, but to what extent? Certainly not to levels enough to consistently ruin hunts.
A lot of guys say this is taking the fun out of hunting...I say, its all part of the fun.
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