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Post Season Scouting and Location Preparation

I just talked to somebody about entry and exit ground scent and he told me about something he had read. some guy that breeds blood hounds did his own research about how the dogs track. He came to the conclusion that the dogs/deer smell the ground disturbance more than whats on your boot. Every step mixes up the layers of fluff and create a different scent than undisturbed ground.
I believe that.
But I don't believe the scent from ground disturbance would be alarming to deer. They may be curious, and they may follow it, but I doubt it would spook them, as long as you are not leaving any other human related odor.
Which means you should do everything in your power to not touch anything along your route...especially with bare hands, or other direct contact with skin or hair.
I wash my rubber boots inside and out before the season and maybe another time or 2 during the season. I also treat insides with ozone after each use. Boots are always placed on a drier after the hunt...damp boots grow bacteria which equals odor.
Only deodorized boots go in a closed storage tub. When I remove boots after a hunt, they go in a clean garbage bag and get an O3 treatment.
Internal boot odor will contaminate the outside of the boot so don't seal in a closed tub boots you just wore for 6 hours.
One more thing, don't use your stocking (or bare) foot to push off a boot.
Before I started this regimen, I used to avoid crossing deer trails...I did used to be trail busted. Not anymore...never.
 
I have all of John’s books and DVD’s and what has helped me the most with harvesting mature bucks in PA was post season scouting. After doing it for the first time in 2010 I have harvested mature bucks every year since then. This is a tactic I never heard of thought to do until reading his books. Invest the time now and it will pay off later!
 
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