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I hunt deer mostly in SW Ontario. There is always the sound of tractors, trucks, cattle mooing, and dogs barking. I could gone on. With all this civilization around the deer, they are use to the smell/scent of people. Could I take an old t-shirt I've being all sweaty in and leave it hanging in a tree close to where I sit? My thinking is if my scent is in the bush several days before I arrive to hunt, the deer will "know" the scent and be less likely to quietly move away.
You could give it a shot however, deer can tell how fresh a particular scent is so I'm not sure you will be fooling them.
I've thought about this strategy before. My main concern with it is that November buck cruising for does in new areas well outside his home range. He won't be used to that t-shirt smell, and he may just avoid the general area because of it.
I hunt farm country as well. The landowner has deer right up into his yard. I always figured it wasn't the human scent that alerted them, but the strength of the scent. I'm a firm believer that you have to play the wind regardless. Having your scent in the bush will likely force the deer to alter any travel corridors they may have.. The best scent is NO scent !!!
Any attempt to trick a deer's sense of smell is futile.Quote:
Originally Posted by xbow57
Best approach is to minimise scent/activity in the area.
But the only thing that really matters is the wind direction.
I agree with all the comments about being as scent free as possible and being aware of the wind. I was just thinking out loud about an additional way to hide my scent. Thanks for the comments.
Dont underestimate your scent
I watched deer on my farm daily,trespassers or strange scent made the deer go into hiding.
When I paid more attention to wind than scent I began to see more deer, however the more scent free you are the farther away I think deer believe you are, they will always smell you if the wind is right. Don't think placing a shirt in the bush will help you, they will simply learn where to wind you from.
Deer can tell the age of scent down to seconds.
I have witnessed deer coming up to my trail sniffing it and looking in my direction, they can some how know the direction I walked based on the age of one foot print to very next one. I make it a point to never underestimate the power of a deers nose!
I also train with tracking dogs which do the exact same thing, its amazing to see a dog determine the direction of travel by walking up to a trail and sniffing the one or two footsteps. The dogs then follow the trail to find the 'lost' person, they will sometimes loose the trail, but almost always determine the initial direction of travel.