looking for advice

I am a fairly new hunter (3 years) and love everything about being out in the woods....cant get enough of it. That being said, I have had zero success hunting, or even seeing anything other than turkeys while turkey hunting. have been deer hunting for 3 years (rifle and bow seasons) as much as possible, and last year saw 2 does a couple sits while in a ground blind. other than that, have never had a deer walk out to me. have been moose hunting 2 years now and havent seen a moose or bear or anything while out in the woods. I wash all my hunting clothes in scent free detergent and keep them in a bin with some cedar bows, and spray myself down before each sit, also use a drag rag and hang it in the tree stand with me. I am fairly limited for hunting spots as i only have 2 tree stands up, and a ground blind. i share permission on 2 properties with other hunters so am limited on where i can set up. i try to only hunt on favorable winds, but with the lack of success or even seeing wildlife, i am starting to lose confidence.

any tips on things i can improve, i realize my scent control game could use some improvement, and am not against buying scent lok clothing etc if it will work, but looking for input on anything else i can do to improve scent control without spending all that money, or any other ideas on how to see more wildlife during sits would be greatly appreciated.

There is no great solution,
Except be where there are deer, you can hunt a long time and never be successful if there are no deer in your area.

Trail cams help alot in my opinion, specially the cellular ones, if there is service in the area ...
it will tell u if there are deers around, and when they visit the stand ...
I found out im pushing deer out of my stand area when walking in for example.

A good saying that I’ve picked up and followed is (he who covers the most ground see’s the most deer). Try finding some public land areas and look for an area with the most sign, set up in a favourable wind, if you play the wind right you don’t need to worry about what you smell like. Use pinch points to your advantage. My favourite set up is find a good rub line and a pinch point along it, especially where topography forms multiple funnels leading to that spot. Final advice get away from the crowd and be patient, you’ll eventually be rewarded. Keep at it and good luck

Don't worry so much about scent control - it's a myth. Worry about wind direction.
Unless you have the real deer scent - now outlawed in Ontario, I wouldn't bother - but some on here have had luck with the smoking sticks. They will work with fawns and spikes that are stupidly curious.
Also - don't get discouraged. I was in my 8th year of deer hunting before I shot a deer - it was also the first legal deer I saw.
Turkeys can be hit and miss.
Cellular trail cams (for me anyway) provide encouragement to go out. When you haven't seen anything for a while and then you get some good pics...

^^2x - Assuming there are animals in the area that you’re hunting, you don’t need to be as concerned with scent control if you keep the wind in your face.
I’m convinced that If the wind is at your back, it doesn’t matter what kind of scent control you use, they will smell you and not show.
Just my 2c

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ata83

Trail cams help alot in my opinion, specially the cellular ones, if there is service in the area ...
it will tell u if there are deers around, and when they visit the stand ...
I found out im pushing deer out of my stand area when walking in for example.

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X2 on this point

Being a complete novice myself:
Out all hunting gear(including camo, guns scent gadgets), I think trailcams are top priority in budget when starting out. Sign is not always visible unless the ground is soft.

And lots and lots of scouting for potential funnels (dry ground between ponds, saddles, Change in vegetation/tree lines etc..)

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If you hunt around Marmora as your location suggests, try checking out some of the crown land - it seems like there is quite a bit in the area. Scouting for deer is the most useful thing you can do, in my opinion. Once you locate deer, you've just got to put in the time. 3 years is not that long, especially if you have been doing it all on your own.

Try and locate a well used runaway in between the bedding and feeding area. Sit downwind on a comfortable chair about 60 to 100 yards away and keep movement to a minimum. Don't worry too much about scent control. Eventually, one will walk by but it may take a few days of watching. They do go nocturnal so unless there is human or dog activity pushing them it may be a long sit over a few days.

Yes, it can be frustrating but that is why they call it hunting and not killing.

Well you are playing the best game of hide and go seek there is. I put in 6 hours a day for 14 days of the deer hunt and only saw 5 individual deer, save and except another 5 more on trail camera. This is on a property I have hunted for 20 years, so do not get discouraged. My son is up there right now Coe Hill with his bow getting to know the land and doing his own discoveries. This is a hard game to play but that is what makes it such a challenge. So if your in the Marmora area you are probably hunting the "big woods" and unlike Southern Ontario farm hunting the odd's are much more in the favor of the deer.

So you need to find those pinch points where deer have to move around natural barriers or between transition zones hardwoods/softwood cover. You need to locate natural food supplies, big acorn bearing Oak trees. Getting deer to come to you is a whole lot better than going to them , so put out some pipe feeders, throw down apples, acorns, corn. You need to play the wind.

In coming weeks when the season is over, go back to you hunting spots and see their travel routes in the snow, that should help for next year.
Food plots are good to put in if you can do so.