How long does human scent stick around. I realize there are alot of factors, but lets say your sitting at the base of a tree and no rain. How long till your scent won't effect deer?
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How long does human scent stick around. I realize there are alot of factors, but lets say your sitting at the base of a tree and no rain. How long till your scent won't effect deer?
Until you leave, and hours after? lol It's why scent control/ wind set up/ thermals are important to success.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wake
I was always told that your scent can stick around for 24 hours after you leave an area. If its someone walking a dog you can double it. I have no scientific evidence to prove this however. Although I have harvested 2 bucks in the past that I likely shouldn't have due to improper scent control.
yup! i think of the first buck i shot. no idea how he didnt wind me.Quote:
Originally Posted by cantgetright
May have answered my own question. Went in and raked a trail to one of my stands this morning. Probably 200 feet or more which took some time, made some noise and had to have left scent. Then I went for lunch and when I came back around 2:30 there were 3 sets of tracks walking down my path.
Your scent will be there for days, weeks. A hound dog could track your cold scent that could be days old, So a deer will smell it
A smart deer will know how fresh it is and how big of a threat it is, my dog knows its a fresh track before I get 10 feet from it to look at it. He catches the scent and wants to go and then I know for sure its a hot track. If he shows no interest then its cold enough not to bother.
I use a hound as an example, A deer can smell better than a hound.
Have had deer hit my fresh boot tracks and turn on a dime and gone. Other times my tracks might be 4- 5 hours old, Deer will be on alert but might not spook.
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Weird, sometimes they cut my track and turn and run, other times, decide to follow me in...It might depend on the deer and time of year....Definitely setup and keep downwind :)
I say BS to all of that I smoke fart wear lucky pair of black pants with three other deers blood on them next to no camo
I had three deer come out tonight where we recovered the doe on Monday night. One work d her way eating brush leaves right where doe ran into bush blood trail started there Another worked her way to my range targets 6 red dongs hanging big 3x3’ bullseye target 5 gallon pails
79yd from my blind I had to make noise spook them away to exit blind
js4fn-if You are pop up blind hunting,many things do not matter..........;):D
For the OP,deer does what deer do,hard to know for sure how they would react.
I think about this issue differently-i can not fly-can't I?(i wish sometimes i could)i have to get to my spot somehow,Don't I?
There are things You can not avoid.If You are sitting ,you will leave scent.
If it will spook a deer?-maybe.What is Your option anyway?Perhaps not to hunt a spot more then once twice a month?or less.
Sometimes that is doable, sometimes it is not.
Do some precutions(less scent the better-You can go miles with scent control)watch the wind,do not walk all over the area while hunting,and Good luck.
ps-deer hunting suppose to be fun,no need to "sweat it"
My blind. You know the one no one else better touch enter blind is a 20 year old u-haul wood shipping crate
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Nice setup js4fn-based on Your wildlife pictures thru netting ,i thought You hunt pop up blind, with see thru mesh..................other then that,many things do not matter- in an old shipping crate either:scream:
Just having fun. But my diesel gator is park 12’ behind that blind it takes me 10 minutes to set bolt kick case out of the way you know what a 48 year smoker sounds like when rushed cough coughQuote:
Originally Posted by gbk
Every one has different situation. Tonight we didn’t get into blinds till 5:15. Had deer In view 6:05 ranged at 79yd just saying I’m doing every thing I can to avoid deer
I’m doing everything I can to help buddy out. I’ve let enough deer walk by to fill all available tags. Stress level some nights is a 10+. II’m taking oictures instead of pullng trigger
Having a blast hope my buddies are too some years it’s one guys that is lucky. Guess this is my year
Scent killers are a complete pseudoscience. The only fact that matters is wind. If you are up wind from a deer they will smell you. The only question is their reaction, and they will react the same way with or without scent-killers. Lets imagine that you could eliminate ALL the scent off your body (again fairyland here) you will still be producing LOTS more scent by just breathing. Scent killers "may" remove some of your scent from your clothing but you're just going to sweat in it the second you put it on so it's useless. My dad has killed well over 60 deer and bear all while washing his clothes next to everything else with tide detergent.
Totally agree with you on this one.Quote:
Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic
My theory is that sometimes "downwind" isn't exactly where it's supposed to be all of the time because wind follows terrain features. Watch smoke move through the woods.
Other times they smell you but have more important things on their mind and come in anyway.
I don't think it can hurt if you want to put the effort into scent control, but for me personally it isn't worth the effort.
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You can 'mask' your scent by overpowering their olfactory senses with smell that triggers a different response. I have used burning scent sticks with great success over the years deep in the bush where the thermals whip the wind in all directions so it's impossible not to be down wind of the deer all the time.
The scent from the sticks masks the scent I give off, so they come straight in towards the stronger source of the smell they want.
im using those this year in my spot, i tried last year on the end of a tree line they dont work to well when its to windy, bush is the best for them no doubt. hopefully ill have a buck to post here come next week ahhaQuote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
Your scent will linger for days however the strength/freshness dissipates after a few hours. It’s the concentration of your scent, and the deer’s tolerance to it, that will determine if a deer gets frightened off or not.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wake
I always forget how curious deer are. I cleared a spot to sit one day; setup a trail cam. When I checked a week later the resident buck was on the camera that evening checking out my alterations.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wake
i think it really depends on location.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanO
here in farm country they are super curious and used to all sorts of scent.
there are times im tempted to douce myself in diesel fuel just to see if that would help with the way they flock to the tractors during harvest time.
Agreed and throw in each deers age and personal experience with scents either good, bad or neutral will play into how they react.Quote:
Originally Posted by fratri
Older mature bucks are alot more wary of scents. They only get to be big by learning early how to avoid hunters.
Last week I had a good example of how scent is left at a spot. I hunted a never before spot on our property and 3.5 days later in a different stand I watched a coyote come out and sniff exactly where I was sitting then proceed to smell the trail I used to exit that night. It was so curious about my smell it couldn't leave the area alone it kept pacing back and forth smelling the area I was at.
Quote:
Originally Posted by js4fn
Exactly! Down here in farm country in the SW, or NW for that matter, deer smell human scent all the time. It’s the strength or concentration that alerts them. I’ve had deer follow me into my stand, walking through cut corn with heavy frost, hardly quiet, and certainly laying down scent. I do use scent killers and lay down doe scent as well on my way in.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Menard
Some of the best luck I’ve had in past years is using pure vanilla as cover scent.
I just play the wind. Can't be bothered to do any more. Almost never use a blind just hunt on the ground using natural cover and play the wind. Since they started selling additional tags 20 years ago i have averaged 3.4 deer per year and never less than 2 in any season since than. So seems to work. All shapes and sizes from fawn to my PB 160 inch buck. Vast majority of those deer were inside 25 yards as well. Also almost always smoke a cigar while hunting as well.
I drove myself mad with scent control for a couple years. Thought it can't hurt my chances, then over time and journaling all my sits, realized deer would come in from down wind sometimes, and blow once they were upwind. The winds swirls so much in the woods.
Then what really tipped the scales for me was last year I put out about 100lbs of cubed alfalfa and had a coyote bed down in it one day from about 9am to 3 in the afternoon, a couple hours later had deer on the trail camera.
Now I play the wind as much as I can, and just try not to introduce any smells they might deem out of the ordinary. There's lots of human traffic through the woods I hunt year round, so I've relaxed my scent control measures.
I have noticed that in the big hardwood's where I hunt the wind seems to swirl all over the place. My best stand is in the south east corner of an old field area which happens to be near my front gate and the roadway.But the stand gives a full view west and north for safe shooting,with the roadway being off to my right side some 60 yards.The only wind direction that is very much against me would be a south wind,this year I located a second stand to switch to should that wind come up.
I generally have some paper towel in my pocket,roll a piece up like a cigarette and light it,snub it out and check the smoke direction, always pretty accurate,but the wind at times will always swirl and you need to hope for the best.
I’m trying new spot tonight. Deer haven’t adjusted to time change. So I’m in the bush about 30 yd from lake bank had big roast beef lunch sound of the lake I’m going to fall asleep l
Think I have comerants different sounding bird anyway can’t see them
This is a great gun local. Not great for crossbow Buddy in a good location see what happens
Seen 7 one being a buck out of crossbow range. Muzzle loader next week
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He would have been down
Watched a fawn last week catch my wind 5 times in 3 hours. Each time it would just run about 50 yards then stop and listen, Then come back and continue browsing until it got my wind again. It was at 10 yards looking at me the last time before I finally stood up and chased it off. (Thought I'd try to smarten it up a bit)
Next day a 8 pointer walks same trail, Same wind direction. He stops, nose up, spins around on a dime and hops back in the bush and gone. No snort, Nothing.
If that was a doe she would likely blow a few times as she's running away. Bucks just turn and leave no warning for others.
Shot my 8 point wearing my dirty old farm coveralls as I do barn chores each day since my dad is up north deer hunting.
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Guys have mentioned doe urine. I tried Tinks 69 and I found it ineffective. I had my target buck wander a 60-80 yard perimeter in deep swamp around the Tinks. I think the synthetic urine identified my hunting zone. As far as I'm concerned the experiment is over. What do guys use on their boots to lay down a doe urine trail.
i think it really depends on where you are. i ruined a spot last year because of the doe piss and am scared to do it again. also shot my first buck with a tinks bear stick so not sure what works and doesnt with scent.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanO
I’ve tinkered with commercial scents on and off for over 35 years. I’ve used Buck Stop, Tinks, Smoking Sticks, Buck Bomb, and countless other products. I even tried ammonia and human urine as they are ingredients in some scents. I also used to tie the tarsal glands of harvested bucks to my boots. Bottom line is that I’ve never had consistent results with anything so I quit using them. Buck behaviour can vary and can also be contradictory from one day to the next. They can be extremely curious and easily fooled, or can be extremely wary and cautious. The fact that they are unpredictable makes them challenging and fun to hunt.
Interesting topic. I see two schools of thought - there are believers and there are non believers and those in the middle.
I hunt with some guys that do nothing with their hunting clothes.......they hang them in the work shop until hunting season and then they wear them for the season and when done hang them back back up until next year. I also hunt with guys that wash their clothes in scent a way and air dry at the beginning of the season and store them in a sealed bags with cedar bows for the season. Before a hunt they shower with scent a way soap and drive to the farm in street clothes and change at the side of their truck and before they walk out they spray down again with scent a way.
I am the guy in the middle. I do wash my clothes at the beginning of the season in a scent free soap, but I store my clothes in a tote in the back of my pick-up truck for convenience only (I like to have all my gear in one location). Sometimes I will spray down with scent a way (aka pixie dust) if it is out, but most times I just spray my heels of my boots with doe urine for the walk in. I put more effort into picking out what stand I hunt (depending on the wind direction), and the best way to get to that stand. I check the wind a couple of times during my hunt to see if it is changing direction or of it is an updraft or a downdraft. Another issue I see is some hunters cannot sit still - in the early weeks of the bow season I had a 6 pointer chase a doe into 30yds of me then wandered around for 4-5 minutes, and another time I had 5-6 does all within 25yds of my stand.
I still bring coffee or hot soup broth in a thermos with me for the really cold sits and sometimes use a Zippo hand warmer in a hand muff - yes these create smells but I think the deer are more curious than anything. I cannot tell you how many times I have been hunting and can smell the diesel from 2-3 farms over when the farmer is working his fields or spreading manure.
The way I see it scent control cannot hurt but I do not get compulsive about it. Regardless of how much product you use if you do not play the wind to your advantage your hunting success will be greatly limited.
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