Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Shooting and Hunting => Topic started by: Eric Garza on October 06, 2007, 09:27:12 pm
-
As someone new to hunting, I was bewildered by the array of scent-related products at my local sporting goods store. I know that scent is one of deer's keenest senses, so how do other primitive hunters deal with this? I have a piece of unwaxed dental floss tied to the tip of my bow to allow me to easily gauge wind, but I wonder if others go further than this? I'm particularly interested to hear about how folks deal with odor on clothing and if people use soaps to reduce/eliminate their body odor.
Thanks!
-Eric
-
I hunt with the wind.Scent control is damn near impossible on the ground in Fl.It is too hot and you sweat too much.And if you don't have a bug suit you need repellant.
-
I try to hunt with the wind in my face but the topography here has the wind swirling and changing direction a lot. I do wash my clothes with odor killing detergent that also kills U.V. and bathe with scentless soap. But I don't just do this for hunting, I really don't like anything with much scent to it. About a month before season opens I start taking chlorophyll and take it through the season, I find it definately reduces my body odor even when sweating, depending of course on what else I've been eating.
-
I thought that primitive scent controll meant not eating beans. ;D Use the wind to your advantage. Scent controll and cover scents just means you smell like a person that has been rolling in deer piss. They can still smell the person. Justin
-
..........no meat fer 3 days before the hunt, charcoal in yer diet. Wood smoke on yer gear and clothes. Tobacco(chewin) ifn ya partake. The rest is made ta fool YOU and make ya give up ya $ it dont fool the animals. they are less than impressed. Ya smell like a carnivore tryin' ta hide. ;)..................bob
-
put the wind at your face, and do your darndest to keep it in your face. beyond that, don't smoke in the woods, chew instead if ya need something. i agree with fred asbell in that, there is a difference between a hunter and a filthy hunter, but there is no way they won;'t smell you if they are dead down wind. The only difference is how far away they will smell you. although, i gotts say, i have killed many deer right after putting out a cig. just shows if the wind ain't goin to them, they won't smell ya no matter what.
-
I wash all my hunting clothes and myself in unscented soap, and store my clothes in a plastic tote with some hemlock branches in there. Oh and some of the scent killer stuff does help, I dont care what you guys say. I used the wipes when I was in colorado last year for 10 days and I could smell the differance before and after..... ::)
-
put the wind at your face, and do your darndest to keep it in your face. beyond that, don't smoke in the woods, chew instead if ya need something. i agree with fred asbell in that, there is a difference between a hunter and a filthy hunter, but there is no way they won;'t smell you if they are dead down wind. The only difference is how far away they will smell you. although, i gotts say, i have killed many deer right after putting out a cig. just shows if the wind ain't goin to them, they won't smell ya no matter what.
This I agree with including "killed a deer right after putting out a cig", this also has happened to me a couple of times. Watch the wind at all times, keep it in your favor and they wont smell you.
-
Ryan, I do use the scent free laundry detergent and that kind of stuff. You can certainly minimise the scent. The alternative is using flowery smelling stuff, so you don't have much choice. I also put my clothes in a duffel bag with sage brush. But all these efforts are to keep my clothes from smelling like gas or exhaust from the truck. It is all futile though if you let them get down wind. Justin
-
I use a lot of the sent killer spray and I keep my cloth as many have said as clean as I can.I try to hunt with the wind in my favor but here in Tn. if you are hunting from a stand or blind you would
have to change every 15 min.I think the sent control helps at least make them think you are 40 yards out insteat of 10.If they get down wind they will catch you if they stay there long.
Especially a big old doe. :)
Pappy
-
thought ya'll might find this interesting....
last year I was sitting in one of my favorite treestands when I saw a doe that obviously caught a wiff of me turn and walk back the way she came. when a second doe walked the same way without smelling me (somehow) they both walked the direction the first one was headed in the first place.
All along I had thought that there was no way a deer would do such a thing but she must have had a very short memory..
-
I like the scent free soap for me and clothes, and use small fresh cedar branches on me while out.Seems to work ok,wood smoke doesnt hurt either.
-
Scent free soap, deodorant and detergent for clothes. Keep clothes sealed in plastic bag, and carry a change of clothes and shoes with me for the middle of the day if I'm going to be away from home. I also wear rubber boots, and try to keep the wind direction in mind when determining which stand I plan to hunt. But as Pappy said, it changes often. I also attempt to approach and get into a stand if possible without a deer crossing my trail. You can't always do that though.
-
The same way moutain men did sweating in buckskins. Or a hallf naked indain did. Get down wind. The only thing i do is drag a scent rag tied to a piece of rope around my boot.(using alittle urine) There is a sucker born every minute if you buy all that stuff.
-
Play the wind and watch where you step!
I only hunt in period clothing anymore....be it a clout and hunting shirt with a flintlock or a tunic and hose with a long bow.......one thing I do....is to make sure to store my clothes in a cedar chest.....and I also leave them smelling of wood smoke......
-
Like everybody else said, if you're upwind of a deer, it'll smell you. If you're downwind, it won't. I wash my hunting clothes in baking soda and don't use scented soap if I'm hunting. I figure like Pappy said, they'll still smell you, but might fool them into thinking you're farther away than you actually are.
-
Use the wind to your advantage. You will always leave a foreign scent no matter what you do. Some of these methods of scent control may reduce the amount of scent that you leave behind, but you still smell like a human. If the scent products give you more confidence then by all means use them.
-
O.K. one thing I don't get. Why would one scent their clothing with woodsmoke?? Why smell like a forest fire, I'd think most animals, like people, would want to get away from the fire????
I love the smell of a campfire but can't see why a deer would.
I too know many people who have killed deer at close range while smoking. My buddy Gary burned his self doing this.
-
Here in Kentucky, we don't have forest fires....none that come to mind in my 32yr old brain anyway. Woodsmoke is a natural smell. I have not worried about woodsmoke in my clothes for the past 5 years. No issues. In those five years I have killed 22 whitetails. None over 30 yards, be it with flintlock or longbow. Three of them were shot when the WALKED UP TO MY CAMPFIRE in the morning! Twice on real cold days....I made a small fire.....buried it then sat over it wrapped in my wool blanket....warm as can be and killed a deer.
Woodsmoke on your clothes aint a bad thing....but the biggest thing to do is play the wind...and be mindful how it blows up into the hollars....
-
I remember reading an article in one of the hunting mags years ago. It was about old timers using the method you describe
Stonedog, build a fire and wait for the deers curiousity to bring them in.
-
In all of my cases it wasnt to bring deer in....is was a late morning cook fire to keep from going hypothermic!
-
I made a small fire.....buried it then sat over it wrapped in my wool blanket....
"...see that you put enough dirt over that fire Pilgram!" ;D
-
LOL! My technique is a LOT different than what Bear Claw Grizlap taught Jeremiah.....
-
I watched a herd of cow elk bed down in a prescribed burn where the Forest Service was burning off excess grass/brush. There wasn't any flame left, but plenty of smoke. The elk would lay in any patch of grass/leaves that did not burn, but the smoke was all around them. It almost seemed like they liked it? Definitely not spooked or nervous.
-
Here is a theory on WHY they are attracted to the smell.....
When a forest burns.....new growth pops up....which is like crack to deer, elk, buffalo etc.......
It is "thought" that they equate the smell of woodsmoke or wood ash with yummy treats of new growth.....
I dunno if'n it's true and I ain't sayin it is.....but it IS a good theory.
-
yup,. didn't put enough dirt down, saw i right off ;)
watch yer top knot
-
This has been a fascinating discussion. I've been following it and had better luck, sort of, by paying more attention to wind. I've had a couple nice doe walk within shooting range, but unfortunately my permit is for antlered deer so all I could do was sit quietly and watch them go by. I'll try again in late season here in Vermont, and will probably do a little hunting back in Indiana when I head home for the holidays.
Thanks for the tips!
-Eric
-
I've found baking soda to be the best for washing my clothes. Then I seal them in a plastic bag with some leafy brances of a type common where Im hunting so my clothes end up smelling like the forest.
-
I agree with the baking soda idea - I also use scent killer, and notice a difference in my own B.O., and critter close encounters after applying it. Arm and hammer makes a scent-free "hypoallergenic" laundry detergent that I use . Before bow season , i get several changes of "base clothes" washed up and air-dried. (If using the dryer, hide the wife's fabric softener sheets for a few days before ) dust with baking soda and put in a trash bag. I also keep my camo "top clothes" hung outside in some pines and spray myself and them, 'specially the armpits, head n' feet, with scent killer before leaving and during setup.
You guys out west are lucky - I bow hunt off the ground in an area with so much hunting pressure, the DEER are smoking cigarettes halfway through the season just to take the edge off. They are spooky and paranoid, and i don't want any scent that doesn't belong there. (Baking soda kills B.O. bacteria and absorbs oils and is my lone exception )
Killed a little six-point my neighbor missed last week 2 days ago - he had to be 'noided out. Never smelled me up against the tree 15 yards away. The big boy came in behind me downwind earlier and ambled off seemingly unawares.
Should have offered him a smoke.
-
..."I Hachet Jack, being of sound mind and broke legs, do here by leave this baer rifle to any man who might find it. Lord hope it be a white man. It be a good rifle, and kilt the baer that kilt me! Anyhow I am dead now,
Your's trully, Hachet Jack"
Sorry, got off topic...but maybe that baer smelled Hachet Jack's smokey leathers! ;D
-
crushed clove of garlic. smear it on clothing.
-
I had to chime in on the woodsmoke issue. I had read somewhere about always standing in front of a smoky fire before hunting. The reasoning was not that it covered scent but that the smoke particles would act as a "primitive carbon suit" to actually absorb (or ADsorb if you like) the odors. I think some Indian tribes used to do this. I was thinking of trying it this year. I don't know if the science is valid but it sounds possible. Maybe we could get the Mythbusters to try it out.
-
Sorry if this is slightly off-topic, but I just like the smell of a burning fire and will definitely adopt this as a method to screen my scent :)
And, love the movie references :)
-
Nice point on the activated carbon / woodsmoke angle.....something to think about.
-
An update on woodsmoke- I got online to look into it some more. It looks like commercial activated carbon has to be made at high temperatures. They also inject steam which gives the carbon particle tons of pores, like a sponge. However,from what I could tell, anything that burns can be used as a source. Just a guess, but smoke from a wood fire would be unlikely to contain a lot of activated carbon due to the low temp of the fire, but it might have a little. I would still prefer it to using a carbon suit.
-
I had a dude out in Oregon tell me that if you smeared yourself in vanilla extract, then the deer would come right up to you and lick it off you. He also said that the indians would bury them selves in a deer trail, cover themselves in deer droppings, and when a deer walked over them they would jam an obsidian knife in their chest. He also told me that the Indians would eat their own placenta after they gave birth.
MAybe the other stuff is true, but I don't see an indian smearing himself in #%#? while it's freezing cold outside! hahahaha.....
What an idiot.....
-
If you covered yourself with vanilla extract here, you'd have about 10,000 yellow jackets all over you before long :o
-
Hey tell him ta check out the price of Vanilla extract ! :o ;D :D ;D..........bob
-
The best hunting tip i can give. Don't Fart!!! You do that you'll see deer.
-
As far as smoking while hunting goes, I guess it depends on how dumb the deer are. I must have some stpid deer around here. I have had them come in with there nose up smelling he the smoke. I even shot one while holding the cigerette in my bow hand because I did nit have time to lay it down. As far as cover scents go, I hunt in a lot of pine, so to blend in, I will rub cheap aristocrat gin on my hunting clothes a few hours before I go out. Smells like fresh pine needles.
-
Here in Oklahoma there is many southern red cedar trees. i have made an oil by boiling green branches. it makes a good cover scent. i suspect this would work with other evergreens as well.
-
I know quite a few people that sit in there stand and spit Tobacca juice all day.They say the deer will lick it. I don't know if I'd waste the Gin,Turpentine and water work real good.
-
............Tobacco is a crop fer farmers down here in south florida. I chaw in woods and like Eddie said have seen em' lick it up thats is before arra finds em' ! ;D......bob