brewin' cover scent

[Stringman]

Ok, I've been doin this for a couple years and I wonder if I'm doin it right? I use walnuts and pine mainly, but anything that I feel has a strong smell. Just add to a pot of hot water and boil it out. Then strain the chunks out and simmer it down till its pretty potent. My question is... How do you keep it from fermenting? Or is it a problem that it does? I realize that some things ferment in their natural state as well so maybe its not an issue.

What do ya think??

[Pat B]

You will probably keep it refrigerated while not using it.

[recurve shooter]

i dont know but im gunna cook me up some pine when i get to my grandpa's this eavening.

we also use vannella extract mixed with water. has a sweet smell that deer seem to like. my grandpa has been useing it for years and has had his share of success.

[Pat B]

I have used vanilla extract also with good results. It smells sweet but doesn't attract insects like yellow jackets.   If you are going to brew up plants be sure they are similar to what is growing where you hunt. I believe there was an article in an older PA Magazine about making your own cover scent.

[woodstick]

one thing i do and works i think real well, is wash all my cloths on bakin soda put in a nonsent trashbag and put in a bunch of dead leaves in a walmart bag with a few holes in it. put the walmart bag in the trash bag tie up and let set. i use to put the leaves in with my cloths but the would get all itchie. gives it a good smell. i also have a friend that put some dirt in a bag the bottom put a layer of wax paper over the dirt with holes in it then lays his cloths on top of the wax paper the seals the bag. it all smells like dirt. this may help out.

[Pat B]

My friend used crushed up grapes in a plastic bag with his hunting cloths. It was a good idea until the yellow jackets found him up in his treestand.   He never tried that again!

[Stringman]

Yeah, Pat I might try the vanilla idea. It would be easier than brewin my own. And I think I remember an article about this too, but I can't remember what they said about storage. I also keep my huntin clothes in a sealed tote with leaves and nuts, dirt and ashes so it stays untainted. But I still like the idea of making my own cover scent and tailoring it to my local hunting areas. It also makes a nice gift to my buddies who tend to buy everything they need instead of making it. 

[recurve shooter]

i use a ghillie suit alot, and i just took it out rabbit hunting one day after a rain and played sniper. (did alot of unnessicary crawling through mudholes and rotting leaves) still smells like dirt.  i personally believe that the vanella works cuz my grandpa is an extreamly successfull hunter and he swears by it.

i have always wanted to boil some pine and give that a try.

[Pat B]

The vanilla is more of an attractant than a cover scent. The deer like the smell and come to it.
  I know guys that use turpentine as a cover scent every time they go in the woods.

[Stringman]

Turpentine being a derivitive of pine tar?!?

Recurve I like what ur gettin at. You gotta use the smells that are around ya. I once backed up to a little cedar tree on the edge of a field. Cut a bunch of needles off the tree and rubbed myself down with it. Then had a deer walk within 5 feet of me before I shot her. I also like fresh dirt and golden rod, again cause of their strong earthy smells. The appeal of putting it in a bottle is that you can spray down while up in the tree or setting in a ground blind without a lot of movement.

[recurve shooter]

yeah, im hunting in mostly piny woods. now if a fella could make himself smell like acorns, that would be a jackpot, i think.

[DanaM]

I don't bother with cover scent, just hunt into the wind or you could go get sprayed by a skunk whats more natural than that eh

[recurve shooter]

oh so true. 

[Pat B]

One problem with being sprayed by a skunk is in the animal world that is a defensive move and I believe most animals would avoid that smell and the area it comes from. Another reason is more obvious.
  I don't believe we can cover our scent from animals. Like Dana said, hunting into the wind I believe is the most important thing. Then all you have to deal with is the 6th sense the hunted animal has.

[recurve shooter]

huh. i would be hunting one zigzagy pattern. seems like the wind changes direction every 3 minutes down here.