Mountain-Man SCENT Strategies
By Bob McNally
Considering the remarkable olfactory capabilities of whitetail deer, it’s amazing bowhunters take as many bucks as they do. This is especially true of old, wise whitetails in the 3 1/2- to 7 1/2-year old range. These are seasoned bucks that have lived long enough with man to fear him. They know man’s pungent odor, and other unnatural smells associated with him.
A deer’s nose is so sensitive it’s incredible it can ever be deceived or avoided by even a modern, careful hunter. Tests have shown, for example, that a trained police dog can smell narcotics hidden inside a full can of gasoline. Incredibly, even the strong odor of gas can’t hide the drug smell from a canine. A deer’s nose is at least as sensitive as a dog’s, so it’s logical to believe that deer can scent man odor through even the most powerful “masking” scent. Furthermore, biologists have learned that bears can detect odors from many miles away, which helps them locate food. And reportedly a deer’s sense of smell is at least as good as a bear’s—and big game know how to use their nose trump card.
For example, one fall while hunting in Texas, a fellow hunter watched big- rack bucks come from upwind to his bowhunt areas from nearly 1/2-mile away. Invariably, though, at about 400 yards out, the bucks circled until they were downwind. Never would they venture close to scrapes he hunted except from downwind. Even does and yearlings were conditioned to using the wind to their best advantage.
Working The Wind
“Texas whitetails—all deer in fact—are so ‘wind oriented’ it’s smart to have several stands in place in a hunting area so you can work a prime spot no matter what direction the wind is blowing,” explained my knowleable sidekick. “Never hunt a place when the wind is blowing toward the area you expect deer to approach. Not only will deer spook and not come within range on that particular day, but old, wise, big bucks learn humans are in the area and that may alter their travel patterns for many days, making the place unproductive.
“I wear all-rubber boots because deer are so scent conscious, and rubber doesn’t absorb unnatural odors like leather boots do. My knee-high rubber boots are on the outside of my pants legs, because worn this way they offer the most scent protection.
“I use cloth knife sheaths and cloth belts, too, and my bow sling is made of nylon—not leather. A bowhunter needs every edge he can get to arrow a good buck.”
Keep your clothes clean, too, and make sure they’re washed in quality non-scent detergent, like “Scent-A-Way,” by Hunter’s Specialties. Many hunters insist air-drying hunting clothes outdoors is the best way to eliminate scent. They say static-eliminators in some clothes dryers leave a lingering, unnatural aroma.
Non-scent soap for personal bathing (like H.S. Scents “Scent-A-Way Green Bar Soap”) is smart, and don’t use fragrant deodorant or after-shave. Although early-season deer hunting can be like mortal combat with mosquitoes, yellow flies, chiggers, and other insects, plenty of hunters shun the use of repellents because of the unnatural odor they have. Instead of using repellent, scent-conscious outdoorsmen wear head-to-toe clothing, including gloves and face masks to ward off bugs.
One of the more innovative modern systems to beat biting bugs without smelly repellents is the unique “Bug Tamer,” made by Shannon Outdoors in Louisville, Georgia. The Bug Tamer is a suit—pants, mitts and parka, complete with hood and face shield. Instead of “repelling” bugs or even killing them as some sprays claim, the Bug Tamer sort of insulates the wearer from biting critters. The Bug Tamer’s fine camouflage net mesh is stitched to a wide weave cloth mesh that rests against the skin. Bugs like mosquitoes and deer flies land on the net mesh, but can’t bite into the wearer’s skin because the wide weave cloth mesh under the net elevates the bugs too far away from its human target. The suit is ingeniously designed with openings in mitts for hunters to wiggle out fingers when it’s time to shoot.
The hunting advantages of the Bug Tamer are numerous and obvious. First, because no repellent is used it’s odor free, a godsend for close-range bowhunting. Also, the nature of the garment is cool, because the close-weave net mesh rests above the wide-weave mesh, which makes for superb ventilation. In addition, in very hot weather, the entire suit can be saturated in water, wrung out, then put on, which makes for cooling evaporation while wearing.
More Keys To Staying Scent Free
Some “scent neutralizer” spray products are helpful in ridding unnatural scents on hunt clothing. Some bowmen use such sprays daily on their boots, outer garments, caps, even tree stand parts. They’re especially careful to spray their waist, crotch and under-arms before each hunt.
Some successful deer hunters are so concerned about a deer’s keen nose, that they only wear hunting clothes when they’re in the woods. They carry camo clothing in a tightly sealed plastic bag, which protects it from contamination from unnatural, human-associated scents. They wear street clothes at home or in hunt camp, as well as in restaurants and vehicles. Once in the woods, they change into hunting garb.
This sounds like a lot of trouble, but it’s smart when working for hard-hunted bucks, especially on public areas, and particularly during warm weather when human body odor is most prevalent.
Quaker Boy Game Calls Ernie Calendrelli swept this monster Iowa buck off its feet with the use of both buck lure and scent elimination devices.
Some hunters keep body odor to a minimum by dusting themselves with a mixture of baking soda and kitty litter. Put a 50-50 mixture of the stuff in a knotted sock, and dab it around on your skin, clothes, hat, boots, etc. In early bow season when it’s hot, make a habit of using a new hunting cap every couple days, since the inside sweat band absorbs odor (be sure to “dust” it regularly with baking soda-kitty litter). Many hunters are convinced fox and raccoon urine cover scents work well, and I use them habitually on boots, with excellent results.
In recent years special camouflage suits made with space-age, scent-absorbing carbon technology have helped bowhunters win the scent game. “Scent-Lok” has been around for some years and many bowhunters swear the garments virtually eliminate human odor because small carbon elements in a Scent-Lok suit “cleanse” air molecules before taking to the air and spooking game. “Scent-Lok” now is available in camouflage, making it an even more versatile outer wear garment to reduce human scent.
Browning also is making an excellent carbon suit designed to help deer, elk, bear, caribou, antelope and other big game hunters avoid olfactory detection.
“As a bowhunter perspires and releases odor, the carbon membrane in a Browning ‘Scent Sorb’ suit absorbs the odor and it doesn’t escape from the garment, explains Travis Hall, of Browning. “A ‘Scent Sorb’ suit also is made with a very quiet exterior material that bowhunters love. It’s machine washable, and the scent absorbing carbon elements are reactivated simply by tossing the suit in a clothes dryer. You wear it and use it just like regular camouflage, except that it eliminates human odor.”
Veteran bowhunter Mike Fine’ of Springfield, Missouri is a big believer in using doe-in-heat scent to attract rutting bucks. But he is so concerned about the acute senses of deer, that he only puts the potion in small, sterilized plastic film canisters having only natural cotton to absorb the liquid.
“Bleached cotton isn’t as good as natural cotton because the bleached stuff is full of unnatural scent,” states Fine’, a bowman with several bow record-book bucks to his credit, including an arrowed Boone and Crockett whitetail. “I’ve shot a lot of bucks over doe-in-heat scent, but I’d never use it with regular, bleached cotton balls.”
Two-time world turkey calling champion and expert Alabama deer hunter Larry Norton is awed by the ability of a deer’s nose, too. Norton makes “mock” scraps to attract bucks to stand locations, but when making such scrapes he’s careful not only to wear rubber boots and scent-free clothing, but he also wears arm-length rubber gloves.
Advanced Buck Foolery
“I don’t want to contaminate a ‘mock scrape’ site with my bare hands or arms,” he says. “If you touch the ground, or a tree or bush, your scent stays there for many hours, even days in some conditions. Rubber gloves eliminate that problem.”
Many experienced archers know from long experience that the first or second time they try a “hot” stand often is the best opportunity of taking a good buck. It’s largely believed this is because hunting a spot too often alerts deer from man scent that contaminates the place. This is an important consideration while scouting. When you locate a great place to hunt, set up right there, rather than risk walking around too much in the area and spoiling the site with human scent. Also, too many hunters walking and scouting a place can ruin a spot faster than a single hunter working on his own.
Bowmen who spend much time chasing mountain game have special scent problems.
“Thermal air currents that swirl around rolling hills and mountains can be difficult to figure when bowhunting,” says Paul Meeks of API Treestands. “I’ve learned to rely on API ‘Windfloaters’ which are small, feather-like fibers that come in a small dispenser. By releasing a ‘Windfloater,’ I can quickly learn wind direction, then choose my stand site or stalking direction accordingly. Often the wind blows from one direction in the morning, but the exact opposite in the afternoon. Other times the wind is so light and swirling, that without a ‘Windfloater’ you can’t tell exactly what it’s doing.
“Another trick that’s helped my bowhunting using ‘Windfloaters’ is I check wind directly periodically from my tree stand, when I set up on a bugling elk. Even a subtle change in wind can ruin a hunting spot because your scent may blow where you expect to see game. If the wind changes in favor of game, I’ll immediately hunt from a different location. You can’t waste time hunting a spot when the wind isn’t in your favor.”
One trick well-known New York hunter Dick Kirby has used effectively for bowhunting draws in mountains is to work outside creek bends, or horseshoes. This works to keep the wind in his favor, even in flatland country.
“I pick a creek with a deep ravine and a good trail beside it, and place my stand on the opposite side of the creek from the horseshoe,” says the owner of Quaker Boy Game Calls. “Deer travel the path of least resistance, so they usually walk parallel to the creek, wind in their face. When they hit an outside bend in the creek they turn with it, so the wind is now crossing, and they can’t possibly smell me. “I’ve shot a lot of deer with my bow using this wind tactic setup across from outside creek bends.”
Veteran hunters who have watched deer, bears, elk and other big game use wind to “nail” hunters and avoid detection are amazed at the cunning and stealth these remarkable animals possess. Bowmen who have not yet observed this in big game and find such slyness difficult to believe are short-changing the sensitive noses of their quarry. They’re also surely bringing home less meat from the field than archers who work diligently at being “scent smart.”
For great whitetail hunting scents at eders.com click here.
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