Scent control

[Hillbilly]

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.

[TRACY]

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.

[brokennock]

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.

[Stonedog]

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....

[DanaM]

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.

[Stonedog]

In all of my cases it wasnt to bring deer in....is was a late morning cook fire to keep from going hypothermic!

[GregB]

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!" 

[Stonedog]

LOL!  My technique is a LOT different than what Bear Claw Grizlap taught Jeremiah.....

[Juniper]

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. 

[Stonedog]

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.

[armymedic.2]

yup,. didn't put enough dirt down, saw i right off

watch yer top knot

[Eric Garza]

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

[kiwijim]

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.

[Postman]

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.

[GregB]

..."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!