When I was taking the ontario hunters ed course, my instructor (an avid bow hunter) shared this bit of wisdom with regards to cover scent for deer: About 1 month before the start of the hunting season, go out an cut some fresh cedar boughs. But the freshcut boughs in a garbage bag, toss in your hunting clothes, and tie the bag shut.
Only take your clothes out to wear when you're hunting. When you're done for the day, put the clothes back in the bag with the boughs and tie it shut again. I haven't tried it yet, but I think I will next season.
subneural wrote:When I was taking the ontario hunters ed course, my instructor (an avid bow hunter) shared this bit of wisdom with regards to cover scent for deer: About 1 month before the start of the hunting season, go out an cut some fresh cedar boughs. But the freshcut boughs in a garbage bag, toss in your hunting clothes, and tie the bag shut.
Only take your clothes out to wear when you're hunting. When you're done for the day, put the clothes back in the bag with the boughs and tie it shut again. I haven't tried it yet, but I think I will next season.
-Subby
i think this would be a great idea..but make sure that cedar is is in the area that your hunting.
if you dont stand behind our troops.
please feel free to stand in front of them
I've found vanilla flavored cigars work well where I hunt. The cherry flavored seem to spook deer, but vanilla attracts them.
Seriously - I've shot several deer while I had a cigar lit in my ground blind! I've also had one come up and almost stick his head in the "window" on the blind when I was brewing a cup of coffee on my alcohol stove! I think it all depends on where you're hunting (urban, rural, or wilderness) and the deer itself. Some are curious, some are not, and any of those odors tend to "dilute" the human scent.
Something like the theory of using multiple scents (deer, fox, raccoon, coyote, etc.) mixed & sprayed profusely when coyoute hunting. It puts so many smells in their olfactory senses that their brain kind of "short circuits" and they are totally confused and often ignore the scent.
Last edited by wabi on Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
deer smell wood smoke this time of year more than anything else, stand in front of a fire and get smoked up, now you probably got the only cover scent that would work, just my opinion
Road apples will probably work only if the deer are accustomed to smelling horses nearby.
The deer that are easily fooled are the first ones on the meat pole.
I have bow hunted on a beef farm years ago, and walked through the barn yard on the way to the bush. Had to walk through cow manure and found that the scent of the manure was something these deer were use to. When I hunted there, I stopped using a store bought cover spray and stopped wiping it off the soles of my boots. I had decent success, just had to wear another pair of boots in the truck on my drive home.
-Michael.
we boil down cedar and pine boughs and put it in spray bottles. We wash our clothes in wildlife research scentfree and u/v inhibitor soap, then fold with pine boughs.
huntfishfam wrote:I personally use leaves from my hunting area and put them in a tote with my hunting cloths. This way I blend with the same area I hunt.
Sean
I do the same, the dollar store sells a little bag that has lots of holes in it that work good for this, it is made for washing little/delicate items in the machine, keeps that actual debris off the clothes and lets all the scent pass easily through. I have 3 in my hunting clothes box. When I open my clothes container it smells remarkably like where i sit and hunt.
If you are not willing to learn, nobody can help you, if you are willing, nobody can stop you.
A bowhunter with a passion for shooting firearms.
WMU 91
Boo string
When I head out I take along any apples that are "past date" - when I get near my spot I'll squish them underfoot making sure I get my soles really wet in them.
________________
Sent from a mobile device - So spelling and grammar may be questionable!
---
"Team DryFire"
Vixen, Micro 315, HHA Optimizer, Boo & VixenMaster strings, Munch Mounts, Dr. Stirrup accessories.