I "smoke up" like the indians did. Been doing this for 30 years and have found nothing to be as effective. I'm like you and strive to hunt with the wind in my favor, however, these fickle winds we have are going to betray you at times despite our best efforts.
Getting scent less !
Tell me about your becoming scent less routine .
What works for you , and what doesn't ?
Here's my list of what I know does NOT work for me ,
Scent loc suit / nose jammer scent spray / vanilla spray / **** and fox urine on boots etc,, the only thing I've tried that I " think " has helped is Deer heard in a bottle paste , this stuff does seem to help cover your entry trail .
I'm a fanatic on only hunting stands that the wind is good for , but I still get busted often ! The wind swirls bad in these hills and creek bottoms ,
What works for you , and what doesn't ?
Here's my list of what I know does NOT work for me ,
Scent loc suit / nose jammer scent spray / vanilla spray / **** and fox urine on boots etc,, the only thing I've tried that I " think " has helped is Deer heard in a bottle paste , this stuff does seem to help cover your entry trail .
I'm a fanatic on only hunting stands that the wind is good for , but I still get busted often ! The wind swirls bad in these hills and creek bottoms ,
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I've read about doing this , what's your routine swine ? Do you use a pile of leaves ?I "smoke up" like the indians did. Been doing this for 30 years and have found nothing to be as effective. I'm like you and strive to hunt with the wind in my favor, however, these fickle winds we have are going to betray you at times despite our best efforts.
All my loc-ons have 2 pieces of pine knot, 1 near the base wedged between the tree and stick ladder, the other on back of platform on the stand. Throughout the year I keep my hunting clothes and boots in a storage container with pine knot in it as well. Smell of pine is common pretty much everwhere around here and a natural, non-threating smell for a whitetail. So I use it as my cover scent. Like howie I still get busted from time to time even with the right wind, but this has seemed to work pretty well for me.
I shower before going in the woods. I wear scent blocker clothing. I know it am going to get bashed on that one. I bought the basic xlt suit 7 or so years ago. About the 3 rd season I had it. Early oct bow hunt I went to one of my friends place. I went to this bottom of hardwoods in the hills. I found a tree climb it. Did not like where I was so got back and back up a little to the side of the ridge and climbed another tree. By the time I got this done I was sweating like I had been doing Manuel labor all day. It was probly 75 degrees or so that day. So my thoughts where my hunt was pretty much ruined, but 30 mins after getting in the tree and settle. A doe comes in. And when she got to where I had walked she stopped and through the nose up and did a lot of looking. I was standing there in my climber watching her thinking she is going blow and go. Well after a good ten mins of her standing in the spot trying to figure out what was going on. She came right under my stand. I shot her at 10 yards.
So I always shower if possible and us deoderent and all scent schield shampoo and soap. I wash my carbon stuff which is all scent blocker in there clothes wash. I wash all my regular clothes like my top layers in scent killer. Because the only scent blocker stuff I have is the light weight early season stuff. I used to hang dry all of it but now I use the dryer sheets they have came out with. It saves time. I almost forgot to say I activate the carbon by putting it in the dryer. I try and keep my hunting clothes in there own bag not with regular clothes.
IMO though it's keeping yourself from sweating is the key. Body odor is what will get you busted. Smoke and other smells deer are around those more than normal. But your body odor will get you everytime. I know a guy who would shower and put on colugne before he went in the woods and swore it worked well for him. So it really about good hygiene with the deer don't stink. Lol.
So I always shower if possible and us deoderent and all scent schield shampoo and soap. I wash my carbon stuff which is all scent blocker in there clothes wash. I wash all my regular clothes like my top layers in scent killer. Because the only scent blocker stuff I have is the light weight early season stuff. I used to hang dry all of it but now I use the dryer sheets they have came out with. It saves time. I almost forgot to say I activate the carbon by putting it in the dryer. I try and keep my hunting clothes in there own bag not with regular clothes.
IMO though it's keeping yourself from sweating is the key. Body odor is what will get you busted. Smoke and other smells deer are around those more than normal. But your body odor will get you everytime. I know a guy who would shower and put on colugne before he went in the woods and swore it worked well for him. So it really about good hygiene with the deer don't stink. Lol.
I'm thinking about going to turpentine in a spray bottle. I did read, however, that you have to be careful with commercial turpentine. It supposedly contains fair amounts of benzine (a REALLY serious carcinogen) so if that is true you would only want to spray it on clothes and boots and not skin.
Me and my dad have been doing this for years as well. I normally bathe in unscented soap, keep all my clothes in a large garbage bag with all kinds of smelly leaves (pine, sweetgum, etc.) and then we'll pile up pine straw most of the time and get all in the smoke with all the clothes we will be wearing. The key is to not let it flame up, just keep rolling the pile around where it will smoke the most. Then just take your hat and waft the smoke all on you.I "smoke up" like the indians did. Been doing this for 30 years and have found nothing to be as effective. I'm like you and strive to hunt with the wind in my favor, however, these fickle winds we have are going to betray you at times despite our best efforts.
Leaves, pinestraw etc. Anything natural. Like to put green leaves, pine needles on top to produce heavy smoke with as little flame as possible. I get clean with unscented soap, then waft myself and gear in smoke. Don't think of smoke as a "cover scent". It is a natural deterrent to bacteria formation and simply makes much less bacteria form on your skin. Bacteria is the root of human odor. I spend hundreds of hours a year trying to shoot unsuspecting animals with sharp sticks at very close range from the ground. I have tried everything out there with the exception of Ozonics. (Just not practical for the way I hunt). Smoking up is not some magic bullet that always works, but it is head and shoulders above everything else I've tried.I've read about doing this , what's your routine swine ? Do you use a pile of leaves ?
I'm going to give the smoke a try this season for sure ,, ole swine has gotten some magnum bucks under his belt ,, I think ill pay attention 
I see on archery talk alotmof guys use the bee smokers and just smoke their clothes with that. You can get them pretty cheap tooI'm going to give the smoke a try this season for sure ,, ole swine has gotten some magnum bucks under his belt ,, I think ill pay attention
They are either gonna smell u or not, come or not come. Huntin down wind of where they will be comin from is the absolute only way to beat their nose. That's where good scouting and stand placement play a huge roll. Being patient is the next key. Maybe I'm jus old fashion but all the so called sent eliminator gizmos out today are jus money grabbers from poor souls who believe the paid celebrity on TV.
No need for all that, just some matches or a $1.50 lighter. Just the clothes wont cut it, it is important to waft yourself too. Remember, with smoke, you are destroying bacteria and preventing more from forming. I agree that hunting the wind is crucial. If you are careless and don't respect the wind, nothing will keep you from getting busted. Smoking up is just a little insurance and added advantage for our fickle wind.I see on archery talk alotmof guys use the bee smokers and just smoke their clothes with that. You can get them pretty cheap too
This is how i feel. Ive been hunting for 25 years and have never bought any gadget or product for scent elimination other than a bottle of scent away from time to time. I just dont believe anything can beat a deer nose. I have killed deer downwind of me in early october dripping sweat while using scent away spray but i also got busted in that same scenario a week later. If the deer have a reason to look for you, they will seek you out and they will find you. I feel like the most important thing is to make sure the deer have no reason to think there is danger in the first place. I usually leave camp early and walk from way out instead of driving close to where i hunt. I try to sneak in with the wind right while practicing my best ninja skills. If a deer gets downwind though, you better take the first clean shot you get.They are either gonna smell u or not, come or not come. Huntin down wind of where they will be comin from is the absolute only way to beat their nose. That's where good scouting and stand placement play a huge roll. Being patient is the next key. Maybe I'm jus old fashion but all the so called sent eliminator gizmos out today are jus money grabbers from poor souls who believe the paid celebrity on TV.
Yea. I meant smoking clothes while you're wearing them, including your body Hat and all ya gear.No need for all that, just some matches or a $1.50 lighter. Just the clothes wont cut it, it is important to waft yourself too. Remember, with smoke, you are destroying bacteria and preventing more from forming. I agree that hunting the wind is crucial. If you are careless and don't respect the wind, nothing will keep you from getting busted. Smoking up is just a little insurance and added advantage for our fickle wind.
Roger that. Just be careful, and if you use leafy suits or ghillies, do them seperately. Had to stomp myself out once and don't recommend it!Yea. I meant smoking clothes while you're wearing them, including your body Hat and all ya gear.
One of the best methods I've found is to use some of the local flora (plants) and rub them all over my clothes. If I'm familiar with the area and know there are cedars, I'll tear off some cedar limbs and rub them all over me. If I'm hunting an oak flat, I like to turn over the leaves and rub the dirt and rotting leaves on my clothes. Seems to work for me! But its about impossible to outsmart them every time. Just got to be the right place, right wind, right time, dumb deer!
I always run my washer empty on a heavy cycle and clean it out. Then I wash my hunting clothes with scent killer and uv killer. Then I dry them and place them in a sealed tubawear with fresh earth dryer sheets and fresh earth scent wafers. When I get up in the mornings, I take a shower with scent killer soap. Then I apply scent killer deodorant and wear gym shorts/pajamas and a tshirt until I get to my woods. When I arrive and I'm done in my truck, then I change into my hunting clothes and spray down heavily (head to toe) with scent killer autumn formula or hs fresh earth. Is it fool proof? No, but I believe it helps and I always hunt spots that are favorable with the particular wind each day. I've looked into smoking my clothes, but haven't tried it yet. I've been on the limb about it for two years. I have seen no reason why it won't work and **** it'll be a lot cheaper. There's several good threads about it on AT. Just be careful, some folks get carried away and end up burning shirts like a fellow death fiddler I know.[biggrin]
alright, I am alway short on time and the prep I used to take sometimes gets neglected. I found bee smokers on ebay for $20. what do you put in them to make good smoke??????????? (no wise cracks please)
From what I've read just use something that's native to your area, like down here I would just light pine straw or something. I think just anything that grows in your woods will workalright, I am alway short on time and the prep I used to take sometimes gets neglected. I found bee smokers on ebay for $20. what do you put in them to make good smoke??????????? (no wise cracks please)
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