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Am I wasting my time on scent control?

Once I'd seen my squirrel dogs get 50-60 yds downwind of a gray squirrel 30 feet up in a tree and then follow the scent to the tree and start hammering on the exact tree it was in I knew scent control was hopeless. That squirrel is only a pound and a half at most and I dont think a dogs nose is as good as a deers yet the dogs can pinpoint the squirrel… just imagine what a deer can do with a 200 lb man and all that surface area emitting scent. I just plan for the right wind and hope it holds long enough at the right time. You gotta remember if the wind swirls and blows the wrong direction if it changes 180 degrees all that scent that went in the wrong direction is blown back and past you in the right direction when it switches.
 
So personally I am anal retentive about scent. Hunting the wind is obviously the preferred method but not always possible in public land. Especially Fort Campbell where you are "assigned" an area and if you do not get to a certain spot on that one area you are assigned you may not be able to walk into an area where the wind works to your advantage. So I like to assume that I will not get there first just in case. I use the detergent, soap, and scent free Arm and Hammer deodorant. All my clothes are stored in 30 gallon zip lock bags with a little baking soda and put into a sealable tote. The three biggest thing to me are boots get out on where I park and taken off when I get back to the truck, and I do spray them down before walking in. Second thing is avoid touching vegetation etc with my hands as much as possible and third is I hunt high 25'-30' even with archery equipment I get up a minimum of 22'-23' and hope the thermals will pull my scent up and away.
 
Why? Because its the cool tv thing to do or are you getting down and completely moving the moment it shows the wind isnt in your favor? Milkweed is cool to watch but once you realize you screwed up its already to late. I see everyone on youtube and tv use it but never see anyone get down and leave. Milkweed does nothing except show you that few seconds what its doing, learn thermals and topography wind shifts and tunnels and leave all the gimmicks alone and for goodness sake dont listen the weatherman
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This why I use milkweed because I don't listen to the weatherman and yes I get down and move stands I did it three times the other day.. I get blown at almost every hunt. There's deer 360 where I hunt way too many does right now. If you don't want to get busted you got to have your back to road which isn't as fun..
 
Also I think folks get busted a lot more than they think. When I have been winded by a mature deer they rarely announce it they just bounce.. Had one wind me last year at 325 yards wind was blowing out of the west and he was due south..
 
Bgoodman30 said:
Also I think folks get busted a lot more than they think. When I have been winded by a mature deer they rarely announce it they just bounce.. Had one wind me last year at 325 yards wind was blowing out of the west and he was due south..
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I think it would amaze people how many deer they spook. A lot of time deer will never blow or let you know.

Got lucky several years ago and got to hunt in snow. The tripod was tuck in a spot I though was out of swirling winds from the ridge. Til I hunted and saw how the snow was moving around. We moved it another 70 yards to get out of that swirl.
 
BSK said:
I take a different tack. I think it helps. But that's because I set all my stands up like I am bowhunting. All my encounters with deer are at VERY close range. Since I've been using a scent-control regime, deer no long blow and bolt when they smell me. They lock-up and go on high alert. Then they either slowly back out of the situation or continue on at super high attention. Both scenarios can give me a shooting opportunity. Blowing and bolting does not. That said, I only hunt a given stand when the wind is most to my advantage. But I have to admit, I'm no longer super-anal about my scent-control. I wash all my clothes in scent-reducing soaps, air dry them, and keep them in airtight containers. Inner-most layers only get worn once before being rewashed, mid-layers a couple of times, outer layers simply get sprayed down periodically with scent reducers. I don 't wear my boots indoors or in my truck. But I used to go to extraordinary lengths to reduce scent, like not touching anything without wear surgical gloves. I don't go to those extremes anymore.
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This is me to a T. If the deer is going to smell you, he's going to smell you, no matter what you do. What you CAN do is #1 - make your scent faint enough where he thinks your 100 yards away when your really 20 yards, hence them not busting out of there and them starting to become very suspicious….which often times gives you a shot opportunity after they've smelled you. And #2 - I think this is most important. Have dedicated boots for only hunting that never see the indoors and are only walked on dirt/grass (from the time they're pulled out of the box. I'd have to really think hard on the last time a deer busted my trail on the walk in or out
 
We do a lot of field hunting. Deer walking across a field 100 - 150 yards downwind will stop on a dime when they hit your scent trail. Sometimes that has been the point to take a shot. I try to minimize my scent — clothes are washed in non-scented no UV detergent, I use the green non scented liquid soap, and non scented detergent. Like BSK said, we wash under layers (pants, shirts, socks) after each days hunt. Outer layers (coveralls, etc), may only be washed once or twice a season. Clothes are stored in non-scented plastic trash bags between hunts. I believe it makes a difference. I don't use any sprays or cover scents — ever. If the doe or buck goes into a mode of trying to figure out what the smell is — it's a lot better than when they slam on the breaks and head directly downwind or even reverse course at high speed. I quit using doe urines after watching multiple deer over a few years just slam on the breaks and head the other way when they would hit that scent trail.
 

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