When you walk around in your "normal" life, your boots are collecting every scent. Whatever is on your carpet, floorboard, fuel on the asphalt at the gas station, Walmart, the list goes on and on. All of those smells are left on the ground with every step you take in the deer woods. The soles of my boots never touch any surface other than when I'm walking into my stand. Leaves and dirt, that's it. I take them off, lay them in the back seat as soon as I get to the truck and don't put them back on until I'm ready to walk in and hunt again. I also try to not touch branches, trees, etc if I can help it as I get within a certain distance if my stand. I use unscented foot powder and place my boots on a boot dryer any time my feet sweat and I never have issues with smelly boots. I've done this with both hiking boots and rubber boots with good success. All of this is ofcourse extra work, but since I have gone to this routine I almost never have deer bust my trail I walked in and I am hunting public land exclusively. It happens so infrequently that I can't remember the last time it happened.
Edit: I also try to be strategic about my access. For example, not walking right across areas I expect to shoot deer when I can help it. Accessing stand locations through ephemeral drainages or off the side of the ridge (areas that would naturally have less deer traffic) rather than walking right down the gut of the ridge top I plan to hunt.
