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Quote: I admit it....I am a scent NAZI ! It is just too easy to take basic precations. I wash myself and clothes with scent free soaps and make my own anti-scent spray. I go so far as to brush my teeth with pure baking powder. My hunting clothes usually stay in their plastic bags until I reach the field if possible and I spray them down with my super secret anti-scent recipe if not. The result is I have had moose totally unconcerned in swirling winds at about 10 feet and bears head to the bait after circling it repeatedly trying to catch the wind from a well known stand. This year while sitting on a bear bait and trying my damn best to be silent and still I heard a chipmunk below me on the tree. I didn't even turn my head to look at him and the next thing I knew he was sitting on my boot. He scurried around down there for a while until he climbed my leg and sat on my knee. He jumped from knee to knee for a few minutes with me not wanting to make a move or sound to clue in the very well educated bears in the area. That idea went to hell when the chipmunk apparently deduced that my finger was something edible and took a good bite of it (didn't break the skin)!  Scared the hell out of me and my loud "HOLY SHIT!" pretty much ended that afternoon's hope for a bear. Shot a decent boar off that same stand the next night though.Now, while not even being remotely scent free, I have also had a whitetail doe within arms reach who just couldn't figure out what the hell I was. She could obviously smell me but not see me and therefore, without some secondary indication of danger, kept circling while I was huddled at the base of a tree for about 15 minutes. She was literally three or four feet away. Similarly, I had a big sow black bear with cubs come into a bait two years ago. I was, clearly, not going to shoot her so decided to run an experiment. I was, obviously, camouflaged very well in my tree stand at 25 yards or so and the wind was blowing into my face. I started periodically coughing, speaking in a low voice, and creating metallic noises by subtly kicking the stand or clicking my sling swivels. Every one of these actions caused the sow to stop, look around and eventually zero in on the exact direction of the noise. At one point, she even raised her nose and appeared to look up into the tree from her position at the bait. This went on for about 20-30 minutes. Absent any visible or olfactory confirmation that danger was present, however, the animal was as happy as a clam. My opinion is now that one can be stinky or noisy or visible but you had better not be any of the two combined or game will bolt. JMHO, JohnTheGreek | ||
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We are human... Therefore we stink. Simple as that. Smoke is just another odor that can cling to us... Whether or not it spooks deer has a lot to do what they're used to and what they're used to humans smelling like. Just get downwind of your quarry or climb a tree high enough to keep your scent out of the ground currents. I'm not sure how anyone thinks they can be scent free  Breath out, sweat a little bit (you do it ALL the time), get in your car/truck, get near a campfire... You're gonna stink like a human within a couple of minutes after you step out of a scent free shower no matter what you do... If you really want to fool a buck's nose then figure out how to smell like a John Deere tractor which is the best deer attractant in the world....  $bob$ | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting American Big Game Hunting Re: human smell & campfire smoke?
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