Scent & Wind: What We Know About It

RIGHT SCENT

The hunting world is filled with things that are supposed to help eliminate human odor, and help make a hunter scent-free. It’s my intent every time I hunt big game to be as scent-free as possible.
I also make every attempt to be downwind of where the bear, caribou, deer or whatever game I’m hunting will travel. Sometimes it’s easier said than done, but before I go any further in this discourse, I’ll state that even though it is important to be scent-free, it’s much more important to be downwind of the game, and know how to sit still and control your movements while on stand.
Years ago I smoked cigarettes. Nasty habit, I know, but there it is. The world is filled with former cigarette smokers. Smoke is an odor or scent, but guess what? During my smoking days I shot six bears, many whitetail bucks and a few moose while smoking. What spooks game for smokers is the constant hand-to-mouth movements.
That’s a true fact. On many occasions, I’d sit my smoke aside, draw, aim and shoot one of the above animals. The smoke was drifting around, and in several cases, it was blowing directly to the animal. The critter would walk in, pay little or no attention to the smoke or the accompanying human scent, and putz around for a few minutes before giving me a broadside or quartering-away shot.
How can this be? It flies in the face of common belief that game will spook at the first sniff of human odor and that smoking hunters will be pinpointed immediately. That may be true for wilderness deer, but where most people hunt on a regular basis, deer are accustomed to smoke from a wood fire, burning leaves, and cigarette smoke.
I quit the cigarettes many years ago, feel no different for having quit, and hunt avidly. I own one old and raggedy Scent-Lok suit, an old Scent Blocker suit, and using Scent Eliminator, Scent Shield, Vanishing Hunter and other sprays whenever I hunt.
Does this clothing and sprays help? I honestly think so. Are these carbon laden clothing and scent eliminating sprays the complete answer? Absolutely not.

SCENT REVELATION

So what is? Hunters would be better served by believing in themselves, believing in their scent-free clothing and scent eliminating sprays, and the most important point of all. They must believe in their ability to be downwind of game.
The wind must be in your favor to be successful. Go back to the note above about shooting bears and deer while smoking. All of those animals were shot within 15 yards and two or the bears were within 10 feet when I shot. The truth of the matter was that I was downwind of the animal, sitting motionless and silent, and could control my nerves as I waited for the animal to offer a good killing shot.
Those three factors – being downwind, sitting still and knowing when to draw my bow – were the main ingredients in this hunting success stew. I suspect that wearing scent-free clothing or soaking yourself in scent eliminating spray would help, but conquering those three key factors have long been the keys to my hunting success.
Those products named above are fine, and I wear them and use the sprays. I also spray my tree stand, the ladder steps, my hat, gloves, clothing and rubber boots to further enhance the possibilities of success, but most of all, I play the wind like a fine violin.
One area I hunt is relatively small, and getting to the three elevated coops, four ladder stands and one pit blind really boils down to knowing the wind and knowing which stand will produce best in certain winds. The stands are approached from downwind, which incidentally is downwind of where the deer come from.

SCENT SENSE

Famous deer hunter Claude Pollington of Marion, Michigan, once showed me how to really keep track of the wind direction. Many people carry little squeeze bottle of (hopefully) unscented talcum powder but it quickly dissipates in the air. Instead, get milkweed pods, wrap rubber bands around them and set them aside for a year to dry. Pull out one or two of the dried seed filaments, and set them adrift on the breeze.
Crawl up into a stand, and repeat the process. If the filaments, which are easy for me to see out to nearly 20 yards, drift toward where the deer will be coming from, try to find another stand in a different area. The milkweed filaments from inside the dried pod will drift on the slightest breeze, and this is especially true when you can’t feel a breeze.
The weed seeds and fibers are free, and one or two pods will last the average hunter a full season of steady hunting. Get in the habit of releasing a couple every 15 minutes to test the wind. If it shifts direction, as frequently happens, get out of the tree so you won’t spook incoming deer and render that spot useless for the rest of the season.
Many people pick a spot that looks good without checking the wind, and they may spook unseen deer. A night without seeing deer (if you are in a good deer area) means they’ve scented or seen the hunter moving.
Never go hunting without checking the wind. To do so is to court failure. Once a deer sees or smells you, you’ve just educated those animals to your location. An educated buck or doe is far more difficult to hunt in the future. Just remember that the wind can be your enemy or your friend, and it all depends on how you play the breeze.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors