Best Cover Scent

[PeltHunter]

Hey guys I've been looking at the weather and its calling for a pretty solid west and South west wind for this weekend. This takes away about half of my hunting area. In the past including this weekend I've used the Buck Bomb as instructed to be a cover scent and its worked with mixed results. I keep my clothes in an air tight box with leaves and sticks and spray my rubber boot soles with the buck bomb before I walk in. Just wondering what is a good cover scent once in the stand as there has been a monster 10 point coming from what would be the downwind side of my area and I'd really like to get him into range.

[apb]

If you are near the Himrod farm store in Himrod NY. They have Wright outdoors Triple X scent spray in a few different scent choices. I have heard it works better than the well known competitors.

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[Gill-T]

No cover scent will keep him from smelling you from down-wind.  Save your money.

[T_barb]

A couple of thoughts...

 

This time of year, south weest and west winds are the prevailiing direction, so you should take that into consideration when you set your stands.

 

Do not jeopardize being winded by a mature buck..  It is highly likely that you will never see him again. 

 

I have a similar situation with a buck I am hunting..  I have a stand set at the southeast corner of a field..  I have no option to get a stand down wind of his travel corridor.  I can only hunt it with a NW to East wind.  I have to just wait it out.  I tried hunting it a couple of years ago with the wrong wind and the big boy showed up and was gone, never to be seen again.

 

Be patient and wait for the right day...

[Nautitroller]

My best advice would be to control your own scent as much as possible. Use anti bacterial soaps and scent free sprays. More important though is to learn the wind currents as they apply to the areas you hunt. As a small example an airplane wing has air travelling faster and swirling as it goes over the wing. Hills, depressions, flats temp changes in am and sunset all have an influence on wind currents. I have wind notes for all wind directions in the area I hunt. These notes show patterns of how wind acts on my property. Thus telling me which stand sites to hunt and when not to. Funny thing, some of the best times to hunt some stands is when the wind seems right for the deer. If you find a spot that has what I call ramping air you can get away with just about anything. You can find this spot usually on a ridge that the wind is hitting and ramping over. You can tell by a wind checker, (goes up first) or look at the leaves around you pushing up the branches. Hope this helps, once you have a big buck smell you its most likely over for that spot. Good luck!

Ps don't buy into cover scents, they don't work period! a deer can smell way better than we can imagine.

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[bailey]

One name in any cover scent or attractant and that's Kishels. It does what no others can. Scent eliminator is awesome and and the deer scents I've seen and used do what others wish theyou could do.mock scrape and doe in heat scent granules will bring bucks to your stand .

[PeltHunter]

A couple of thoughts...

 

This time of year, south weest and west winds are the prevailiing direction, so you should take that into consideration when you set your stands.

 

Do not jeopardize being winded by a mature buck..  It is highly likely that you will never see him again. 

 

I have a similar situation with a buck I am hunting..  I have a stand set at the southeast corner of a field..  I have no option to get a stand down wind of his travel corridor.  I can only hunt it with a NW to East wind.  I have to just wait it out.  I tried hunting it a couple of years ago with the wrong wind and the big boy showed up and was gone, never to be seen again.

 

Be patient and wait for the right day...

I can't set a stand anywhere upwind in this certain situation, the spot I hunt is basically a spot where deer funnel through and I can only hunt that side of the funnel. The other thing is I can't really pick my days since I'm going to school in Oswego and the spot I hunt is just outside of Victor.

 

My best advice would be to control your own scent as much as possible. Use anti bacterial soaps and scent free sprays. More important though is to learn the wind currents as they apply to the areas you hunt. As a small example an airplane wing has air travelling faster and swirling as it goes over the wing. Hills, depressions, flats temp changes in am and sunset all have an influence on wind currents. I have wind notes for all wind directions in the area I hunt. These notes show patterns of how wind acts on my property. Thus telling me which stand sites to hunt and when not to. Funny thing, some of the best times to hunt some stands is when the wind seems right for the deer. If you find a spot that has what I call ramping air you can get away with just about anything. You can find this spot usually on a ridge that the wind is hitting and ramping over. You can tell by a wind checker, (goes up first) or look at the leaves around you pushing up the branches. Hope this helps, once you have a big buck smell you its most likely over for that spot. Good luck!

Ps don't buy into cover scents, they don't work period! a deer can smell way better than we can imagine.

Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

I'm basically in a creek bottom between two ridges right at the bottom of the eastern ridge and about 800 yards from the western so I'm not too sure what that would mean for what you're saying. That being said he did cross the close ridge halfway up about 150 yards from me with the same wind and came down to the edge 40 or so yards away but it would have been roughly an 80 yard shot. The worst part is the first time I saw him it was real cloudy and he passed 15 yards from me at a time that would normally have enough light to shoot but I couldn't get a pin on him because it was right at that light where your pins are clearly visible but your peep blurs everything up.

[PeltHunter]

Also the spot I hunt is only about 200 yards behind the closest house. Do you guys think the close proximity of human activity has something to do with the deer never really blowing out when the wind is in their faces? I've never really thought about it before but I just wanna get this buck lol had the dreams and everything.

[Legacy]

If the wind isnt right then my advice is to stay out of there. Be patient and hunt somewhere where the wind does work. You will not beat a mature deers nose.

[Frogger]

I agree too on the wind direction for stand placement. If it's not right you'll loose most of the time. I think we're most of of the time we forget is our foot coverage. I think this is most critical. This is where cover scents has its place. Walk in with a foreign or human scent on your boots and surely you'll be buying wegmans cole cuts for that year.

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[Reel-E-Hooked]

Last season 2 of my buddies got the ozonics units and they were very impressed by what they were seeing. I had made some comments about it to my wife and daughter, well Santa must had been listening because there was one under the tree last year. I have used it every sit this season and I must say the technology does seem work. I have had both deer and coyotes approach from down wind without being winded. I have always practiced being as scent free as possible by wearing scent-loc, showering with the soaps, using the clothes wash, and using the sprays. I still follow those practices. I am not a fan of scent attractants (unless I'm using a decoy) because I feel these scents put the deer on alert even if only looking for the source of the smell. I would rather every deer simply walks past without any idea I am there.

 

The unit is expensive and adds one more thing to bring to the field and more setup when getting on stand, but if it gives me a little more edge against the nose of a whitetail I will use it.

 

All that being said I know guys who go to field smelling like cigarette smoke and score a good buck by simply hunting the wind. There is nothing better than good stand placement and only hunting them when the weather is right. I am a firm believer in not over hunting a particular stand set. Another thing to mention is that bumping a mature doe from an area can do just as much harm to your chances as bumping the buck especially as the rut approaches.

 

There is my 2 cents.

 

Greg

[Gill-T]

There was a study conducted by Field and Stream utilizing different cover scents including an ozonics machine with a hunter in a cardboard box among many cardboard boxes.  The test utilized a German Shepard to find the man in the box.  At conclusion of the test, the dog found the man in the box in a matter of seconds, however, the ozonics machine appeared to trick the dog and bought 20 seconds before being found.  Now 20 seconds does not sound like much, but it is enough to draw your bow and fire on a downwind deer.  The unit is expensive and I have heard it has problems with eating batteries in a few hours of usage.  Heavy too.  Hunting is suppose to be simple.......how much gear do we really need?  My buddy likes to buck bomb his entire hill and I laugh at the deer response when they cut his trail........they run for cover!  As I tell my buddies....I don't need deer urine to kill a deer.

 

Pelthunter, for your unique situation with a creek bottom below two ridges......hunt it with two stands on opposite ends, and only hunt it when the wind is blowing in the same direction as the creek/draw flows.  With a wind crossing you will be a slave to thermals and airfoils as the wind crosses over the hill and you will find it challenging to not get scent busted.  To maximize your limited  hunting time, consider hunting the tops of the ridges to reduce the airfoil gremlins. 

 

PS: For your boots, an old Indian hunter showed me a trick as a boy for cover scent.  Take an apple afield with you.  When you are close to your stand, cut it in half and rub one half into your boot treads, and the other half rub on the base of your tree.

Edited October 22, 2014 by Gill-T

[Nautitroller]

The advice you are getting is fantastic! Especially gillt's info...These are veteran hunters with great insight. That situation with a stream bed or steep hills with a valley makes for swirling winds, a mature bucks favorite hangout. Just an example the stream on my land has its own wind current depending on the air temp vs water temp. If the water is warmer on a calm morning the air currents rise off the water creating thermals... and vise versa... all that said wait til the rut and hunt down wind of the best doe bedding area you know. And if possible find the ramping air...

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Edited October 22, 2014 by Nautitroller

[Chas0218]

I have peed out of my stand and had doe walk down wind of me and walk directly to the spot I peed.  She kept putting her nose in the air licking and walking right to me.  I'm not saying to pee on yourself maybe try peeing out of your stand. If the doe is in heat it doesn't matter if the buck is downwind or not the urge will be too great.

[PeltHunter]

The advice you are getting is fantastic! Especially gillt's info...These are veteran hunters with great insight. That situation with a stream bed or steep hills with a valley makes for swirling winds, a mature bucks favorite hangout. Just an example the stream on my land has its own wind current depending on the air temp vs water temp. If the water is warmer on a calm morning the air currents rise off the water creating thermals... and vise versa... all that said wait til the rut and hunt down wind of the best doe bedding area you know. And if possible find the ramping air...

Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

By ramping air do you mean it'll be up off the ground on the side of the hill the air is coming from or once it goes over there will be a kind of void created by the hill? I do hunt the right on the edge of the creek and like you said it seems on calm mornings the air really shoots up faster than normal.

 

There was a study conducted by Field and Stream utilizing different cover scents including an ozonics machine with a hunter in a cardboard box among many cardboard boxes.  The test utilized a German Shepard to find the man in the box.  At conclusion of the test, the dog found the man in the box in a matter of seconds, however, the ozonics machine appeared to trick the dog and bought 20 seconds before being found.  Now 20 seconds does not sound like much, but it is enough to draw your bow and fire on a downwind deer.  The unit is expensive and I have heard it has problems with eating batteries in a few hours of usage.  Heavy too.  Hunting is suppose to be simple.......how much gear do we really need?  My buddy likes to buck bomb his entire hill and I laugh at the deer response when they cut his trail........they run for cover!  As I tell my buddies....I don't need deer urine to kill a deer.

 

Pelthunter, for your unique situation with a creek bottom below two ridges......hunt it with two stands on opposite ends, and only hunt it when the wind is blowing in the same direction as the creek/draw flows.  With a wind crossing you will be a slave to thermals and airfoils as the wind crosses over the hill and you will find it challenging to not get scent busted.  To maximize your limited  hunting time, consider hunting the tops of the ridges to reduce the airfoil gremlins. 

 

PS: For your boots, an old Indian hunter showed me a trick as a boy for cover scent.  Take an apple afield with you.  When you are close to your stand, cut it in half and rub one half into your boot treads, and the other half rub on the base of your tree.

I have a few different stands I can hunt all that make a little difference by the wind. That being said where the deer come from is a thick hardwood patch on top of the closer ridge that I can't hunt and the other ridge is on the opposite side of the road and someone hunts that side. So basically I'm stuck in the middle low grounds with one full treeline to hunt and a tree line that covers half the field on the other side. 

[Fisherman72]

A friend of mine pees in a fresh scrape and it drives the deer nuts !!!

[DJ 17]

To go along with what Gill-T said. A buddy of mine puts apple cider in a spray bottle and sprays his boots.  Same as the old indian trick.  What deer doesn't love apples?

[Gill-T]

Your scent may stay better contained in a ground blind then up in a tree if you are hunting low in a bottom...that would be my solution if your wind is not right.  Put a ground blind on each side of the trail coming off the top.  Hunt which ever one is the most downwind of the trail for the wind direction on that day.  Keep in mind the upward thermals rising don't start until 8:30-9:00.  In the evening the thermals are coming down.  If the buck is bedding high (probably) your thermals will be better for an evening hunt while hunting low.  Use the creek for entry and exit as not to leave boot scent....if it is not too deep.

Edited October 23, 2014 by Gill-T

[PeltHunter]

Never really thought of the ground blind thing I might try that this weekend. I walk down a little shoot off of the creek for as long as I can but it does run out about 50 yards from my stand. Thanks for the tips guys definitely has me thinking of a couple different things I can try.

[skipper19]

Deer like my pee too..smells like hazelnut coffee. .deer like nuts and beans! Not kidding!

Cent frum my notso smart fone

[Paul Czarnecki]

No cover scent will keep him from smelling you from down-wind. Save your money.

Trying to hide YOUR stinky scent with a different stinky scent is a bad idea all the way around. You won't fool his (or her) nose.

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[Fish Hunter]

Just have your hunting buddy pee on you.............

[BSmaster]

1. Go higher in the tree.  Scent will be usually drift way above them.

Add some stands.  Move between them so the buck can not pattern you.

I read a lot of good information.  Wind is always first consideration when hunting deer when visibility is not.

 

I like to pee on trees to mark my territory.  Keeps canines away.

[Sea-IV]

Another thing to consider is when this rut gets into full swing and these bucks find some hot does there search area shrinks considerably. I have a couple hundred acres I hunt and had the same bucks on cameras from one end to the other over a mile apart in the same day. When rut hits it will narrow down to a couple hundred yards that they will move around in checking there scrapes quite more often if the dies are passing through. The rut is a freaky thing cause you can get away with some scent and movement with a buck versus just there normal behavior because they are focused on that one thing does. I had a herd of does run by my camp last year and out behind them was a 10pt, I grabbed my bow and actually followed right behind this buck for at least half a mile and drew on him 3x but always looked back and turned straight away from me. The thing that got my attention was he never spooked, looked at me then looked at the does then put his nose down and kept walking behind them. Wildest thing I ever had in the woods I will never forget that.

[Gill-T]

If you have that drainage nearby, I would take the time to piss in that so no scent is left behind.  Don't know why anyone would use scent control then "mark their territory".  Deer are inquisitive by nature.  They smell the urine and come in to check it out....then they smell your ladder steps where you placed your hand while climbing....etc. etc. and now they know you are there.  Be invisible as possible.  Leave as little scent behind.  That includes brushing your legs up against seedlings on the way to the stand.  Buck track does by smelling and tasting leaves at ground level because does will rub-urinate down the inside of their legs to gather chemical from their hocks.  As they walk thru the woods their hocks brush up against plants leaving their scent behind.  Natures way of making sure that does get bred in that small three day window that they are in heat.  Next time you see a buck slowly walking with it's head down "apparently" feeding....look closer.  Bucks will place seedling leaves in their mouth and "taste" who has brushed against it while leaving it's own saliva scent behind similar to a licking branch.  Their secret code of communication.