Deer Hunting Tips and using Scent Blocking Products

My good friends in Wisconsin, when indoctrinating me into the fine art of Bow Hunting, never taught me much about scent elimination other than telling me I smelled likemy favorite Delicatessen, and go take a shower. We would arrive at a parking area about a 20 minute walk from the tree stand we would use that day, and head in. Now mind you, that a lot of the education process took place in warmer months so I didn’t carry my bow in with me, but even in Wisconsin in late August, I would be a sweaty mess by the time I took my seat. I knew little to nothing about bow hunting at that time, but my friend sure did, as there was usually some great views of deer making their way down the game trail and quite often stopping for a bit directly under the tree stands. I thought “those bastards are mocking me!”, as I rarely saw anything when I ventured out on my own.

Fast forward two years and I have now taken a few deer on my own and I have realized quite a few things that have greatly improved my chances filling my freezer.  I thought back to my scouting missions with my friend and realized that we used no scent  masking or eliminating products, my buddy who lived in the area had several tree stands set up to take advantage of the any wind conditions. One of the most important things a bow hunter can do to lessen the chance of being detected is set up on an angle so that you scent will be carried away from your position or at least will stay above the animals for some distance as it disperses and grows fainter. Many hunters do not have the ability to use multiple tree stands and may sometimes need to hunt in less than desirable stands for the current wind. Knowing the area and having the ability to use a climbing tree stand may be of great help.

In order to give you the best chance of getting Deer in close enough for a good shot, and I am one of those folks who believe that a good shot is one that you will not miss the proper placement of your arrow from a distance you can expertly handle in the current conditions.  Lucky shots should not ever come into play when hunting, Get It! To get the animal to that distance you need to do everything possible to mask your scent. There are many products on the market to assist in this process, but make sure you are using a good one,  as to you and I, a scent designed to smell like an acorn to us, may smell like a human wearing acorn underwear to a deer. You may also need to match your masking scent to the type of environment you are hunting.  REMEMBER, there is a difference between scent blocking and scent masking.

Even better than something to mask your scent is a product that will block it all together (you can use both at the same time).  Activated Carbon is widely used in scent blocking clothing due to its ability to absorb odors, (even my infamous Delicatessen smell!). Activated Carbon can absorb and hold the gas molecules that are associated with our odors. There is an article of clothing for every hunter’s need, from under layers to hats to socks and boot material. Match the clothing and layers needed to the area and time of year you will be hunting. I prefer to be a little on the cooler side as I tend to sweat a bit more walking into the woods, which is never a good thing when hunting.

Finally, once you have used your scent blocking (activated carbon) garments, make sure that you only wash them with laundry detergents specifically made for this type of material. The reason for this is that the odors in normal detergent will engage the available odor absorbing properties of the garment and fill it up with those odor molecules, making it unable to retain more odors when hunting. Heat activates the carbon so a tumble in the dryer will do very nicely, but it is vitally important to remember, once you take the clothing from the dryer, immediately place it in a scent free, air tight container or plastic storage bag, I use the zippered bag that my down comforter came in and merely sprayed it down with scent blocking spray.

Take the clothes out of the bag once you have gotten to the area you have parked before heading in to the woods. This can be tricky if you are hunting in very low temps, a freezing rain, etc., but you get the idea! Just before heading in, spray yourself down with a good scent eliminating spray and don’t forget your boots as these can lead a trail of human scents right to your stand.  Once you get used to these procedures they will become simple and part of your normal routine, and can help you greatly increase your chances of a successful hunt.

Go Climb a Tree Stand!

This year I had the great opportunity to try my hand at deer hunting from a tree stand. Being new to the sport of bow hunting, I had spent the previous summer visiting friends in the area I was likely to hunt, where they were kind enough to enlighten in to the incredible adventure to come that fall. My coach for a large part of this ‘training’ was Dave Sumner, the inventor of the “Turkey Dave Footrest” and “FlirtyGirty” panfish jigs.  Dave is an accomplished hunter and would not let me place any tree stands until I had a better than average grasp of bow hunting. Dave and I walked the game trails each and every time I would visit Wisconsin from my home in Miami, Florida. He gave me excellent instruction on not only how to find well used deer trails but how to walk them without telegraphing to the deer that I had  been there.  My friend would give me what we called “Ishi” points for each task I performed correctly in my quest to become a bow hunter. Ishi was the name of the last Yana Indian, who was a legendary woodsman and hunter, he died in 1916. These tasks included, not only finding the deer sign and trails, but understanding why deer would be in this area and which way they may be coming from. I was also taught to understand the prevailing wind patterns for the seasons in determining where a tree stand should be placed.  In all honesty,  this education had been going on for nearly two years and I had promised not to draw my bow on an animal until I had accumulated a sufficient number of “Ishi” points to satisfy both Dave Sumner and another friend Dave Roll (the cameraman for Northland Adventures w/Dave Carlson). These guys are true woodsman and would actually ban me from hunting their land if I had ever attempted to use anything in addition to knowledge to harvest a deer.

After, what I considered a very lengthy education, I was taken into the woods on late summer day and was asked to point out any places I would consider placing a tree stand. If I found such as spot, I would then have to give a minimum of 6 reasons that I would consider placing a stand at that spot.  These reasons may have included, nearby food sources, scrapes, wind direction, water sources among many others. We then placed several stands that could be used depending on the direction of the wind.

That fall, I found myself preparing to sit in my tree and give my first crack at taking a deer with a bow, actually I had never taken a deer before so this was my initiation! After several unsuccessful journeys into the woods, I found myself sitting in my tree stand one late afternoon, trying to remember all the words to Jimmy Buffett’s “Cheese burger in paradise, when I heard the leaves crunching to my right.  A doe had come up the trail and was moving into range.  Being a left handed shooter this was a very good side for me but I had limited shooting alleys.  The deer mad a sharp left and I knew I would have one chance to stand and draw under cover of a large Oak tree. With my heart pounding, I stood and pulled back my bow, as the doe emerged from behind the tree I let my arrow fly. At first I wasn’t sure I had hit her as the doe took off like a bat out of hell and I saw my arrow stuck in the ground. The lack of foliage this time of year made it easy to watch the animal run about 75 yards turn around, wobble and lay down.

I wouldn’t say I panicked at that point as much as I was giddy with excitement, and this being my first deer I was a bit perplexed at what to do next. I remember my friends telling me not to chase the animal for about 30 minutes or more after the shot, ‘BUT THIS WAS MY FIRST DEER!!!!’ So I did what any city boy would do in this situation, I called Dave Roll and exclaimed, “I got one” and “I’m freaking out!” My buddy who has been in this situation very calmly said “ what stand are you in, I’ll be there in 30 minutes, stay in the stand till I get there”.  It didn’t matter that I could see the animal lying on the ground, I stayed in my stand.  Of course I called just about everyone I know from that stand, which led to my friends ridiculing me for taking my cell phone into the woods and calling without there being an emergency. The bottom line, I took a very nice doe at 34 yards, and have been hooked on bow hunting ever since, and boy do they taste great when you harvest venison yourself!