SCENT CONTROL

[Country]

Now don't get all bent out of shape about this, but I stumbled across this video yesterday about scent control. There are some thought provoking points made in this video that got me thinking. Am I about to change the way I approach scent control because of this video, probably not, but like I said...there are some interesting points made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvhdp7p5Lno

[Bucky]

His increased sightings in Dec-Jan are not because of scent control... it because he has food plots!

If you keep does n fawns around with food when food is scarce... bucks will follow.

[ Post made via Android ]

[62kodiak]

Oh lord another scent control thread.

I'm just kidding. Seriously though I thought the guy was kind of an idiot. I am not sure how not eating fish or wearing pants is considered "extreme scent control". His camouflage argument was laughable too considering that a deers nose is like a billion times more critical than their eyes in detecting predators.

You said that it was thought provoking. What did you find thought provoking? Maybe I missed it. I try to be open minded but sometimes struggle with it.

[Country]

I guess the part that made me think a bit was he stated most hunters do everything they can to beat a deer's eyes by wearing camo and we all know we're still not invisable by doing so. So, why do many people not even attempt to minimize their scent knowing full well we can't eliminate it 100% when the sense we should be most concerned with IS their sense of smell. As previously stated, I am going to keep doing what I'm doing, and what most of you are doing as well, but I think it's a good point. And yes, I realize deer can smell better than we can even imagine. I get that. We've all read it on here thousands of times.

[Country]

His [glow=red]increased sightings in Dec-Jan[/glow]are not because of scent control... it because he has food plots!

[glow=red]If you keep does n fawns around with food when food is scarce... bucks will follow[/glow].

[ Post made via Android ]

Scent control aside, would you say that bucks are more concerned with where does and fawns are vs. food sources during late season?

[62kodiak]

I guess the part that made me think a bit was he stated most hunters do everything they can to beat a deer's eyes by wearing camo and we all know we're still not invisable by doing so. So, why do many people not even attempt to minimize their scent knowing full well we can't eliminate it 100% when the sense we should be most concerned with IS their sense of smell. As previously stated, I am going to keep doing what I'm doing, and what most of you are doing as well, but I think it's a good point. And yes, I realize deer can smell better than we can even imagine. I get that. We've all read it on here thousands of times.

I'm picking up what your putting down. I would say the biggest difference though is that a deer has very little confidence in their own eye sight, but they never question their nose. As long as you don't move, a deer will almost never see you, camo or not. You could hunt in a hot pink clown costume and still shoot a mess of deer. Those same deer get a whiff of you and they are gone 99% of the time even if they are 100+ yards away. I personally don't think that you can fool a deers nose by lessening the intensity of your scent either. We are talking about an animal that has a nose so sensitive to the age(not concentration) of scent that they can tell what direction a hot doe went down a trail just by crossing that same trail. I really don't know how they do it.

I guess in the end it is fun to debate the subject but it really doesn't matter as long as you hunt the wind. That is proven by the fact the scent control nuts and guys that smell like dirty ol' truck stop hobos both keep shooting monster bucks every year.

[headgear]

The thing I see with scent control is kind of a false confidence, you've run into plenty of young bucks and does and either fooled them or they didn't seem to care so you think you found golden ticket. Problems arise when you specifically target mature bucks or run into the wise old doe that make you look foolish. Now maybe in certain low pressure situations you can get away with a little more but I find it far more critical to be obsessive about my wind and thermals vs the whole scent control routine.

[Country]

I find wind and thermal scent control really makes hunting much more enjoyable. I have never been as crazy as some, but I just found the whole scent control routine took a lot of fun out of the whole deal. I also feel much more confident in playing the wind. If the wind isn't in my favor, I feel pretty confident my hunt probably isn't going to go the way I hoped. Conversely, if the wind and thermals ARE in my favor, I feel much more confident when a deer does come my way. You could say that laziness (and thriftyness), in this case, steers me toward playing the wind and I'm perfectly happy with that.

[Bucky]

CountyJoe... if you have food come Dec-Jan you will have some great hunting. The late season estrus fawn that the video discusses is a real phenomenon... I have witnessed it a time or two.. plus the bucks need to recoup from rut... it can be their most vulnerable time of year to get killed. They have to eat or die come mid-late Dec

[ Post made via Android ]

[whitetail_addict]

His [glow=red]increased sightings in Dec-Jan[/glow]are not because of scent control... it because he has food plots!

[glow=red]If you keep does n fawns around with food when food is scarce... bucks will follow[/glow].

[ Post made via Android ]

Scent control aside, would you say that bucks are more concerned with where does and fawns are vs. food sources during late season?

I don't think the bucks are necessarily concerned with where the does and fawns are as much as they are with the food sources. It's just that does and fawns or deer in general pretty much go hand in hand in the late season, at least in areas like mine where the winters can get pretty tough. The does and fawns are attracted to the best available food sources remaining and thus tend to yard up around them. The bucks are no different. They go to the best available food sources remaining in late season and that just happens to be where all the other deer are as well.

[uncleron]

The guy that made that video was on here for a while posting about scent control. He sold a scent control product and considers himself an expert. He's pretty vocal on Michigan-Sportsman. He does make some good points but the lengths he goes to are extreme. His tactics are aimed at the guys that hunt the same small parcels of land, all season long.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Edcyclopedia]

CountyJoe... if you have food come Dec-Jan you will have some great hunting. The late season estrus fawn that the video discusses is a real phenomenon... I have witnessed it a time or two.. plus the bucks need to recoup from rut... it can be their most vulnerable time of year to get killed. They have to eat or die come mid-late Dec

[ Post made via Android ]

X2

[ Post made via Android ]

[Milk Weed Seed]

No comment:-)

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Stanley]

His [glow=red]increased sightings in Dec-Jan[/glow]are not because of scent control... it because he has food plots!

[glow=red]If you keep does n fawns around with food when food is scarce... bucks will follow[/glow].

[ Post made via Android ]

Scent control aside, would you say that bucks are more concerned with where does and fawns are vs. food sources during late season?

A standing corn field late season is a gold mine.