Scent Control ? ( i know it has been convered a lot)

[mathews418]

i know that hunting the wind is #1. my question is this is it possible to not eleiminate your scent (impossible) but to reduce it to such a minmal level that a deer with in 20 yards or so may think you are really 200 yards away or reduce it to the point where he thinks it is a day or so old. i know that the ebeharts use a strict scent control regimen and doesnt pay attention to the wind. i was listening to a pod cast on wired to hunt and they had a guy from west virginia mountains and he uses the same approach.
i ask this because the private land that i hunt now i have limited accsess to. no matter where i hunt on it at i have to cross active trails to get to my huning locations no matter what the wind is. to combat that i only hunt when the wind is right for the spots and get in as scent free as possible with leaving minmal ground scent and jump the trails and not step in them. i know that this is going to be something that i will have to deal with when hunting public land as well but i will be focusing on more mature bucks and not just deer in general so burning a trail 1/2 mile form a bed shouldnt be that big of problem i dont think due to the deer encountering other hunters and probably not traveling it until after dark. thanks in advance and not meaning to drag up old topics or beat a dead horse i am here to gain knowledge and learn new things to figure these beasts out.

[stash59]

It's brought up alot because a bucks sense of smell is something hunters for eons have tried to overcome.

I got one of the original Scent Lok suits as a gift way back in the '90's. I did have deer within 25 yards of me that seemed to act like they had winded something from much farther away. As did my brother and a few other friends. My friends claimed they saw more deer through out the whole season while using the suits. But none of this was while truly only mature buck hunting. We were seeing more mature bucks but mainly because QDM started to be practiced a couple years earlier. But no truly mature bucks (4yo+) were shot during the bowhunt.

I know Dan doesn't agree with this but some on here do: wearing all rubber boots can help with ground scent. I used to wear hip boots all the time. I had low pressured Northern Wisconsin mature bucks follow the scent trails i made while wearing them. Quite often. Also a couple from Montana. Pre Scent Lok time period. This is a much cheaper alternative to charcoal suits.

Dan says it's the dead skin cells that the deer smell. So just wearing even hip boots isn't going to stop all of this but it may be just enough. Especially if your hunting any buck oh your private land.

If you want to go a step further you can buy coconut hull activated charcoal from pet supply houses or on the internet. Soak your clothes in this mixed with water. Then air dry. It just has to be redone often because there are no binders added to keep it in the fabric very long. Look up Jacob Schmidt on You Tube. He shows how to do it.

After reading some of the research Dan eludes to I believe any of this is far from a cure all. I know it's hard but sometime less is more. Meaning not hunting as much on the private may lead to better results.

You said you want to start hunting beds on public in the future. Why not start scouting some of them now. You'll see the sign appearing freshly everyday. Which should help to point you to the bedding being used right now. What have you got to lose. You might even be able to utilize the intel yet this year!

I know it's hard to give up sits. But it may be for the best.

[mathews418]

Thanks stash!!! I have been less intrusive on my private land I have been only 5 times never the same tree and have seen 2+ deer every sit. Harvested a doe last Sunday evening after passing some small bucks 1.5 year olds. I feel like I don't over hunt that land at all and have learned by not hunting it so hard I see more deer when I do go. I have an awesome buck on camera from this land and I think he is working a circuit now he only shows up a couple nights a week and then gone until the next. I can't pin point where he is coming from as far as his bed is concerned because I know it is not on the property I am hunting. I would like to post some pictures up on the site but I do not have photobuckett nor do I know how to use it. I have almost went to public land multiple times to scout this year but I don't want to be the guy that walks in on someone else's hunt when I am not there to hunt at the time. I know that happens. I have found what I think to be an escape saddle on a topo of the area the saddle is on the boarder of public hunting and state forest I think the deer will funnel through it when all the guys get on the land opening day of ML season in a couple weeks and that will probably be my first public sit. Thanks again I really appreciate the info!!

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[stash59]

I understand the not messing up others hunts. But in a way scouting now would also give the best heads up on hunting pressure for the area. Might show where it's really absent. Plus I guess I'm a little selfish and wouldn't care. Would do it late morning early afternoon. Would also hope my cyber scouting has pointed away from the crowds. Now if the parking area is overflowing I'd go on to plan B. Maybe driving around to all the parking areas would give a clue to what areas get used less. If I was able to hunt and had killed a buck already I would be scouting now. Just feels it gives another month or two for chances to learn things.

[Jackson Marsh]

Couple of great posts Stash.

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[mathews418]

Couple of great posts Stash.

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Yes they are!!
Going to the public land mid morning would be great, but of course work and family interfere with that. I am going this Sunday to one of the PL tracts it is a little over 5,000 acres and is pretty much a mountain side. The main reason is to check out the saddle and see if there is any currents runs on it and look for other hunter sign as well. There is no parking areas on it just a bunch of dirt roads that run through and you just park wherever and go. From my research this particular one doesn't get bow hunted a lot which is my preferred way to hunt, but when ML opens it gets pounded hard through the close of the season. I think it will be a great place to bow hunt beds early season. The hard part for me is of course figuring out the bedding locations and how to enter and set up without getting busted that is the challenge that I am looking for. I want to become a deer hunter not just a sit and waiter so to speak. And this was the main reason for my initial question because I know this land gets hit hard during the firearms seasons and not much during archery season. It is a very mountainous terrain and I haven't been able to watch hill country bucks or take in a ton of info from the site about this type of terrain and hunting it. Once again I really appreciate the info and if you could point me in the direction of learning more about the mountains and hills would be awesome.

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[stash59]

Glad to hear I was helpful. But now I need to apologize. I took you for a younger person and newer deer hunter. You seem to have much more experience than I realized. I've personally only been a Beast member since last November. I'm currently in a 4 year fight with Lyme disease and haven't actually hunted for longer than that. Although the passion has always been strong since I started bowhunting over 40 years ago. Since I'm disabled at the moment I feed my passion with learning more things on the Beast. Your never too old to learn.

Unfortunatly because of my disability I haven't been able to put to practice most of what I've learned. Especially the mountain stuff. Even though I lived in Montana for years ,mainly bowhunting elk. I never knew any of the concepts brought to light on here. As far as my comments they were very heartfelt. And would be how I approached things if I was able. I was mainly trying to encourage you to take every step possible to start your learning with boots on. With no excuses. My most successful years afield came from previous intensive scouting. Way before I learned about the Beast mode. Even though many things I practiced or thought i knew correctly were mostly wrong.

Dan and many others have proven that many times it's just easier to disregard what the mainstream hunting community says about scent control. Use the wind right be careful on your entrances and exits. It won't matter that much.

As far as the mountain stuff I can look some threads up tomorrow to point you in the right direction. You really need to watch Hill Country bucks, and Marsh Bucks for that matter. I feel it's a great stepping stone to Hill Country Bucks. Covering alot of The Beasts basics. Together their the meat and potatoes of the concept. Also go to The Hunting Beast YouTube channel.

If you feel like searching on your own. Members Bucky, Autumn Ninja , Zona, JoeRE to name a few are, like Dan, awesome hill country hunters. Look up stuff from them.

Then be patient. Like you I want to try to learn everything before I even get out in the field. But sometimes hands on experiences, and even failures are the best teachers.

[mathews418]

I am sorry to hear that stash, and glad to hear that you are fighting and staying passionate. I've been hunting since I was 13 and now I am 30 with a wife and 2 kids of my own. I grew up hunting over corn piles well because that's what I was taught. Never heard anything about playing the wind we just went when we had the chance and didn't care about pressure or anything. i am yet to understand wind completely with thermals and everything but I do try to keep it in my favor as much as possible. If it's not in my favor i just don't go to my private places. By doing so I don't over hunt and spread a ton of scent in the area. How ever I am beging to learn that when bed hunting sometimes you have to give them the wind and kill them before they hit your scent stream when they leave the bed. It's coming to me slowly but surely and I have been looking at the topos of the public area and have quite a few points and benches picked out just waiting for boots on the ground. All of them will be great bedding for any type of north wind which is our predominant wind here. The thing that I am having a hard time figuring out is the access to these areas because all public access is from below. I know they will bed looking down hill and watching the hunters drive the roads. I would love to post some pictures of the topo but I am a complete newbie with photo bucket. I am trying to learn that too so I can at least post some kill pics.

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[stash59]

Your #1 problem is discussed and shown with maps and diagrams on Hill Country Bucks. Basically you try to use the terrain to hide your self (like a draw or ravine). From scouting you determine where the beds are. Then try to find out how they use the terrain to get to food and or water sources. Or doe bedding starting with the beginning of pre-rut through the rut. Do you understand the thermal tunnel concept? Alot of this movement close to bedding occurs there. If you can determine a prominant travel direction from the beds. You then look for a stand on this route that is out of sight of the bed and can have an entry that doesn't blow your scent to the bed.

Many threads I've read on this seem to indicate some side hill movement in many cases before the buck heads either up or down. The straight up or down movements are the hardest and you might never be able to effectivly hunt that scenario. There are many threads that get into little tidbits about about how to approach different situations. It's just finding them. I haven't figured out how to do it myself but some on here put articles that they want to reference later into files. Making them easier to find again later.

As far as Photobucket I believe that you can find something on that in the introduction and rule section on the site. If you can't find it that way use the search to locate it. Carol explains it all way better than I could. Just take note sometimes it will upload a whole album. If there are pics you don't want to share you have to do something different. I seem to have the best luck using the thumbnail upload tool. Use your computers snipping tool to black out all of the names and Longitude/latitude data on topos and aerials. This keeps your locations safe from the guys trying to take shortcuts. Any of the moderators can help more with use of the forum tools. (names in red. send a PM to them)

Have you found the All Time Best Threads section yet? Just type that in the search tool. Lots of great stuff. You have to sift through them but it's worth the time.

Again I can't emphasize the importance of having the videos. It speeds things up considerably because they start at the beginning and
take you through the whole process. Then what you find on the forum adds many off the small details that can make a big difference.

I'll still try to find some links to specific threads for you over the next few days.

Hunt hard and hunt safe.

Chuck

[JoeRE]

Chuck you may not have been able to get out in the woods recently but I know a knowledgeable hunter when I hear one. Don't ever hesitate to offer your opinion because it tends to be a good one. Nothing else to add, just that.

[stash59]

Chuck you may not have been able to get out in the woods recently but I know a knowledgeable hunter when I hear one. Don't ever hesitate to offer your opinion because it tends to be a good one. Nothing else to add, just that.

Thanks Joe it means alot coming from someone like you. It's just sssooo frustrating having all this new knowledge spinning in my head. Then not being able to get out to use it and confirm things. I know I could do this. I'm a boots on the ground mobile stand on my back hunter from way back. Just never took quite as much time as Dan and you others to really put things together. I want to make up for it so bad! Plus it just sounds like so much fun. Any kills would be a bonus!

And I'm at the stage where being able to help others to understand things better. I just lack the experience in most of the Beast Mode stuff.

[stash59]

Some threads:

http://www.thehuntingbeast.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24471

http://www.thehuntingbeast.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29512

I did a search and figured you could decide which ones interest you:

http://www.thehuntingbeast.com/search.php?keywords=Hill+country&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sk=i&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

Hope this helps. I have a tough time reading on the computer for very long periods.

The last one is alot to get through. Reading every post to make sure you don't miss something is tough! Hang in there. It will come.

[mathews418]

Stash (Chuck), you sir you are awesome and I thank you for the time that you have taken to help someone that you do not even know and that truly shows that you are here to help people to become better at this craft. My name is Matt and it has been a pleasure chatting with you. I have tried the search tool and found a few topics but again I am not proficient at using it yet. I have a photo bucket now and just going to post this here as a trial run. This is a pic of the buck I am after on private it's beginning to look like a doe will have to bring him in during daylight or catch him cursing URL=http://s772.photobucket.com/user/Mathews418/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsblh0f8re.jpeg.html][/URL]

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[mathews418]

URL=http://s772.photobucket.com/user/Mathews418/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpswliyhbqn.jpeg.html][/URL]

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