Cover scents

[may21581]

Does anyone use cover scents on properties that are hunted more than once? I have a private farm that I hunt and it sets up really nice in the rut and late season. I like to hunt this property a good bit and feel they catch my ground scent in the dark after I have left. Are they worth the time or are they just another sales pitch?

[adelle26]

I don’t spend money on anything scent related anymore. I will keep my stand and boots in the barn during the season because the deer are used to the scent of my and others’ farm animals on the private farms out here.

[EdC]

I've used scents for attracting with success

but cover scents for your boots I'm not sure
this maybe better answered by trappers, because I know they use scents on a regular basis

pretty much anything marketed for deer scents is a sales pitch IMHO

[Drenalin]

I personally don’t think you can cover your scent enough to fool a whitetail. Their sense of smell is too strong and they can process multiple scents at once...which means they smell your cover scent and you. Best bet is to avoid crossing their trails if at possible and don’t overhunt. I know most guys use rubber boots too, but I can’t stand ‘em.

[218er]

Other than walking through water it’s pretty tough. They smell rubber etc so they can determine a human was there.

[oldrank]

I do not.

[Redman232]

Like most here I don't use any scent products. If the property sets up well for rut, try an observation sit and then move in for the kill in a sit or two, based off what you saw during the observation sit.

[dan]

If you look into the science of a deers nose they have what is called a vomernasel organ that humans don't have. They use it to separate odors. Our noses blend odors. So if you put fox urine on your boots a deer smells you, and fox urine. You cannot hide your scent from a deer. A better approach is to be careful of approach and access and keep mobile so they don't pattern you.

[tgreeno]

The more you hunt a property, the more scent you will leave on that property. That is a fact.

You need to figure out the best way, to leave the least amount. Or leave it in an area that typically has human scent already.

[minnesotahunter]

I never totally bought into scent control and I agree Dan that I cannot fool a whitetail nose. There is something with scent that I may never understand and Dan is living proof. Why does one deer walk 20 yds down wind and look around while the next jumps back and bolts? I know there are a lot of variations of age and gender but I have seen many big does stand down wind and offer shots. Other big does are so cautious that they take off on my entry trail. Also I don't think a guy can limit the discussion to big bucks busting you because there are simply not enough around. I personally do not use scent control because I have seen first hand some of them react and others simply do not. If it makes you more aware of your surroundings and more confident have at it as it certainly will not hurt...also this is the ONE question that you cant use Dans advice because he could (and probably pert near has) submerged himself in machine coolant and then shot a booner without changing clothes. I also think that after years of swamp hunting Dan (and probably Dewey) smell like swamp creatures and deer have no clue what they are....there is my answer...buy swamp creature cover scent. Good luck and be safe.

[Knight73]

I have used many scent control tactics over 4 decades of hunting. I have had deer (bucks) walk right by those tiny film canisters filled with cotton balls and saturated with doe urine. I have used fox and raccoon urine ... nothing seems to cover the scent of a human. But yet, I have managed to kill deer .. often times within 10 yds of me, often while on the ground. Regardless of the wind a deer in such close quarters must know something is up. I think the difference is some deer dismiss the smell much like one human would dismiss a risk another human would not take. Older does are the toughest to kill. Where I hunt the doe harvest is limited, and thus, some of these females live 8-10 years. They have seen and smelled it all and are best at accessing risk. I have seen these older females stop bolt upright and refuse to even cross the path I used to access my stand. They simply reverse course. I know in almost all cases they never saw me. Bucks in the rut will risk it if there is a doe they want close by. Younger bucks simply don’t know enough to access the risk associated with humans .. they are less social then females and do not reap the year in and year out benifit of being in the near constant company of older well schooled females. Scent control in hunting is a multimillion dollar business. The folks who market the stuff need to perpetuate the myth that you can fool a whitetail’s nose. You can’t. Save your money.

[Dewey]

I never totally bought into scent control and I agree Dan that I cannot fool a whitetail nose. There is something with scent that I may never understand and Dan is living proof. Why does one deer walk 20 yds down wind and look around while the next jumps back and bolts? I know there are a lot of variations of age and gender but I have seen many big does stand down wind and offer shots. Other big does are so cautious that they take off on my entry trail. Also I don't think a guy can limit the discussion to big bucks busting you because there are simply not enough around. I personally do not use scent control because I have seen first hand some of them react and others simply do not. If it makes you more aware of your surroundings and more confident have at it as it certainly will not hurt...also this is the ONE question that you cant use Dans advice because he could (and probably pert near has) submerged himself in machine coolant and then shot a booner without changing clothes. I also think that after years of swamp hunting Dan (and probably Dewey) smell like swamp creatures and deer have no clue what they are....there is my answer...buy swamp creature cover scent. Good luck and be safe.

My wife might agree with that.