When considering tactics for harvesting mature bucks, the most vital area to focus on is scent control. The most important defense a whitetail deer has is its nose. You can beat the eyes with good camo, the ears with a good deer call, but beating the nose is difficult and almost impossible to do.
Here are a few tips to help you control your scent while hunting effectively.
Prepare For Your Hunt In Advance
To prepare for your hunt, begin by washing your clothes. I suggest using Hunter’s Specialties Scent-A-Way Laundry Detergent. This detergent is specially designed to eliminate your scent from garments, and it won’t leave you with the chemical smell you get from everyday household detergent.
After you wash and dry clothing, put it in a scent-safe storage bag to keep clothing scent-free when traveling to and from the woods.
To keep your gear -- such as your bow, your hat and your backpack -- free of unwanted scents, place items in a carrying case with scented wafers. Instead of smelling like you, your gear will smell like earth, pine or cedar -- whatever your preference.
On the Day Of the Hunt
On the day of the hunt, get your body clean with an odorless soap and shampoo. These will help remove your body’s natural odors.
When it’s time to get dressed, I put on a base layer and a pair of jogging pants, along with a sweatshirt if it’s cold. Once I get to the field, I remove the jogging pants and sweatshirt. I then pull out the clothes from my scent-safe bag and get dressed. Make sure you keep clothes in the scent-safe storage bag until you arrive at the hunt site.
After you’re on-site and dressed, I suggest spraying yourself with a scent-elimination spray in order to remove the odors of anything you may have come into contact with.
Carefully choose your deer stand location by taking account the wind direction; position yourself with the wind in your face.
Once you get to your tree and get set, spray/wipe down your body with an odor-eliminating spray or wipes. This will remove any scent you accumulated while hiking and climbing to your hunting stand.
Happy hunting!
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