Smoke Scent Cover up

[Buckriser]

Has anyone ever tried using Smoke as a cover scent? I've heard of some people doing this, just wondering if anyone has first hand experience with it? Some say to just use the smoke from the campfire, and others use some other form, like from a bee smoker. Anyway, seems kinda interesting?

 

[Hardway]

I've heard of it, but if I was a deer and I smelled smoke....I would probably run the other direction. Just a thought.

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

 

[completesportsman]

+1 Hardway,
I've never heard of it, but I would think a deer would be alarmed by the smell of smoke. Probably best to be as scent free as possible.

 

[Roy]

I know plenty of guys who smoked a lot when they were hunting and have taken a lot of game.

Some guys though prefer to smoke after...

UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)

 

[kilowatt]

TRUE CLASSIC PHOTO.........lol

Brian

 

[ohiohntr]

I have tried it once, and have to say at least where I am it works.

People are always burning brush piles where I live so the smell doesn't seem to bother the deer. A buddy of mine shot a nice 5X4 whitetail after "smoking up" that came in to his rattling from directly downwind. He watched it for over 100 yards and it never even acted suspicious. The group of guys I tried it with said that since they started doing it, they had not been busted once. They all had deer walking around them in all directions. They said occasionally they would throw their head back and sniff the air, but then would go right back to their routine.

I guess that is what the Indians used to do as well. They would smoke themselves up over a campfire before going on a hunt.

The only downside is you smell like a campfire for the next 3 days.

Here is a link to the ones I have tried. You can also just get a bee smoker off e-bay for 5-10 dollars.

http://www.scentsmoker.com/

 

[nickman]

Deer are going to smell human scent, no matter how much money you waste.

No matter how hard you try, you can't stop breathing and if you are breathing, you are pumping the smells from inside your body, into the air.

The only thing you can do is add the scent of whatever you are hunting, hoping that it will lessen the "alert" factor.

Same with camoflage, it is only good for Bill Jordan.....and maybe a few bow hunters, remaining perfectly STILL. Once you move and start walking, you aren't hiding from anybody.

 

[WapitiBob]

The dog handler on AT just did a bloodhound test using the Scent Smoker.

You can't hide.....

 

[BeanMan]

Personally I use cigar smoke. Not only does it mask my BO but it improves my lung capacity. Any other dumb questions I can answer for you?

BM

 

[one_dryboot]

Seems like the only thing dumb in this thread are a few of the Reply's.

 

[txhunter58]

As with any of the "cover up" scents, I believe they might work if you are hunting from a stand that someone drives you to. Will any of them work in the mountains where you are hiking up and down hills and sweating all day, no way.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

 

[ohiohntr]

I guess the best thing to do is try it and see if it works for you.

I was very skeptical when I first heard about it. The science of it makes sense though. The smoke has chemicals in it that kill and inhibit odor causing bacteria. It is the same process by which smoked meat is cured. The smoke kills the organisms on the meat.

I have talked to over a dozen people here that have used the system for 2+ years now. Not one says they have been busted due to odor in that time. Everyone of them has had numerous deer come in downwind and were never detected.

Whether it will work out west though, I don't know.

It does go against everything I ever learned hunting about being scent free, but I am starting to change my mind after seeing the results.

 

[Hardway]

I feel this thread needs a reset. After years of marketing hype....cool new camo.....newer, faster, flatter cartriges....scent control and all the other crap. You still cant beat putting the wind in your face and hiking longer and farther than anyone else. When I was younger I was all about whatever was new. When I got a little older I remembered what my gramps told me about fishin lure's and how most of em were made to catch fisherman and not fish. As the years go by I find myself going back to old traditional calibers....fixed power scopes...and worrying more about the time afield than wether or not I have the latest scent control sock liners. All the new crap is good for is selling mags and tv commercials. Somehow I manage to bag a couple bucks every year. Heres a few pics to get some of you guy's minds right....no camo....no scent blocker...no handheld ballistics calculaters...and so on....

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

 

[completesportsman]

Good post Hardway,
My Papaw didn't need all latest new gadgets and he always got his buck!

Its hard not to be a sucker tho for anything you think will help make you be a better hunter.

 

[NVPete]

Yah! with all the air freshener products available, too... all kins of masking "scents". I am a traditionalist... just light a match or two, make "smoke".

 

[Buckriser]

Like Ohiohntr said " It does go against everything I ever learned hunting about being scent free, but I am starting to change my mind after seeing the results."

I can't help but wonder how many of those men in the old photos, sat around a campfire the night before the hunt. soaking in the campfire smoke as they told their hunting stories of past?

I wouldnt call smoke, a new "gadget" either. It just seems there may be something to it. I was hoping to get someone with first hand experience. Not, MrBean telling us how he reeks of BO while he sucks a cigar.

I do appreciate the feedback and opinions, wich many of them I practice and agree with. Thanks!

 

[nickman]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-02-09 AT 08:59AM (MST)[p]That is what is known as "marketing and advertising".

It dosen't have to work to catch 20% of a target group. It just has to sound reasonable.

 

[BeanMan]

Bucky,

In the west smoke means one of two things to a wild animal not habituated to Man. Wildfire or Man. Both are things they fear and smelling like it won't help you. If they smell the smoke on you they will smell the human on you. I practice scent control as much as is possible but if you don't have the wind in your favor then you are going to get busted.

BeanMan

 

[ohiohntr]

That could make for an interesting experiment. During the off season, one of you western boys should get all smoked up and try and stalk a deer or elk from upwind and see how close you can get before getting busted.

 

[BOHNTR]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-03-09 AT 07:45AM (MST)[p]I respectfully disagree with some of your statement Beanman.......you boys may be surprised at how natural wood smoke is to a deer. They don't "fear" wildfire.....it's as natural to them as a thunderstorm, IMO.

In certain ranges, where fire is more common, deer don't run the other way when they smell smoke. I've actually seen the complete opposite......three years ago when the Warm Fire started (lightning) on the Kaibab Plateau, it burnt for many days. I saw deer actually feeding in pockets of unburnt vegetation as smoldering stumps still smoking were just feet away......some with flames still protruding.

In years where controlled burns were being completed, I saw deer actually feed out into the smoldering forest floor full of smoke and lick the ashes created by the fire.

Now I don't think the prefer open flames on their hind ends , but I don't feel they run out of the area when fire or smoke is detected. JMO

Having said that, I don't think the scent of smoke will mask your scent enough to give you any type of tactical advantage on deer. Walking 10 yards will create enough body scent that a deer can determine what you are.......but the campfire smoke on your clothes will not hinder you either, IMO.

BOHNTR )))---------->

 

[ohiohntr]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-03-09 AT 01:34PM (MST)[p]As I have read about this concept or talked to other hunters about it. I have seen 2 types of people, The naysayers who have never used it, but say it won't work for reasons X or Y, and those that have used it with success. I haven't seen a comment on any board I've read yet where someone has used it and not had good luck. It seems that once someone tries it, they are a believer.

Type in "scentsmoker" in google and look at some of the discussions. I admit I used to be one of the naysayers who thought there was no way it would work. Since trying it once though at a friends place, I plan on getting my own smoker.

That friend made the comment last year after shooting his biggest buck ever, that he had spent $400 on scentloc clothing the year before and countless dollars on soap, and sprays, and even scent free gum. He would still get busted rather frequently. Last year after starting to "smoke up" he was never busted once. He uses the smoke on his scentloc clothing. The buck he shot came into his rattling from directly downwind.

The biggest downside, and it is big, is that you smell like a piece of beef jerky for a week afterward. I took 4 or 5 showers after using it and could still smell the smoke. I don't plan on using it on a daily basis next year, but when I take a week off to hunt during the rut, I plan to use it every day. I probably will be sleeping on the couch for awhile after though. I am heading to Colorado this fall for an elk hunt. I may bring it along and try it there.

 

[WapitiBob]

It can't fool a Dog but it can fool a Hunter.
That's all it needs to do.

 

[ohiohntr]

That "bloodhound test" is completely different then a hunting situation. If anything,the smoke gave the dog a distinct trail to follow. Who is to say the dog didn't just follow the smoke trail.

I see many more videos of deer downwind of a person using the smoker and not being detected by them.

 

[nickman]

Like I said, they only need to catch 20% of any target group.............and they use the P.T.Barnum theory...

 

[WapitiBob]

>That "bloodhound test" is completely different
>then a hunting situation. If
>anything,the smoke gave the dog
>a distinct trail to follow.
> Who is to say
>the dog didn't just follow
>the smoke trail.
>
>I see many more videos of
>deer downwind of a person
>using the smoker and not
>being detected by them.
>

Just followed the smoke??

Bloodhounds follow one distinct scent, introduced to the Dog. That's how and why they can do what they do.

 

[Buckriser]

So whats 20% of something that is free?

 

[ohiohntr]

Well, I guess next time you go bloodhound hunting, you may want to try something else to cover your scent.

But if you plan on hunting deer, smoke has shown to be very effective. If you try it and have different results, THEN let us know.

 

[WapitiBob]

Cite one repeatable experiment that shows Smoke to cover Human scent in such a way as to prevent deer from scenting you.

I have only seen one experiment that even attempts it and it didn't work. Granted a Bloodhound is not a Deer but it seeks, then follows, one scent. If the scent is non existant it can't follow. The claims of these companies is that they Eliminate the scent. It's total BS as shown by the bloodhound. If they claimed to confuse the Deer by introducing other scents or to limit the amount of scent to an acceptable level then it would be a different story, but they don't.

 

[ohiohntr]

So the hundreds of people that have used it successfully mean nothing?

It may not entirely "eliminate" 100% of all human scent, but it does enough to fool deer repeatedly.

My friends that have used it the last couple years have seen it work. They hunt stands where before "smoking up" were repeatedly busted when deer came in from a certain direction. Since they have used it, they haven't been busted once. The only difference is the smoke. I guess you can say that is a personal experiment that has been repeated hundreds of times by hundreds of people.

Look for yourself. You don't see people on the message boards saying "I tried it, but still got busted" Almost without exception, you see stories of those that tried it and then shot the deer that came in directly downwind.

The only naysayers are usually those like you that have not tried it.

 

[Longun]

I build a campfire habitually and yes it works....I've had deer walk right past me within 20 feet...Elk are little different...but I always kill a buck and an Elk every year.

 

[Hardway]

>So the hundreds of people that
>have used it successfully mean
>nothing?

Most of us HAVE NOT used it and are succesfull every year, but that does'nt mean anything to you either. You asked in your first post about using it out west and many...many guys with more expierience than me have awnsered you many times. Please stop comparing whitetail treestand hunting to the high country of the mule deer. Different game.


"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

 

[ohiohntr]

I never said you had to use it to be successful. I have also shot many deer without it (muleys and whitetail). I lived in Idaho for 21 years.

If you look back to my previous posts, I said at least where I am now, it has been shown to be very effective in helping to eliminate your scent while deer hunting. I mentioned that I didn't know how it would work out west, but it would be an interesting experiment to try. I plan on trying it in Colorado this fall for elk. Maybe the results won't be the same for me there. I guess time will tell.