My buddy Ed was hunting in Ohio and ran across a group of bow hunters who were taking plenty of really nice deer. Nice group of guys and this has gone on for a couple of years. Ed was talking to them around a campfire and they told him they all smoke themselves before hunting. They say the deer never negatively react to it and don't seem to smell them at all. Interesting thing about the area is that almost everyone burns wood there. Theory is you just blend in. Anyone else hear of this or try it? Just wondering.
Shot my first buck over a fire my Father built to keep me warm. Didn't seem to bother him any.
Just had a conversation with another member about this same thing and he swears by it. Also he learned from some guys in OH. Must be something in the water.
I know a guy who lights a fire somewhat frequently while hunting. He's shot deer over the fire more than once as I recall. Never saw or heard of this until I moved to OH, but I also didn't hunt as much until I moved here.
this might be a good thing to know.
I doubt that it could help. So why do it?
I have never done it myself, but I suppose if you've had deer come in close enough to shoot while doing it and it's cold....why not?
In the example above, I would light a fire to keep a child comfortable through the hunting experience and risk not seeing deer. For wollelybugger he kept warm and got his deer.
All that said, I still haven't convinced myself I would do it.
If you read about the way some Native Americans prepared themselves to hunt, it was by smoking their clothing prior to the hunt.
It has always made sense to me as to the why of it. Its as natural a smell in the woods as any other and sure beats smelling like a skunk or some other modern cover scents they are marketing to the hunter who needs every edge he can buy.
I've never heard of building a fire as an attractant before but hey who am I to say it won't work since I've never tried it. I can tell you that standing in the smoke of a good campfire then going hunting hasn't ever hurt the hunting.
God bless,Mudd
Maybe I should add more. They came up with the method after many hunting trips. What they figured out was that they spooked lots of deer in the first part of the trips but as the hunts went on they saw more & more deer. After the hunt they would come back and sit around the campfire to talk about their days hunt. What they realized was the more they sat by the campfire in their hunting clothes the more deer seemed to ignore them and not spook. Soon they would bring a hunting blind and make a smoking chamber of sorts and just like that they had good luck right from day 1 instead of the hunt getting bvetter as time went on. Most of these guys are not from Ohio but love the hunting there. My buddy and I thought it was quite interesting. They dont have a fire going in the woods, just back at camp.
I know a guy that never wears a hat when he hunts deer. Very successful. I might try it. The deer don't seem to smell him or know he is there.
There is no magic arrow for deer hunting. Success is a combination of preparation, location, and good fortune.
Just sayin'
Joshua
back in pennsylvania where im from every morning we hunted we would stand aside a coffee can of burning twigs to get the smoke stuck to us, had deer come crazy close. my grandpa had a small fire every day he hunted and had deer all around him as well. even when the deer were spooked from a ton of hunters in the woods in rifle season the smoke seemed to help us blend in. also makes sense as carbon/charcoal/soot will absorb impurities
I have to admit this thread has sparked (sorry) my interest in the subject. I may try it this fall on mule deer, but not on Elk. And why not? If it works, fantastic. If not, nothing lost for the experiment.
J-
Here is a couple links to a few similar threads posted some time ago.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=065806
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=087099
Think about activat4ed charcoal scentless suits for a bit and the reasonit works come right to you. You are saturating your bodyw ith tiny molecules of activated carbon. They help absorb your scent all day long minimizing your scent signature. The deer are used to smelling smoke around human habitations. It is a comfortable common scent for them. The end result is a deer that is relaxed and just moving thru when they smell the smoke scent
QuoteOriginally posted by Tom:
Just had a conversation with another member about this same thing and he swears by it. Also he learned from some guys in OH. Must be something in the water.
I "might" know of whom you speak.......Tom
For those of you that have ever "smoked" your own meat for preservation, think about exactly "WHAT" it is that actually "inhibits the growth of bacteria" on or within the meat.
Now, give a thought or two to exactly "WHAT" it is that causes "body odor". The growth of bacteria is what causes the odor.
I was very reluctant to try this.....I argued (internally) with myself for a couple of years before actually giving it a try. I took the plunge and smoked up all my hunting clothes with a hyped up bee smoker. I can honestly say that after two seasons using the "smoked up" method that the deer seem to pay it no mind. I'm quite sure that they can smell it.......but it isn't a smell that triggers alarm for them.
That being said, I am also quite sure that they can "learn" to associate the smell with "fear" if they have enough bad experiences around it.
I have had deer directly down wind.......less than ten yards away on numerous occasions. They just don't seem to pay any attention to it. I am and have been a "believer" in this for the past two seasons, and until something happens that changes my mind about it.......I'll keep on smokin'.
Winterhawk1960
I have shot two deer while making tea over a fire at the exact same place, the only thing different was the bow. Over the years I have shot deer while smoking cigars and pipe. Take the pipe out of your mouth before you shoot. My older brother, that I do not associate with, tried to shoot his neighbors cat once. His pipe and his upper plate came closer to hitting the cat than the arrow, that is what is called pay back for misbehavior.
I do not have any intentions however of smoking up my Filson wools however. Although that has to smell better than the guys that put their hunting clothes in a plastic bag full of pee.
Well it seems logical to smoke oneself up. I mean deer really aren't expecting a
bunch of hams to go after them. Yes, outwit the buggers at every turn.
I've always believed in it. It's a very strong smell, that's why I don't use it. I don't like walking around smelling like a burnt log. I also heard as Mudd said, that the Indians smoked their selves up before a hunt.
I personally think cigarette smoke is one of the best cover scents one could use. Smoke is a natural smell and when it's up a deer's nostril it would be hard for it to smell anything else.
Ive had deer spook and sometimes not spook when my clothes were smokey smelling and Ive had them come in from downwind the time my gracious landowner threw my clothes in the dryer with a floral dryer sheet.My point,,, its up to the individual deer as you all know.
OK I like the sound of this. Some questions for the "smokers" out there:
Oviously this chore is done outside and I like the bee smoker plan, do you then store the clothes in a plastic bag or somesuch?
After the season, does the smoke scent dissipate enough to have the clothes in the house? Or wash/dryclean is necessary?
With the bee smoker do you give yourself (not only your clothes) a smoking? Each time before going out?
Can you build a homemade smoker or have to get a real bee one?
he hear a story a will tell even though it is a gun hunt. back in the day i was a scent freak! clothes washed scent free, plastic tubss, yada yada yada. scent free soap, shampoo, deorderent ya know the story. in preperation for an early morning hunt i had brought all my hunting clothes and gear to my mothers house which is where i hunt out of most of the time, that way i could just drive up in sweat pants and change. had everything in plastic tubbs and the works. got up bright and early, walked thorugh the door to find all my clothes layed out by the fire place which is an old one and smokes out of more holes then the economy!!! my clothes STUNK so bad of smoke i couldn't stand it but they were all i had there. i left for the woods knowing i didn't have a snoballs chance in hell!! got settled in my stand and at first light had 3 does come in UPWIND from me. they came in slow and looked nervous but fed as they walked untill they were 60 yards from me then calmed down and milled around. from behing me i could hear a heavy deer walking. a BIG 8 point came around the tree i was in and started chasing the does. i KNOW these deer smelled my clothes but many of the local houses burn wood and i believe that calmed them down. that day changed a lot of my thought process. i am very intrigued by this post and i like to try things out for myself. i will pick a weekend this year and give it an honest 2 day trial smoking my clothes.
Smoking has a long history of cleansing bad spirits away from ones self and has been used to cleans a house to remove unwanted spirits. I may be wrong but I think Sage was used.So if you or your house need to be cleansed from spirits(even the ones that keep deer away)fire up the smoke pot and I will be over,it can't hurt. :campfire:
If it works for you, great. I try to minimize odors, hoping to get an extra couple of seconds when it counts. When I've become as scent free as possible, I've still been busted by the wind. I've also had a few stupid deer come in, directly down-wind, when I was as sweaty as can be. I don't care for the smell of the smoke, and don't feel like going through the trouble. I seriously doubt that having my clothes smoked would have made any difference in any of my hunts. I've certainly killed plenty of deer without it.
Hopewell Tom,
I store all of my clothes in a large rubbermaid container with a lid that seals pretty well. I do smoke my gloves, mittens, hats, and even the inside as well as the outside of my boots (if I'm wearing leather ones). I also, do occasionally fire the smoker up and give myself a once over, including my hair......your hair can and does hold a lot of "human smell". I've done away with all the "scent free" stuff, and both my wife and I have used this method for two years now.
As I said.......I had an ongoing internal argument with myself over even trying this for several years......it works, and that is what matters most to me, it makes the area "downwind" of me worry free. Those that don't want to "bother" with it........to each his own, but I have spent a small fortune in the last 20 years on things that for the most part didn't work worth a crap. I am a health care professional, and I was kinda concerned with the smoke smell lingering on my person......most especially my hair. I haven't had any complaints, and have asked people if they could smell any of it on me. I will say that when you get in the shower after a day in the woods it seems like the water really concentrates the smell.........but nothing that a couple of shampooing's won't take care of.
As I said, I believe that a deer can "learn" to associate the smoke smell with danger, but if things work out right........they won't get the chance to.
Winterhawk1960
I have had deer walk by my a few times less than 10yds from me when I was hunting on the ground. I had the wind blowing right at THEM and had a lit cigarette. (way back when)
Figure the smoke covered or at least mixed with my scent enough not to spook em.
I for one am going to at least try it and see how it goes. I figure it might help and if I get bad results then I will stop doing it.
i'll let ya know how i do as well. i like to take things and test them myself liking peeing out of a treestand and peeing in a scrape, very interesting the things you find out when you go do them!
I second the question on making a bee type smoker. Any suggestions? or know something that works as a smoke?
God bless,Mudd
My experience is that camp fire smoke/smell does not both game as much as we think. I try to take care of my clothes and my scent but I also spend a lot of time in the backcountry which involves sitting around a campfire at night. Last year my hunting buddy and I were sitting on a ridge having a fire to stay warm and pass the afternoon time until the evening hunt. Spotted a bull elk, put the fire out, hiked approximately 1/4 mile and shot the bull at 6 yards with my pronghorn.
I have always set around camp fires and the smoke that goes with them. I have killed deer after being around smoke. I always try to stand in the smoke as much as possible to kill my sent. I think it works great.
Jeff Miller mentions smoking his clothes in one of his deer hunting books. He has nothing but really good things to say about it too. I've never done it, but have been meaning to for the last couple years since reading that book It only makes sense right? Its a very natural smell in the country where lots burn wood for heat and we all know how strong the smell of wood smoke on skin and clothing is. I will try it this year!
Two friends of mine that hunt together seem to prepare totally against the books. They have poor hygiene, wear same clothes for days, do no low profile scouting and just go in the woods and hunt. Their campfire is always large and they covered in smoke. They seem to always get their deer. Go figure..The smoke must have contributed to their success.
This thread got me to remembering my early years of hunting up in the UP of Michigan. All the old timers would build a small fire at their stand sites and keep warm all day. They also shot more deer than anyone else. I always thought it was stand location but now this has got me to thinking and those guys had deer coming crazy close before they shot them. Guess who's going to have a smoke tent next elk season? Frank
There are alot of camp grounds out here by the public land we hunt and camp fires galore and i also let my hunting clothes hang out by the hardwood fires as long as nothing else is being burned or cooked. I have had many close encounters with deer while being SMOKED UP and i use it now instead of paying for all that other stuff. fires are an every day thing in most parts of the world and i think it doesnt spook the animals at all, not from my experience anyways. Hey that might be a good topic for a new thread ( any bad experiences while being SMOKED UP)!!. Dont think there will be any though.
This is a good topic, and I'm glad people are sharing their experience's. I didn't catch it, but is there anyone who is routinely smoking their clothes and shooting mature deer downwind on a regular basis?
A tad off subject but relative I believe. I used to hunt a farm right next to the highway. One day sitting in the stand it occurred to me that Diesel fuel exhaust may just be a great cover scent. The farmer had an old tractor up in the front of the place. He was out on it one day when I stopped and I filled my clothes box with the exhaust fumes (boy did I get some strange looks for that one). After that I had numerous downwind encounters while remaining undetected. I frequently would stop and have my hunting clothes fumigated. Gotta use what you have! Here is a buck I killed there. He at one point was straight down wind from me. I now refer to him as "the Diesel buck".
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/kyTJ/2006%20Buck/PA214646-2.jpg)
It is said by the old trapper magazines and books that canine noses are ever so much better than even deer...and they always said to make a small fire, add greens from the area and smoke yourself, backet, tools before you headed out.
But regardless of all the data we share, the bottom line, as said, is the individual deer and their past experience.
There are a few perfume scents I've learned to avoid...cause of the women that wore them and I don't want to chance it. :) :)
Might be that deer learn to associate any given smell, movement or location of a stand the same way!
How is it that dogs trained to find drugs can separate out all the cover scents the drug trafficers use and still find the drugs sealed in plastic bags? I think when you cover yourself up with smoke the derr smell smoke and human scent. I think their noses are that good. Just my 2 cents.
If you think you'd like to give it a try.
Do a search for bee keeping suppliers and you can pick up a smoker for about 27 bucks that'll last you a lifetime.
God bless,Mudd
I don't think it helps the BO, but it does make some sort of cover scent. Watch danf near every Fred Bear film and watch him, and many others do exactly that.
ChuckC
I don't think it's that they can't smell you. I have dogs that are trained to search for narcotics, and they can definitely smell things when cover scents, scent free sprays, carbon suits, etc.. are used. But it makes a difference as to whether they are actively looking for drugs (paying attention) or not. It may be that using smoke or diesel fumes, that the other odor is so strong that it makes the human odor seem like it isn't fresh? I don't know. I just think that using a few examples where a deer was seen downwind isn't very good evidence, since I've seen deer downwind and had them come close on occasion even when I smelled like a sweaty human. I wonder how many nice deer smelled the smoke and said, I'm oughta here. The hunters just didn't know, or see it happen. For now, I'll just stick to learning the area and hunting into the wind as much as possible. Does smoking work? I don't know, but I doubt it. I reserve the right to be wrong. And as far as the native americans doing it, well, they also did rain dances.
Beautiful buck, by the way, KentuckyTJ. I'd use any cover scent that you wanted for a crack at that.
If you play the wind, it doesn't matter if you just fell of the honey wagon! H
I raise and train bird dogs. Some days even the best nosed dogs run all over a bird and can't smell it. Usually happens when its hot and dry. Then other days they can smell them 60 yards away. We refer to it as scenting conditions. I'm sure it's the same with deer.
QuoteOriginally posted by KentuckyTJ:
I raise and train bird dogs. Some days even the best nosed dogs run all over a bird and can't smell it. Usually happens when its hot and dry. They other days they can smell them 60 yards away. We refer to it as scenting conditions. I'm sure it's the same with deer.
cold and moist is best for my bird/blood tracking lab. Them hot dry days are rough!!
i guess until someone does a test amnd produces results it will just be a mystery.