#1 Form Of Scent Control For Deer 

About the down wind thing is we never know which direction a deers goin to come in. Most of the time they’ll use trails but they can come in from any direction.

Best to just parachute into your stand

I hunt small property's and love to shoot big buck's like everyone else but I have a family to feed and if Doe's are all Im seeing then a freezer full of meat to feed my family is just fine by me. You are a very knowledgeable man Jeff. Thanks for all the great tips.

I think these people think that deer attend Yale University on how to avoid hunters. With all the traffic of tractors plowing, timber crews working the woods all year, sounds of dogs barking etc etc etc. I've never put an ounce of faith in most of the products sold for sent control, scent block, doe pee etc. Most of my hunting property is covered in pines and I use turpentine as a scent cover. My freezer has always been full and I kill all I need every year.

My dad, who is 84 now, has hunted his whole life. Never wore camouflage(just brown carhart coveralls) never used any cover scent or attractant. Has killed deer every year. Just be a smart hunter.

Love your videos Jeff,I have also learned a lot about the scent over the years,one that I have learned and use during bow season is chlorophyl tablets for breath,I am so amazed how I get many deer under my stand at times and have no idea I'm there,love it.

Yesterday, December 5th, I drove to my hunting area on state land. Hours start at 6:39am. Pitch black out, two p/ups pulled in back of me, started dressing and not being quiet closing doors. Well I had no choice since I already had a ground blind set up. I dressed outside, sprayed my clothes and went in at legal hour. My blind was surrounded by thick brush, thinking that's where they go since season started on November 30, a Saturday this year, and near 3 bushes or trees with circular areas underneath meaning scrapes. They looked old but I freshened up one of these. Cold temps and windy. I checked weather underground, and went out 72 hours after a snowfall. My question is, if I go to the blind at legal hour, 6:39am, and the deer had already left, do I wait all day in the blind or start stalking?Getting at the spot earlier doesn't do me any good since I have to wait , and plus I can't see the a damn thing . Thanksgiving morning I went to a new area, plenty of tracks, and kicked up a deer while I hunted in the pines since it was cold n windy. Couldn't get off an arrow. I saw the body and tail thrashing through the woods . At least I saw something.

I have killed more deer in the woods while smoking than I can remember. My experience is they can't tell between a Marlboro and a wood fire. The smoke seems to be a good cover scent.

Great advice as always Jeff.

Love your videos and knowledge. For many years, 40+ I've been using Red Fox Urine and Skunk Urine for cover scent, (sometimes mix the two together) hung on small swaps around my stand and one or two up at stand height. Seems to work well for me anyway here in Southern NJ and put it on my heels and toes of my boots before entering my hunting area..

I really enjoy your videos. They help me understand your books even more. The videos are a great way to show along with teach. Keep making them and I'll keep watching and learning.

Hunt. The. Wind. Just like he said “stand placement” Every good hunter even says this on top of all the selling stuff nonsense. Forget the scent control marketing garbage. I felt so liberated when I ditched the insane routine I was following and started hunting SMARTER

Thanks a lot guy reminding me of the basic knowledge that I have to remember it's so important,,,..... like don't leave that scent Trail so the deer know where you've been, and where you go.

Powders, sprays, scents....a big deer will smell you. I COMPLETELY AGREE. It's obvious to me that Jeff is all about " NO magic needed" Ozonics is a false sense of security...a mature buck will get you if that wind hits his nose, 100% guarantee. I used to be a "try anything and everything guy". Now all I focus on is stand locations for each wind, access in and out, and try not to touch anything on the way in. There are bullet proof stands on everyone's property, you just need to think outside the box a little. I think people try to think less and buy a product to make up for their inadequate scouting and prep.

Couldn't agree more. Buddy of mine bought a washer and dryer that he only runs his hunting clothes through. I wash my clothes at his house. Night before I go, I spray everything that I might touch in my vehicle with scent eliminator spry THEN, I run an ozone generator in it for about a half hour. My footwear is stored in a tote with activated carbon AND I spray down liberally before I walk into the woods. Our feet touch the ground all the way to our stands so it is vital that we do everything we can to kill any odor on our footwear. I've watched deer hit a path I walked in on and stop dead in their tracks, turn and go back the way they came. This was before I started wearing rubber boots and working to control any scent on them. I have a couple Rubbermaid totes that I keep my clothes in. When I am away at deer camp, I bring my ozone generator and run it on my clothes after each sit. You can buy one on Amazon for $40 or you can pay a certain company $200 to $300 dollars for their set up. You choose. Don't forget your equipment either. After all of that, I still play the wind. And for the love of God guys, DON'T stop and get gas with your hunting gear on while you're on the way to your hunting location!!! 50 gallons of scent eliminator spray won't kill the smell of the gas you stepping in at the pump!!

Army surplus chemical suit.. $20.... Carbon lined... I've used them for 20 years.. I've stumbled on a lot of deer.. 5-7 yrds. Still scares the piss out of me.. Very warm... Durable.. And don't break wind in them..

I see what you’re talking about. From the spot you showed here, it seems like the wind direction is always a constant and doesn’t swirl much.

I find that Moisture plays a Huge roll in fooling a deer....Ive hunted when its just bone dry, almost drought like conditions and you can get away with anything. As soon as you hunt when its high moisture You get picked off way sooner. Some of the best deer movement happens during a light rain but proves to be the hardest time to control your scent. I agree 100% with stand location!

ridge drone shot at 6:00 is just awesome.

Bowhunting is all about adding up small percentages. A scent free regime might give me a plus 2% advantage. Face paint might give me a plus 2%. Just keep adding them up within reason because, why not? All those bits together matter. It's like packing an ultralight bag. Why should I care about a spoon half the weight of a regular spoon? Because if you do that with all items you have suddenly cut your whole weight in half.

The bigger deer, the harder it is to fool them; They don't get big and old by being stupid!

Here’s a secret for scent control and it’s free....... hunt the wind. During the off season I use a bag you get after you buy a comforter set, put all my hunting cloths in the bag, poke holes in it, put it in a big tote and fill it with dirt. The dirt will release all the air in the bag and the holes will help the NATURAL earth scent to seep into the cloths.

SO please, someone answer me a question i have had for years now......Lets say I pull up to my parking spot that is on the grass on the edge of the woods i hunt, take my muck boots out of my scent gear scent proof bag. Then i spray the bottom and every where on those boots along with my pants. Now to get to my tree stand i cross a 3-5 inch deep, 8 foot wide creek. On the other side of the creek is 30 yards of this nasty, mucky, mudd that almost sucks my feet outta the boots....it smells horrible. Then on the other side of the swampy stuff is about 200 yards before i get to my tree stand. So my question is, why the hell is it so important to spray my boots when just minutes after applying it, it's getting washed off in the creek and then covered in decay muddy vegitation.

I try to get at least a handful of different stands locations out there for different winds. I check the wind in the AM, and decide what stand to go to from there. The only issue is in bottoms where the wind tends to swirl.

What kind of boots are those with the brown neoprene tops?

I see you touching tree steps bare handed. What is your take on that? I try not to touch any brush saplings or weeds when I walk thru woods even off season.

I've tried using a small camp stove, and boiling peanuts or corn.. I've never been busted.. And for $20, you can get a surplus US Army chemical suit.. Chemicals can't get in, and your scent can't get out.. Until you take it off.. And then you can tell how many time you broke wind while in the stand.. Lol.. And it keeps you very warm for late winter hunts.. Great video..

How do you clean your clothes? How often? And, how do you feel about ozone?

I hunt pines and pine hardwood mix, for scent control I use fire smoke and good old turpentine, and wear rubber boots, stands are placed so wind blows in my face, 2stands at each location less than 100yds apart, our winds come from north or west during the season, each one set for direction of wind. Works out good for me I hunt private land.

I've used Pure Whitetail products to help with my Scent control. I use their scent Eliminator which is by far the best I've ever used. Along with their 100% all natural deer urine on my boots and in my mocks, I've had deer walk in on the same trail I did without a care in the world. But I do agree proper stand location and access is the #1 key.

Our deer season comes in Aug 15th when its 95+ deg and 70%+ humidity, not a whole lot of scent control you can do during this time.

I agree the biggest problem is laziness on the hunters part..finding proper stand location not taking the time to study wind direction before placing your stand..or blind...you can't kill em on the couch...

It is impossible to fool a deer`s nose. I only have my experience to go with, but I firmly believe that the more rigorous my scent control efforts the fewer deer I spook. It can change a situation from a deer that gets a nose full and bolts to one where he can tell you were there, but I'm guessing he thinks it was earlier enough to not be a threat. He is still uneasy, but not spooked. This is usually more true on marginal winds or deer on the edge of your scent trail. It is quite rare for a down wind deer not to pick me off.

How do I find your App? Nothing on App Store title Huntcast 2:0?

Hey Jeff, if your access is limited and deer will be ultimately crossing or sharing your path, would you still go with a scent control spray or something like evercalm?

I’ve done the whole scent control system with ozone generators, tubs, scent free soaps and scent lok clothing and I don’t see much of a difference if any between that stuff and just using good tactics and playing the wind correctly. I hunt mostly public land in Michigan and I can tell you these deer smell you no matter what and they are always on high alert so just a whiff of human scent or scent control product and they’re out of there.

An entire book? You should write it I'd buy one.

I am a relatively new hunter and have put together a good scent control program... thanks for the info in this video! Question: Given all of the focus and products on controlling human scent on clothes and body, I've not come across any advice regarding food in the blind or stand. I do NOT bring foods like PB&J or hot soup, but I do pack protein bars and maybe some jerky. What's your advice regarding food and its impact to scent? Thanks!

I couldn’t agree more sir!

I totally agree with only hunting each stand location with their proper winds. But I also go to every extreme possible for scent control simply for when the wind swirls unexpectedly!! Always seems to happen at the worst possible time and it does help because like you said, I don't think you can completely fool them but if they do end up getting a small wiff of you, a lot of times they don't react half as bad as when you didn't do any scent elimination at all!! And that might be all you need to squeeze off a quick shot and get it done! Thanks for the video!

Great video. Any other tip for a new hunter??? Started about 3 years ago. Haven't harvest anything. A little frustrating but i won't quit.

How do you decide on which scent elimination product is best, i.e. spray soap, laundry detergent? So many are out there.

Do you wash your boots? If so how?

Sir, You are so very correct with that one Statement! Stand Location! I am a Bow hunter from LONG LONG ago and I have done it all. EVERYTHING! And it does not matter what you do, what you wash in, wash your clothes in, Spray on you or around you or if you use Ozonics, if a Deer is down wind from you, they will smell you period! I want to add to this if its ok. I smoke Cigarettes. And I have found that Deer can acclimate to you to a point meaning they will come into the area you hunt and smell that you have been there and not leave the area for good but if they smell you fresh meaning you are in that area and they smell you, they are gone. Proof of this is last year I was in my Stand for a morning hunt and usually I have a small Metal container to put my Cigarette butts in. I did not and placed them in the fork of a limb to take with me when I left. The wind picked up and blew them down to the ground before I could get them. I told myself I have GOT to get them when I leave. I forgot big time. I came back that same afternoon to get into my Stand. Right there Bedded right under my Stand Literally laying ON one of those Cigarette butts was a Huge Pope and Young class Buck! I walked up after he blew out of there at my approach and looked exactly where he lay. On one Butt with three others within a foot of the bed. So there is not only the scent of tobacco and smoke but my scent on those cigarettes. People talk about patterning deer well I know they can pattern you as well. Seen it over and over. Breaking that pattern is how I get most of my Deer. People use Deer Decoys a lot... I use Human Decoys a lot! I do not mean Real Humans and wont go into it but It works fantastic. Good luck this year brother.

My problem is with deer prefer the thickest of the woods to walk to bedding grounds and food and water source, their trails are small and winding, wind swirls through the bottom and the pines are blocked by clear cut too dangerous to cross. I have to walk through path of least resistance and cut my own trails through thick brush. Fox itinerary seems to keep them calm for me. And I can spray often, no harm, I just dilute the bottle from the store with distilled water, fake doe urine and thinks estrous spoils them , very tight herd.

hey jeff, whats your opinion on scent loc clothing? and ozonics?

What are you referring to as a thermal man

It is impossible to completely fool a deers nose. Our breath is out there and if there’s any exposed skin whatsoever it makes some scent to. I use dead down wind but there’s no way to stop all of our scent from goin downwind.

🎯🎯Stand location and wind direction is the key to harvesting mature bucks🦌🦌...one of my set ups is only hunted on a direct east wind...in three yrs I've only hunted it a half a dozen sits - I've harvested one 4yr old and one three yr old. Your entry and exit should be your second major thought...enter your stand were bucks are not likely to travel, but also keep you approach hidden concealed which is a huge topic. Third, be extremely stealthy during your approach, use binoculars checking for bedded bucks, and prepare/clean your path well in advance of deer season. My experience hunting mature bucks comes down to exteme scent control, but plenty of bow hunters spoil their chances before the hunt begins - by rushing their approach to get to their stand location. Jeff is one of those guys who has learned his craft very well...for anology sake, its like the same guys who are alway at the top of the bass fishing tournaments - they understand the speed, depth, temperature, color, and action...its the same thing when hunting briuser bucks...stay clean, be stealthy and watch your success increase over time - GOOD LUCK May The Magic of The Whitetail Forever Enrich Your Life 🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🏹🏹🏹

Stand placements #1 I agree. Sprays, body wash, scent Free detergent etc, but Jeff how do you feel about ozonics?

So after watching and reading about various scent control methods I have came to the conclusion that most deer may not pick up a human scent but rather a scent they find unfamiliar. I try to control scent best I can but still get busted from a downwind deer. So rather than trying to make myself invisible to their nose can I apply a scent that they are familiar with. Couple years back I was hunting a property with fence rows being cleared out and the brush was being burned blowing all the smoke directly into where I was hunting. This went on for days and I never saw a deer phased by it. Maybe a stupid question but would campfire smoke be a reasonable cover up of my human scent before going out? Just curious

You mention perspiration. My feet sweat so bad and I use Irish setter 1200 insulated boots neoprene water proof boots and my feet sweat so bad that within an hour even with mega warmers jammed in there my feet freeze. I can't seem to figure it out no matter what kind of boot I wear

I`ve never hunted before , but i remember one place i lived , i used to drive by a pack of deer DAILY , they didnt care at all , always thought to myself how easy it would be to hunt them , this is in Norway , im not sure if its the same breed of deer here as the ones you re referring to

Hey everyone, try thinking along the lines as far as scent goes - what's the number one thing deer are avoiding - predators, meat eating predators. Change your diet several weeks out from hunting and don't eat any meat or meat products, essentially go vegetarian just for your hunt periods. Try it, it really works. I'll consistently get within 5-10 yards of deer without them winding me despite wind directions and all they other essentials.

I don’t understand what a morning thermal is

I agree 110% sent is a big factor in deer hunting. But I take a totally different approach then you do with success. I hunt in my home state of Massachusetts which tells you right after bat that we don't have a lot of trophy deer like Ohio for example. But we do have nice deer with big bodies and nice racks we just don't have an abundance of them. And the approach I take is I do not try to hide my scent at all. I hunt from a ground blind first of all. I set my blind up about 2 months before the hunting season and I go in the area at least once a week I leave the windows to my blind open but I have the out of netting covering the windows which means whichever way the wind is blowing it blows through my blind freelee. And every time I go to the blind which is at least again once a week I bring an extra t-shirt or shirt with me I take the one that I'm wearing off I put it on a hanger in my blind and I put my other shirt on and I throw corn out around my blind at least 30 yards in a circle and believe me the deer get used to it they come to the bait and the scent does not bother them because they get used to it I find out more effective then trying to hide my scent

Jeff, you mentioned you like having clean hunting clothes. How often do you wash your gear, how are you washing your gear, and what are you using to wash your gear? Thanks in advance!

Jeff can I e mail you? I have some questions.

Good info thank you man!!!

I've had really good luck with scent spray that smells like the autumn forest floor but I can't find the stuff anymore.

Thoughts on the HuntStand app to use for wind direction as well as “major and minor deer movement”

Another funny thing is I did was take a bottle of doe pee in on my boot early october here in sc, and a spike following a doe instantly smelled ot and came off her to where i walked and as soon as his nose touched one of my footsteps he blew and ran away

I feel like the higher i get up a tree the better i am.. deer dont look up 25 -30ft in a tree unless u give them a reason too... plus your scent is rising in the morn so

It's not the cloths that smell, is you. So how do you controls it.

I wash my clothes in scent control detergent,hang em outside and let nature do it's thing

It's not possible to fool a deer nose it's if you can get higher in the tree and hopefully the deer comes in the right way and not up wind .

Nice video!

Scent free plastic bags ?

Hi Jeff, thanks for your videos and for sharing your valuable information! This is my fourth season as a hunter, mostly bow-hunting whitetail deer. I live on Nantucket Island, MA where there are no other natural predators so the deer are abundant, albeit somewhat smaller than the mainland due I believe to inbreeding since they were introduced, or perhaps poor nutrition. Just took my first archery buck a couple weeks ago (got one during shotgun season last year), it's really an incredible lifestyle and the more I learn the more I love it. I have a friend who's been hunting here for over 15 years and he's spent a good amount of that time testing out DIY scent control. Last year he made an extract of juniper (I didn't get the exact recipe) and says it's the best yet. Yesterday afternoon I was hunting a ground-blind on a very small hill above a pinch-point in a small meadow. Just before last light I gave a couple brief tending grunts on my call and just a few minutes later heard a huge commotion of rustling and grunting *behind and downwind* of my stand! I was using the same spray you're using in the video here, plus had sprayed some Tink's doe-in-heat mist under my boots before I walked in from my truck and they had no problem mulling around downwind of me (granted, we're mid-rut and they are not thinking as clearly and I agree, there are no guarantees when it comes to scent-proofing). I ended up spooking one of them while drawing back on another (a lot of my cover foliage has dropped since the last time that I was there a couple weeks ago) that was making it's way towards my "kill-zone" and the chaos that ensued was unbelievable. I think spooking that one triggered two others to provoke one another and they started sparring in the bushes just 20 or so yards behind me, which prompted a mature doe to crawl on her belly through the thicket to escpape, she tunneled just 15 feet behind me and to my left! It was absolutely bananas. There were so many deer all over the place I ended up spooking four more on the way back to my truck. I'm still so giddy from it I'm telling every hunter I know. Thanks for taking the time to read this and again thanks for sharing your knowledge!

I saw on your video you wear muck type boots with your pants tucked in to them that’s a huge no no when it comes to scent at that smell is pushed out every time you take a step.

And only hunt a stand location once if possible

Deer can see blue very,very well

Ok, I mostly care about sent gun season (yes I killed lots of deer bow season to) because that’s when the deer get on to the game and they know what’s going on. I take the evergreen branches off the tree and rub it all over the inside of a box then I rub it on my camo and gear then I put my camo it the box with evergreen branches in the box in my “sentless” grauge and I put my outside camo :Leafy camo: on when I get outa the truck walking to the stand) where I sit does not matter anyway because the wind blows behind me to this HUGE pond where no deer will ever cross and I hide myself I my 25 ft treestand brushed in with hemlock branches and pine so I’m invisable and I have a TONS of deer in my area with a water and food source so as you can probably tell I kill LOTS of deer 👍🏻

What're your thoughts on the Ozonics units?

Just wondering if deer with cwd can smell as well as deer without?

Buy a bee smoker and wood chips, smoke yourself and your clothes and gear right before you walk into the woods, I’ve never been busted by a deer by my scent ever since I started doing it.

P.m. hunts are always harder cause those thermals going down! Plus when u climb down u spook them

take some dirt from the land a few weeks early then put cloths in that bag and wait till hunting time

Great video thanks GOD BLESS.

I do that too

If you hunt in the south turpentine is the answer. Snell like a pine tree got a couple hundred million down here.

Just started smoking my hunting clothes and pop up blind anyone else use this

I hunt the old-fashioned way and have pretty good success at it too I always try to smell and look like the environment I'm hunting and always hunt with my face in the Wind just an old secret my father taught me

Don't be farting on your stand

So you're telling me a $600 ozonics system doesn't work! Lol....

I spray my clothes down then spray doe estrus on my boots and walk in.

Aw man that scent spray takes 99% off not 100 so technically u still do have a lil bit of scent on u🤧

If you climb high enough no deer will smell you.

Skunk musk

im sure all this precaution helps for super mature deer.... but this seems like overkill for 90% of situations

Seems like common sense kind of stuff.

Eat an apple before.

And don't hunt the same stand every day

walk around in the woods stinky as hell all year and they will be used to it.

Find a pile of deer poop rub it on your cloth or find a scrape use that .wolves do that to smell like a moose or deer .It fools some animals.