71. Showing while explaining why to paint your sticks, add aiders and keep them scent free 

Lol just had a very nice mature buck spook on video after looking straight at my camera on a scrape, all the other bucks didnt care. Wish he was there yesterday morning when i was there..😂

That makes a lot of sense. Pretty don’t kill. Those black sticks would easily get picked here where I live in Ky. After painting they blended right in to the tree

I ordered some the skeletors. I don’t mind the weight vs the one sticks. Tired of carrying heavy climbers for miles to set up

John you have been helping lots of hunters for a long long time. You share a lot of hard earned info, and you always have. Best to you, and your family. And a giant THANK YOU!!

Clanking sounds spook deer just as much as scent, I prefer to use stealth strips. Appreciate your channel John.

You are true GOLD. I can’t thank you enough for all you sharing.

Hello John , thanks for helping educate all of us on many aspects of hunting. Just a tip before painting the sticks wipe down with a chemical de gloss for maximum adhesion

Hey John! Have you had any issues with the aiders moving in wind and alerting deer?

Thanks for the pointers

Your a great guy john. I don’t know if you get told enough. Thank you. For all of your advice and knowledge that has worked for you over the years. I’d love to get the chance to meet you one day. I’m taking my scent control to a new level thanks to you and people like Jim ward. REAL KILLERS. Keep doing you and F the haters.

I'm a public land hunter so I have to be mobile. I really like Beast sticks with steath strips. Never had an issue. I don't set up where a deer will walk right to the base of the tree. I don't buy the scent control bunk either. To many people shoot giants every year with none.

Love your stick to the basics approach to hunting

I paint everything. Usually using brown, black, and light gray. I paint them at least a month ahead, leave them outside and have never had a problem. As a matter of fact, last year I had pinned my stand, which isn't exact most times, and I walked past it, turned around and there it was!

Hey John. I killed a doe opening day yesterday in NJ in the middle of a transition zone between bedding. A 4pt and spike came by before her. I am doing a full scent control regiment this year with scentlok pants, jacket, mask and gloves; and rubber boots. Using my EES and in the tree 2 hours before daylight. 13 yard shot on her quartering away she went 90 yards. I read the book you and Chris wrote "Bowhunting Whitetails" this summer. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I now have prepped locations in transition zones, funnels, and mast trees; where before I wasn't really hunting, I was baiting. I wont ever bait again. Learning to actually hunt has been so rewarding.

Doesn't the paint stink like hell? What about the fabric on the aiders collecting scent?

Mr. Eberhart, how do you store your sticks inside of your van, do you keep them outside or inside of specific container. Also if those aiders are made of fabric material they will pick up and cary scent. Thank you for sharing your best practices….

To each is own. As long as a person is getting out in the woods and keeping hunting alive. Idc what camo or not he thinks about or wears or paints.

Them sticks actually disappeared when you painted them. Very nice..

Now they smell like spray paint!!! 😅

I love all of your videos and appreciate the wealth of knowledge that you share. You really helped my decision to try saddle hunting last year, and I love it! There’s nothing like being able to doze off in my 2 panel haha (tree hopper recon sling). I’ve thought replacing it with the ESS when the time comes. But what I found interesting was when your were talking about modifications to it. Are they just basic personal preferences? Or as part of Tetherd’s pro staff, have you given input for changes in future releases?

I always paint my ladder stands just to help them blend in a little as to not spook deer that may be moving through that are not familiar to those woods. But I disagree with no stealth strips. I want everything as quiet as possible!

Hi John Thank you for another great video and great information. Why doesn’t Tethered paint their sticks in the first place? I sure they would listen to you being on their staff. They could offer several different camouflage patterns and the custom could chose. It would be another great selling point for their product! Thanks again.

From what I've read, deer actually see Grey's, tans, better than red. Color sight is different for deervin comparison to humans. From what I've red deer see blues even as we see reds. My thought is to us they blend better, but not to a deer. I think one sticking is the best method to try to avoid any foreign object that a deer knows shouldn't be there! Thoughts?

No paint. Just use stealth strips.

Another excellent video. John, how long of a time frame do you recommend between the time you paint your sticks and when you hunt with them??

Tethered one gen 2 sticks have a recall due to sticks cracking.

Hey John, another great and down to earth "good advice" video. Thank you! I was wondering how high you are able to get with your stick/aider combo. I know you like to hunt high. I'm looking to buy some one sticks and was wondering 3 or 4 sticks?

Hi John, thanks for the videos and all of the great info. I have a question. Are you concerned about the aiders blowing in the breeze and attracting the attention of deer? If so how do you handle that ?

Hey John I've bought several of your books and I believe you are one of the best hunters in North America but I paint all my stands and have to leave them outside for at least 3 months to get the paint smell to go away. Also I don't see a difference between human scent attaching to the stealth strips vs the straps on the aiders. Not being a jerk but if I can smell the paint I'm sure the deer can. This being said, I do appreciate your videos.

Hi John I keep all my stuff like aiders and sticks in air right totes away from my scentlok, but after washing all my stuff in scent free detergent would it be worth it to put pine branches in them or is it an unnecessary step? thanks

John, quick question. On a breezy day do the aiders sway in the wind? If so, does that factor in for you with spooking deer? Thanks for the videos and tips.

why would the stealth strips hold any more scent then the amsteel rope used to hold it to the tree, or the aider you’re putting in them?

You can hand wash stealth stripped sticks and let them hand dry. That's what I do and haven't had an issue

Can you do a video of you going up a tree and setting up the saddle scaffold? Always been very interested in seeing how you set up for a public land hunt quietly and efficiently

Not knocking the video because I do think the over obsessed even though they may eliminate a 1/500 encounter happen because of something like this, I can say your ability to stay still and hunt silent and with the wind will make the hunt. I have several of your books and it’s your hunting ability, willingness to go where others won’t, and deer knowledge that is impressive. Again, I am sure this procedure would not hurt anything and takes minimal time, but if the average joe hunted half as well as you I doubt this will be an issue.

John, i have a question pertaining to the scent control info you sent me. QUESTION: I sourced the complete line of Icebreaker Merino base layers for this season, used on Ebay. I sweat a lot. Could I wear my Academy Sports 2.0 warm weather Polyester moisture wicking base layer under my jacket to the tree, and once up the tree put it in a freezer bag and then don the scent free Icebreaker Merino base layers as i need them ? Just worried about too much sweat wicking into my Scentlok jacket on the way to my tree from the polyester base layer, it wicks really well. Otherwise I'll get a 2nd Icebreaker 200 and wear one in and then switch in the tree. thanks

I spray paint some ratchet straps but then they smell like paint after drying, now im just trying to buy natural color stuff. Am I wrong about spray paint and long term smell?

What is the significance of 69 might I ask? If I’m correct in my thoughts, people need to go into 69 scent free, otherwise things can get nasty rather quickly. No way I’m going to my stand with a tuna can smell altering my thought process.

I see a few comments here that John is obsessing over the color of those sticks, and that such a small detail would only matter 1/500th of the time, that a hunter need only “stay still and hunt silent and with the wind”. First of all, if you think John is letting the wind dictate his stand position, you’ve not been paying attention. The obsession with scent and use of ScentLock clothing how John defeats the deer’s nose so that he can sit in the best place to kill a deer, not in a place dictated by the wind. As for the attention to sight detail, I’ll just pass along two stories from my own hunting experience that prove John’s point. Once in CT I was in a tree that I had just climbed using screw in steps. Back then I did not paint them flat gray, but left them the dark green with a sheen direct from E-Z Climb. A deer walked straight to my tree so no shot, but I expected it to walk past and give me a broadside. What happened was that the deer saw the lowest step and keyed right in on it, then saw the next one, then its eyes and head moved step by step up that tree till it spotted me. At that point it did a panic drop, spring and dash. Don’t tell me deer don’t know what belongs and what does not. Another year, in MA, I climbed a thick hemlock tree to get some bearings in a thick swamp. The branches were tight and went to the base so I put my longbow against a sapling about 10 yards from the tree and climbed the branches. I was up about 20ft in the thick stuff when a doe walked in. She was not walking toward my longbow. Her path was 10-20 feet off to the side, but she caught sight of it in her peripheral vision and swung her head right at it. She walked toward it, stomping her foot from time to time. I think deer do this when curious, suspicious, but not frightened, to see if they can get a reaction. She got within 5 feet and decided that was enough. She backed up and walked carefully away. Now this was a wooden limbed longbow; nothing but a stick and a string. She didn’t wind it I’m sure cause she never made that wide nose sniff motion deer do when they catch something they don’t like. She didn’t blow. She just snuck away. All that just because she saw my longbow leaning against a tree. Those are two true stories. If you think John is just blowing smoke up your butt to make RU-vid bucks think again. This guy is the real deal. As far as Whitetail deer hunting there is nobody alive today his equal in knowledge, skill and demonstrable success. Ignore his advice please. Leave the deer in the woods for those of us who follow him to hunt.

Hey John unrelated but what's your thoughts on the V site have you tried it?

Everyday living should be lived with that mentality of function over fashion. If something doesn't function it was a waste of time and money

I don’t get why these companies don’t sell them in grey, brown, or camo.

Adding anything to the deer woods is like moving furniture in your own living room, those animals notice it, see it and will be wary of it...😉

Hell of a deer hunter, need a lot of practice painting 😬

What modifications have you made to your ESS saddle? Do you have a video on that? I’m having issues when climbing with the two panels separating. The clips come apart very easily. My inner panel will be down by the behind my knees by the time I get to the top climbing. I decided to use a bungee with a ball on end to help hold together. Will see if it works out. I tighten saddle strap as tight as I can, but I guess my waist is bigger than my butt these days.

Science suggests a deer’s nearly 300 million olfactory senses make its sense of smell superior to its sense of sound and smell. No hunter that I know would admit that there was a way to be completely silent or completely invisible. So if we can’t beat their inferior senses (relative to smell), why would we think a product and regimen could keep us from being winded? Again, no disrespect meant at all. I just want everyone to think for themselves and get out and hunt!

How, if at all do you quiet your carabiners?

Why use paint when u can spray scent killer on it?

Bruh, if you can handle your clothes, you can handle stealth strips

Sorry..beast are best

Those aiders will move in the breeze.

Thanks for this video, John. Honestly, playing wind and thermals with stealth strips vs. being careless with the wind, painting your sticks, and wearing head to toe well-cared for scent lok, I will take playing the wind and being silent everyday of the week. I mean no disrespect at all, but paint smells linger so I would personally prefer playing the wind and being silent with stealth strips. Personally, I have more faith in a deer’s biology than I do in how much activated carbon a clothing manufacturer puts in the garments they are trying to sell. I think you give too much credit to your scent control regimen when the fact is you are just a good hunter who was in the tree at the right time.

Those sticks got recalled do too steps shearing.

So you say you are going to "wash" the aiders and only handle them with your scent lok gloves... Couldn't you do the same to the stealth strips? My opinion is I'd rather just use stealth strips, play the wind and be confident that I won't have the clinking of metal on metal. Seems like an attack on stealth strips for no apparent reason. I find it funny how you think you can be so scent free but the minute you step out of the shower and dry off you start to smell like human, let alone climb a tree. Also what about your clothes, just imagine how many people have touched your clothes before you purchased them. Do you have a separate washer and dryer for just washing your clothes in scent free wash? Do you wear your scent lok gloves when you pull them out of the washer and dryer? How do you get to your hunting areas? I'm assuming a vehicle, did you wash the inside of your vehicle to not cross contaminate?

Whats an ESS?

That's a lot of paint

Nothing is scent free!!!

Bottom line, Eberhart is a killer. His wall speaks

Contradictory information which makes no sense. Not using Stealth Strips because they "hold scent" but then using nylon straps because you can "wash the straps in scent lock detergent" and then use scent lock gloves to handle the aiders is illogical. You can also use those gloves if you are so inclined, to handle the stealth stripped sticks, keeping them in a scent free environment if you feel that is needed. It is critical to be silent , especially when hunting "highly pressured mature bucks" as you know. Your illogical approach in this matter clearly illustrates bias. Stealth Strips are outstanding additions to any surface which might make noise be it a stick, stand, or carabiner.

I worry the bottom aiders blow around in the wind, movement can spook a deer.

Those sticks are the most recalled sticks in the market. Nice try.

Stop pushing these sticks that break. It’s bad for your credibility.

John Eberhart has forgotten more about hunting than the other RU-vid “experts” will ever know.