Good stuffThis subject is near and dear to my heart. I've gone to just about every length to reduce game alarming odors. I have not done the vegetarian diet yet...doubt I ever will go that far.
My thoughts on this stuff continue to evolve. I'm really starting to believe that deer may not be all that alarmed by chemical odors especially in areas that have lots of human activity like farms and suburbs. It might be different in more remote areas but deer that live anywhere near people encounter petroleum odors, cooking odors, perfumed products of all kinds.
Just look at a typical farm. It's saturated with equipment odors...diesel and gasoline, grease, hydraulic fluid, herbicides...it's all there and deer actually feed and live right there.
Take a logging operation... chainsaw and skidder odors and deer are drawn to logging sites.
Then there's the suburban deer. They often bed as close to homes as possible to avoid hunters that are waiting outside of the safety zones. Those deer smell it all every day. I've walked through backyards in the dark going to/from stands and smelled the strong perfume of laundry products blowing out of dryer vents.
I've sat in stands on a warm fall day and could smell barbecue wafting through the neighborhood air.
I truly believe deer have evolved to fear predator odors, not the incidental chemical odors that are present in modern air. If those odors alarmed them then deer would be constantly paralyzed with fear.
However, I realize that we are dealing with thinking creatures that make decisions. None of us really know for sure how a deer will react on any given day. What they accept one day they may reject the next day. So I still do everything I can to avoid the chemical odors but I'm starting to wonder if it's those odors that are the culprits.
Deer have been alarmed by true human odors ever since primitive man killed them with spears, even before the bow was invented.
And while we can't totally eliminate our natural human odor, we can reduce it.
I believe the major odor producer is our mouth. If we humans can smell someone's breath, we know deer can smell it. I employ a few things to reduce breath odor for hunting. I can share in those if you want to hear them.
Followed by feet, pits and crotch, and the one thing these odor producers have in common is sweat moisture. Odor producing bacteria thrive in sweat. Reduce sweat in those areas where skin folds (like pits and crotch), where the airflow is reduced and bacteria will be reduced. Antiperspirant in the pits obviously, but also in the crotch and feet (up to the knees). And the insides of rubber boots should be deodorized after every hunt.
Ears are another odor producer. My springer spaniel taught me that ear wax stinks. That dog never went into the trash, not for anything (not even food garbage) until someone dropped a waxy Q-Tip in there. She would smell it almost immediately and pick it out and eat it. Get your ears clean before the season starts and keep them clean.
Reduce human odors as best as you can, and then hunt the fickle winds as best as you can and hope that when the moment of truth comes, the red gods look kindly upon you and you go undetected.
This subject is near and dear to my heart. I've gone to just about every length to reduce game alarming odors. I have not done the vegetarian diet yet...doubt I ever will go that far.
My thoughts on this stuff continue to evolve. I'm really starting to believe that deer may not be all that alarmed by chemical odors especially in areas that have lots of human activity like farms and suburbs. It might be different in more remote areas but deer that live anywhere near people encounter petroleum odors, cooking odors, perfumed products of all kinds.
Just look at a typical farm. It's saturated with equipment odors...diesel and gasoline, grease, hydraulic fluid, herbicides...it's all there and deer actually feed and live right there.
Take a logging operation... chainsaw and skidder odors and deer are drawn to logging sites.
Then there's the suburban deer. They often bed as close to homes as possible to avoid hunters that are waiting outside of the safety zones. Those deer smell it all every day. I've walked through backyards in the dark going to/from stands and smelled the strong perfume of laundry products blowing out of dryer vents.
I've sat in stands on a warm fall day and could smell barbecue wafting through the neighborhood air.
I truly believe deer have evolved to fear predator odors, not the incidental chemical odors that are present in modern air. If those odors alarmed them then deer would be constantly paralyzed with fear.
However, I realize that we are dealing with thinking creatures that make decisions. None of us really know for sure how a deer will react on any given day. What they accept one day they may reject the next day. So I still do everything I can to avoid the chemical odors but I'm starting to wonder if it's those odors that are the culprits.
Deer have been alarmed by true human odors ever since primitive man killed them with spears, even before the bow was invented.
And while we can't totally eliminate our natural human odor, we can reduce it.
I believe the major odor producer is our mouth. If we humans can smell someone's breath, we know deer can smell it. I employ a few things to reduce breath odor for hunting. I can share in those if you want to hear them.
Followed by feet, pits and crotch, and the one thing these odor producers have in common is sweat moisture. Odor producing bacteria thrive in sweat. Reduce sweat in those areas where skin folds (like pits and crotch), where the airflow is reduced and bacteria will be reduced. Antiperspirant in the pits obviously, but also in the crotch and feet (up to the knees). And the insides of rubber boots should be deodorized after every hunt.
Ears are another odor producer. My springer spaniel taught me that ear wax stinks. That dog never went into the trash, not for anything (not even food garbage) until someone dropped a waxy Q-Tip in there. She would smell it almost immediately and pick it out and eat it. Get your ears clean before the season starts and keep them clean.
Reduce human odors as best as you can, and then hunt the fickle winds as best as you can and hope that when the moment of truth comes, the red gods look kindly upon you and you go undetected.
A little short on time this evening. I'll type it up tomorrow.Tap, I'd love to hear what you do to reduce your breath odor.