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Smoke as cover scent.

isu22andy

isu22andy

Active Member
I read on Archery Talk where many are using smoke as a cover scent. I did a quick search on here and didnt see any threads dedicated to it . I know bkcrrtnps mentioned it a few times but I have a hard time believing smoke works in Iowa due to our lack of natural fires. I figured since most IOWA fires are man made that deer would associate these fire with humans/danger and they wouldn't hang around but it seems to be quite the opposite ( Or so I read :D ) Lets hear it smoke users success or failure stories I want them all before I give it a go!
 
I have an outdoor wood burner for heat.. Every morning before heading to the stand, I put all my gear on and throw more wood in the burner and let the smoke cover me.. definitely had some deer smell the smoke for sure but they didn't bust. It helps though that I hunt right behind my house so the smoke regularly blows back there.
 
I tried it a few times last season. Don't think it has anything to do with fires being a "natural" scent to the area...more that somehow smoke is supposed to destroy the natural scent containing enzymes in clothing. I think it's fairly well documented that this was a time proven strategy among native Americans many years ago. Anyway, I'd say my results last year were mixed. I started a campfire in the back yard and put our camo on the downwind side of it for a couple of hours. I did this on at least 2 occasions prior to a weekend's hunt. I can't say I ever got busted on a more regular basis than normal preparations, but at the same time, didn't see it as being a huge advantage for deer that did come in on the downwind side. So anyway, I'd say after 1 year of very informal observations, I'd call it a 50-50 deal. I may or may not try it again this season...

NWBuck
 
I have never purposely tried it, but if I had to smell like smoke in order to not smell like human....then I would choose smoke. That said; I try relentlessly to smell like leaves.
 
Interesting replies, so far no one is 100% sold on it yet like they are over on AT . Awaiting a reply from bkcrrtnps :D
 
my family had great results with it last year.
With so many outdoor wood boilers and folks heating with wood its a very common smell to the deer in the area. They smell it from the first frost until they drop their antlers.
playing the wind is 100% key but id rather smell like smoke than a squeeky clean batch of clothes covered in a scent killer spray.
Ill try it again this year but the smoked clothes worked well for us last season
 
Heard of people using it with results but I've never tried. I've been using evercalm (looks like a stick of deodorant) and rubbing it on the tree I'm in and I believe it helps. I'm very skeptical about scent covering products but in the last two seasons it has seemed to work for me.
 
We hunt behind our house and I think it has helped a few times to have smoke swirling in our woods. I can't say for sure, but I know it does not bother the deer.
 
I tried it three seasons ago. Bought a bee hive smoker and smoked down before every hunt. I got busted as much as any time and stunk like smoke for days. Wasn't for me. I have better luck with cedar branches in with my clothes tote and washing my under layers between every hunt.
P.S. I have a bee smoker for sale..haha
 
IAwhitetailfreak said:
I tried it three seasons ago. Bought a bee hive smoker and smoked down before every hunt. I got busted as much as any time and stunk like smoke for days. Wasn't for me. I have better luck with cedar branches in with my clothes tote and washing my under layers between every hunt.
P.S. I have a bee smoker for sale..haha
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LOL, I agree, I go heavy on the cedar branches.
 
I absolutely loved it. Tried it all last year for the first time using hickory chips (has to be a type of hard wood, not sure why, something to do with the chemical change when burned) But seriously, I'm not a gimmick hunter that falls for the latest fad... This worked for me, might not work for others. I'll be doing it from here on out thats for sure. Did not have a deer bust me the entire year... When they got downwind they definitely smelled something, but it was never enough to make them turn and run, they would look around, sniff, then go back to feeding.
 
IAwhitetailfreak said:
I tried it three seasons ago. Bought a bee hive smoker and smoked down before every hunt. I got busted as much as any time and stunk like smoke for days. Wasn't for me. I have better luck with cedar branches in with my clothes tote and washing my under layers between every hunt.
P.S. I have a bee smoker for sale..haha
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skyleralan said:
LOL, I agree, I go heavy on the cedar branches.
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And I have cedar branches for sale!

Still contemplating using the smoke technique this year.
 
deer can smell several different smells at the same time and know ware each of them are coming from. Smoke isnt going to anything for you.
 
iowa whitetail said:
deer can smell several different smells at the same time and know ware each of them are coming from. Smoke isnt going to anything for you.
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It has nothing to do with them smelling smoke. It has to do with the smoke killing bacteria on a molecular level. I don't know the exact science behind it, but it's killing the human scent in your clothes if I remember correctly. Deer don not associate smoke with a flight response typically. So yes they smell your smoke, but it reduced the human portion of your scent trail.
 
The Scent Smoker uses the most basic tool known to the earliest hunters to mask human scent - smoke. More specifically, hardwood smoke. Smoke is a very common scent in the wild. From a forest fire in the Rocky Mountains, to wood-burning farmstead in the midwest, smoke is omnipresent and does not spook game. It is a naturally occuring fragrance, as common as wood itself.



Hardwood smoke not only has a strong, lingering fragrance, it is full of bacteria killing anti-microbials. More specifically Phenol (commonly known as carbolic acid, the first anti-septic). In fact, there are over 20 phenolic compounds present in hardwood smoke. This is why smoke has been used for hundreds of years to preserve meat. By "smoking" meat, the outer 1/8 inch of the meat's surface is protected from bacterial growth, and is therefore preserved from invading bacteria.



Lignin is the real magic of hardwood smoke. It is the "sticky" substance that causes the smell of smoke to adhere to clothing and skin. The antimicrobial phenolic compounds are present in the lignin, and therefore adhere to garments, skin and equipment, thus killng odor causing bacteria and eliminating game spooking human odor.
 
bkcrrtnps said:
The Scent Smoker uses the most basic tool known to the earliest hunters to mask human scent - smoke. More specifically, hardwood smoke. Smoke is a very common scent in the wild. From a forest fire in the Rocky Mountains, to wood-burning farmstead in the midwest, smoke is omnipresent and does not spook game. It is a naturally occuring fragrance, as common as wood itself.



Hardwood smoke not only has a strong, lingering fragrance, it is full of bacteria killing anti-microbials. More specifically Phenol (commonly known as carbolic acid, the first anti-septic). In fact, there are over 20 phenolic compounds present in hardwood smoke. This is why smoke has been used for hundreds of years to preserve meat. By "smoking" meat, the outer 1/8 inch of the meat's surface is protected from bacterial growth, and is therefore preserved from invading bacteria.



Lignin is the real magic of hardwood smoke. It is the "sticky" substance that causes the smell of smoke to adhere to clothing and skin. The antimicrobial phenolic compounds are present in the lignin, and therefore adhere to garments, skin and equipment, thus killng odor causing bacteria and eliminating game spooking human odor.
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cool story but what about your breath, what about hours on end in a tree. deer can smell ten times better than a hound a little smoke isnt going to help you most likely hurt your chances you will be getting busted and not even know it.
 
iowa whitetail said:
cool story but what about your breath, what about hours on end in a tree. deer can smell ten times better than a hound a little smoke isnt going to help you most likely hurt your chances you will be getting busted and not even know it.
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Chew on a half burnt stick then.....
 
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it just amazes me what people try and really think it works if you think that a mature buck is going to be fooled by smoke, your the fool and someone that plays the wind like me will kill him. So i guess im saying thanks in advance
 
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