Fresh earth scent
Connecticut
Imagine you are walking through the woods and catch a big whiff of fresh earth scent. Either the actual odor of freshly churned dirt, or something from a bottle. Now thats NOT an odor that just happens in the woods, there needs to be some kind of disturbance to release all that dirt smell. And when it is released by a disturbance it usually doesn't linger all that long. I know when I smell it i will usually hit the brakes and see what dug a hole, or if there is a scrape or whatever. Do you really think a deer smells that and thinks nothing of it?
You're right Grizz. If it's not normal, I don't what scent it is, the deer are going to get very cautious and leave the area.
You said it yourself grizz when you smell it you look and find what has been digging or invading the area...curiosity...sometimes just makes the big deer make a mistake. Much rather have him not notice a thing while coming threw but just sometimes it lust works in your favor vs them spook.
Grizz, you are looking at that as a human, one that is able to think and reason. You may investigate what that smell is and where it's coming from.
Deer can't reason or think. Impossible to know what a deer's natural instinct and reaction will be if it smells fresh dirt. One deer may bolt and the next deer won't even look in that direction.
Not trying to stir the pot, I don't even use the earth scent products. Can't stand the smell.
I believe there are several independent tests out there that have shown that scent killer sprays with some type of cover ingredient actually slows the response of the dog trying to find the human.
If that is accurate, all the sprays I use on my lower half have the earth scent. I can say that I have had deer cross my path where I walked to my stand I have killed them. None of them were spooked when the arrow slid through their lungs.
Even if the deer stops to investigate, I have never seen them boogie out ever. As far as the smell of earth.....go in the woods when it's wet....that's all it smells like.
I think the difference between a dog trying to locate a person and a deer is that the deer is not trying to locate one, specific scent. The deer is trying to survive, therefore any scent that doesn't belong in that area is not normal, it's an alarm.
Yes, they are naturally curious animals, however an older doe or buck has learned over the years that these new scents sometimes mean danger and will avoid them by turning around and leaving the area.
This has been my experience over the past 47 years of bow hunting, but there's always the exception to every rule.
Ever disc up a food plot and look at all the fresh critter tracks the next day including deer tracks? If the smell of fresh earth is gonna scare deer what are they doing walking around in it ?
Its not that fresh dirt smell is going to scare them off. Its YOU wearing fresh dirt smell. They smell it and chances are pretty good that they eventually smell you mixed with it. Bob nailed it. A dog following a smell for a treat at the end can not be compared to a deer trying to survive through instinct and life experience. Its a natural odor yes, but an indication that something is out of place in a deers world and a reason to be cautious. They know the land they live on better than most hunters will ever understand. They know when something has happened in their living room just like we know when something is out of place in ours. To a deer it may be nothing but then again it may be death from above. Their priority is trying to survive. Different deer have had different life experiences so some may haul ass, some may investigate, some may ignore it completely. Does it make sense to cover yourself in an odor that will gain attention? Maybe if your a brown its down guy, you might get lucky. More likely you will quickly educate deer to your location, how you hunt, and what you smell like.
Im sure most of you have had a deer walk past the trail you walked in on and stop to start sniffing until they follow the scent right to the base of your tree. Its not YOU they smell, its the disturbance you created, its the odors released by the disturbance. All the leaves and plants that are crunched by a hunter walking through the woods give off a ton of odor that any animal with a keen sense of smell will tune into very easily. Not necessarily a big deal to a deer until they look up and see you sitting in a tree shaking. Other times they hit your trail and actually smell your human odor and they immediately haul ass, snorting with the tail up. Maybe they have already learned where your state land ladder stand is and don't need to investigate to know your there again for the fifth time this season. I know anyone that has spent enough time in the woods has seen it.
The point I'm trying to get across is that any smell other than no smell is going to be cause for a reaction. It may end up being a good thing, but more often than not it just educates the deer to your presence. Hopefully it gets some of you thinking.
My friend is our Towns K9 officer and trains with tracking dogs every day. He was told that animals can separate different smells as humans only smell the "stronger" odor. So applying cover scent only adds one more odor and wont eliminate your own.
I was watching a Doe sniff for acorns under the leaves the other day and was wondering how they can smell that there is a worm inside and not eat it? BTW she died (couldn't smell me in the tree)
Let's put it this way.
If you smelled #2 in your living room instead of your bathroom, you'd start looking for the smell because you know it doesn't belong there, that's a bathroom smell.
Conversely, if you smelled lasagna in your bathroom you'd wonder where in the heck that's coming from,,.......and boy am I hungry!
If the smell doesn't fit,...... you must get the hell out of the area.
In the past, I have taken leaf mold (dirt and decaying leaves) and placed them in a plastic storage tub and then covered it with cheese clothe and put my hunting clothes in. They smell like the woods and I don't think the deer are spooked by it at all.
Let's be real here… No matter what you have on your clothes how you smell what you use the deer will always smell you if you're down wind.
My opinion on this one is a little contrary to the most recent posts. These scents were passed down to me by my father who had hunted for years and years. I recall him dragging in a deer every year and it was in mass in a less deer populated area. On all my hunts so far not only are my clothes in a tote with one but I also clip one to my hat. I do think though they are quite strong and my wife gags from the..lol. But this year hunting alone i have seen multiple deer and within 15 yards. I was in a ground blind and they were cautious but I did have the wind in my face and they didn't pick me off. Also I use dead down wind scent spray and all if there products. Soap laundry soap dryer sheets ECT..
I do what Gene does, some leaves and dirt in my clothes bag, wash in scent free soap, hang outside to dry for days, and spray down with scent eliminator spray. Doe in heat is the only "scented" product I use the woods.
A month ago I tilled up a 1/2 acre food plot to put in some winter rye and buckwheat. That night there were fresh deer tracks in the field
