Sensible Scents
by Max August

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You see them everywhere. Ads for scents. Cover scents, Doe in heat scents, Buck scents, and everything you can think of scents. I have used scents and have had successes in using them. Through my years of hunting I have found one scent aid to be far superior than any other and it's free. Wind!

Several years ago I did not pay much attention to wind direction. I spotted several deer feeding in a field one day and decided to take a check of the wind direction to see what the best way to approach was. I crushed a dry leaf and let it filter out of my hand and observed the direction of the wind. I noticed the wind was to my back and decided that since I had just gotten off work I would need to get a better advantage due to the numerous smells that I knew were on my clothes. I slowly worked my way around the feeding deer until after another check of the wind I had the breeze blowing directly in my face. I then proceeded to work from one clump of bushes to another until there were none left. I then crawled in the tall grass to within 20 or 30 yards of the unsuspecting animals. I was amazed that not one animal had gotten nervous, as I laid just a short distance from them in the grass. I slowly worked into a kneeling position and got an arrow ready when a large doe caught sight of my movements. Even then she did not become alarmed but seemed to be more curious. She moved towards me a little. Then she made a fast circle of me until she was down wind. As soon as she could smell me the alarm went up sending deer in every direction until I was sitting all alone in the grass.

After that day I sat at home thinking about the experience and it was then I decided if it was good enough for the deer to use I would always try to play the wind. The first thing I started to do is pay attention to the weather forecasts to see the wind direction for the next day. I would then sit in a stand that faced into the wind. I immediately started to see more deer. I followed this pattern for the remainder of that year and arrowed two deer and killed a third during gun season. I was hooked on the wind. I even started to carry a bottle of talc that I could puff up in the air to constantly check the wind direction while I was walking. If I forgot the talc I would still use the crushed leaves. I was able to see more deer the more I paid attention to the wind. I noticed that the deer who I knew had seen my motion or even at times my entire outline were not as nervous as long as they could not smell me. I have watched deer move back and forth when the wind was not in my favor until they could smell me and then they will always bolt. I have also noticed that no matter how much cover scent or how carefully I keep my cloths from smelling if the deer is down wind from you it will take off at the first whiff of humanity.

To hunt the wind successfully You need to do a few things. Check the wind direction often. On our compass page there is a link to a web site for weather. Part of the reason it is on our site is that it gives prevailing wind vectors. That will give you a real good idea as to the general direction you should hunt for that day. However, it does not give the complete picture you will still have to check the wind in the woods every so often due to several factors. The wind direction can vary on its own from the stated vectors just through the nature of wind. It can be vary several degrees due to topography, wood and fields, and even slight variations in terrain can change the wind drastically. The only way to be sure is to check often and try and head into the wind at all time even if it means going out of your way. Also just because you are stand hunter does not mean you shouldn't care about the wind. Check the wind before you walk to your stand. Pick a route that will not contaminate the area that you expect deer to traverse. If you have the ability to have different stand locations keep in mind the way you expect to see deer and have shots, should be the way the wind is coming from. It will not do any good to sit with the wind to your back.

The next time you see all those adds for scents give a thought to the sensible scent that I like to sell and remember it's free. The Wind.