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Choosing the Right Deer Cover Scent
Below is a comment I received from Marcel about a prior blog post talking about preparing his clothes for deer hunting season. You can read his first question at http://www.marty-prokop.com/archives/2007/09/how_to_prepare.html#comments
You can read my response to Marcel's new questions below.
Marty,
Thank you for your answers.
One more question.
I bought a spray bottle of human scent eliminator should I still wash the hunting clothes with baking soda? And is that scent any good?
I also bought a corn scent foam ,same thing, there is no farm or corn where I hunt . Do you think if I spray some by the tree stand 3 weeks before hunting season it would work?
I also bought a bag of food called beef mash . Is it good to put some around the tree stand ?
Thanks again,
Marcel Mclaughlin
Marcel,
Thanks for your questions.
Yes, wash your clothes with baking soda. It is by far the least expensive treatment you can do for taking smells out of your hunting clothing.
Human scent eliminator sprays will help cover your human scent. Are they 100% effective? In my opinion, no.
However they do help. There should be no real scent to the spray. If you are smelling something in the scent eliminator, then the deer will be able to smell that too.
Using cover or attractant scents that are not native to the area you hunt can be touchy. Deer are curious by nature, so they may come in and check out a new smell. But on the flip side, they may steer clear of the area too. Do you have corn fields nearby your hunting location say within one to two miles? If so, deer may be used to the smell of corn and won’t be alarmed.
As far as the beef mash is concerned, I’ve not used any such product to attract deer. You had mentioned a while back you placed some near the creek at your home and the deer ate it. If you are hunting that same group of deer, it may work fine.
If you can test the beef mash on a small scale by pacing some about 100 yards or so from your stand give it a try. After you place the beef mash, let it sit for a couple days before you recheck it. When you go back to check and the beef mash is eaten, then I would say you are fine to place it near your stand.
Before you place any bait or food out for deer, make sure you check your local rules and hunting regulations.
Have you ever tried making a deer mineral lick by your deer stand? Deer will visit them year round. There are a few companies that offer deer minerals and they are easy to establish. If this is something of interest to you, let me know.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
Posted by Marty Prokop
