Ann R. from Alabama writes to ask a question about scent control. "I'm new to bowhunting, and am learning about scent control as I go. Walking to my stand last night I noticed that my jacket was bumping some limbs. Wouldn't this leave some scent, or is that something so insignificant that it wouldn't matter?"
Actually Ann, when it comes to human odor and a deer's nose, nothing is insignificant. What I've done over the years is prune a path to my stands so that my clothes do not touch any branches. In fact, depending on the wind direction, you might get to your stand from two different directions, along two different routes. If that is the case, do some limb trimming on both paths.
Always wear clean gloves washed in scent free detergents when you touch any branches on the way to and in and around your stands. Yes, any human scent is that important when it comes to deer, especially those big, old bucks.
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Dr. Dave writes a weekly column for sportsmansguide.com. If you have a question for Dr. Dave, e-mail your question to Dr. Dave in care of Tom Kacheroski, senior editor of www.sportsmansguide.com's content at tkachero@sportsmansguide.com. Dr. Dave studied deer for 30 years as a wildlife management professor at West Virginia University. In addition he has been a bowhunter for over 40 years, with deer being his main prey. He's also an outdoor writer and has been with "Bowhunter" magazine for more than 31 years.