During the 1950s, Dad and several friends would spend a full week in a remote deer camp each November. Whitetails were plentiful, hunting pressure was light and success rates were high, but since each veteran woodsman sought to bag a big, bragging-size buck, that achievement came at a price. It wasn’t uncommon to leave camp before dawn with a sandwich in a jacket pocket for lunch and not return until dusk if no deer was shot. Even half a century ago sportsmen understood about scent problems, and my dad’s answer was an apple quartered in one pocket and a few spruce or cedar bough tips in hat brim, boot laces and jacket pockets.

Twenty-five years ago I’d visit the local drug store the week prior to deer season and purchase a half-ounce dropper bottle of oil of cedar. A cotton ball or gauze swab was tied beneath each bootlace and each got a couple of drops of this fragrant, long-lasting oil on the morning and at noon of each day in the woods to help mask my scent. During the last decade or so, however, miracles of modern chemistry have made fruit and tree sap aromas archaic practices for outdoorsmen attempting to cover human odors.

You stink!

Humans stink. Perhaps not literally, in most cases, but to animals, especially big game, we reek to high heaven. In most cases it’s our regular daily cleansing hygiene, toiletry and laundry habits that contribute most to our strong fragrance.

Every laundry soap, bleach, fabric softener and anti-cling dryer sheet adds odor to clothing, and bar soap, antiperspirant, shampoo, hair gel, after shave and even toothpaste and mouthwash each add their own strong aroma to the human body. What’s good for daily hygiene and normal social interaction is a major detriment when attempting to stalk deer, moose or bear, or even when using calls, bait or sex scents to coax big game close to a stand or blind.

Avoiding the use of certain cosmetic and toiletry products completely on hunting days and substituting other scent-free items on your body and clothes will help tremendously. In addition, the application of scent-eliminating sprays or powders directly to the body as well as each layer of hunting apparel, even boots, gloves and hats, goes a long way in masking man’s scent.

My odor control regime when gunning for any of Maine’s big three game animals is simple and exacting, and thus far very effective. At the beginning of each week I wash every single garment I might need. This is always weather dependent, using scent-eliminating soap. Avoiding the dryer because of residue from previous softener or static sheets, my outfit is wind dried outside on the deck, hopefully infusing a natural smell. Once dry the clothes are all packed and sealed air tight into a heavy duty plastic bag not to be exposed to outside odors again until I don the duds just before heading into the woods.

Upon returning at noon or in the evening, my garb is stripped off outside on the porch or in the garage and placed back in the bag and sealed until the next outing. I use a scent-killing bar soap to wash up with before a hunt and apply only deodorant of the same type, then while in my shorts, I apply a scent-eliminating spray to my arms, legs, neck, face and hair. After getting into each layer of outer clothes just before heading into the woods, I dose these with a liberal spray of a carbon-based scent shield, especially boots, hat, gun or bow, and any knapsack or fanny pack.

Bow hunters and hand-gunners will require superior scent control compared to long- gun shooters due to the necessity to attain close shots, but there’s no such thing as too much human odor control. Believe it or not there are scent- reducing gums, lip balms, mouthwashes, field wipes, hair spray and even pills to destroy body odor internally. My old standbys include Scent Killer by Wildlife Research Center, Scent Shield extra strength by Robinson Labs, and for my final outer layer, Scent Blocker Carbon Blast. Sixteen ounces of these products run about $7 to $10, will last most ardent hunters an entire season, and can be purchased at local sporting goods stores or rod and gun shops.

There are several dependable lines of Scent Control clothing currently available that guarantee to nearly eliminate human odor. There is no question that this type of garment will aid scent control, but this option is pricey compared to spray options and is another set of apparel to carry and clean. For sportsmen who choose to wear scent-reducing clothing, the use of applied liquid scent eliminator is still highly recommended.

Attractant scents

As hard as hunters work to reduce emanation of their own scent, most put in just as much effort to introduce various attractant aromas inviting to big-game animals. I reduce the ever-increasing multitude of tempting lures to three categories that explain their particular drawing power: food, females and fighting. For big- game animals, and a lot of homo sapiens come to think of it, those three elements are prime portions of daily life.

Although a limited number of chemically produced food aromas are available for deer and moose, their consistent effectiveness is questionable. My theory is that using these products is like packing a rain suit on a sunny day, it can’t hurt. Bear hunters, on the other hand, will find food scents indispensable when starting bait sites. Not only do these enticing food aromas waft long distances on the breeze to attract bruins, but once a bear has visited and gotten the liquid, gel, or powder on its feet and fur, any other black bear crossing its path can retrace the track back to the bait barrel.

Since most of these food-imitating attractants are strong and fairly long lasting, they actually serve a second purpose by helping to mask a hunter’s scent while on stand. Used grease from restaurant deep fryers is effective, cheap and readily available to bear hunters, but actual food-flavored products are even better. Bear Scents LLC, Brad Hering’s company out of Lake Mills, Wis., offers a tremendous variety of flavors in a wide selection of application options. Sixteen potent scents, including top sellers bacon, anise, blueberry and honey, can be purchased in spray bottles, gel, powder and long-lasting, hanging bait balls. Check a nearby outdoor store, call 1-888-215-BEAR or go on line at www.bearscents.com

Dominance is a big thing in the animal world, and there’s a lot of fake sparring and some fairly violent real battles between bull moose, buck deer and even black bear for control of food and females in a specific area of forest. A knowledgeable hunter can create a showdown with the current “king of the hill” by devising a fake challenger using specific sounds and smells. Deer and moose calls are very effective during the rut, and realism is heightened further when a set of antlers is used to simulate a buck or bull fighting, raking brush and polishing his horns. Would- be contenders come on the run to investigate and often challenge this “newcomer.”

Add in the right scent to the sight and sound effects and big bucks and bulls are bound to show interest. For moose, create a wallow in a wet, muddy recession by mixing in moose urine using a hoe or rake to tear the ground up yielding a smelly wallow indicating another bull is infringing on the dominant moose’s territory. Then issue challenging calls, beat the trees and ground with a set of antlers, wait, watch and be ready.

Whitetails are every bit as territorial, so fake scrapes can be built and seeded with strong-smelling buck urine. Rubs can also be concocted using tarsal gland and interdigital gland scent to highlight the spot and draw out other big whitetails. There are several other combinations of buck scents to raise the ire of any other dominant deer in the neighborhood, and these are simple to use and are produced in gels, drips, liquids, sprays, and even incense-style smoking sticks.

Code Blue tarsal gland gel and Code Blue buck urine have proven effective on past hunts, and Tink’s Trophy Buck Lure is another sure bet. An up and coming item is called Buck Bomb, and its dominant buck aerosol dispenses in a thick mist and uses the wind to carry it over a quarter-mile radius in short order. Big deer don’t get that size by being foolish, so when attempting to lure a trophy into range using fighting scents, the sportsman has to provide the main ingredient – lots of patience.

Finally, only one driving desire overshadows food and fighting for dominance regardless of the animal species: procreation, females, sex. Male moose and deer will run themselves ragged trying to be the No. 1 stud in their particular wedge of woods each autumn. They ignore food, disregard sleep, travel long distances and often pay little heed to eminent danger. Brings back memories of my youth, how about you?

Proper use of sex scents probably accounts for the downfall of more bragging-size bucks than any other tactic. Once again, patience and persistence are crucial, but given time these lures will work consistently, even when peak rut has passed. Doe secretions and urine collected from a female whitetail in peak estrous are the basis for most doe-in-heat scents. Pheromones and hormones are mixed in to increase potency and reality of smell. To further establish realism, most name brand manufacturers collect secretions from a single individual animal, never mixing specimens in individual bottles.

Find a well-used trail, establish a scent drip of estrous doe scent and climb into a ground blind or tree stand to wait and watch. It’s a big buck hunter’s Field of Dreams: If you build it, they will come! Try Code Blue Estrous Doe gel or Tink’s famous Number 69 Doe-in-Rut line. Buck Bomb comes in Doe Pee and Dow Estrous, and both are getting rave reviews from hunters nationwide.

There you have a brief overview that will hopefully help novice and veteran hunters alike make some sense of scents. Stick to the old tried and true methods of fir tips and fruit in your pockets if you will, but with all the great cover scents and the myriad of attractant scents, you will be well behind the technology curve. Bear, moose and deer season are either in progress or just a week away, so perhaps it’s time to visit the local outdoor stores and talk scents with the local expert and maybe a few other sportsmen. It smells like the formula for success to me.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com