Did my first hunt yesterday for opening day in Ohio. Saw 3 doe and 2 small bucks and a **** ton of squirrels. Sorry as i am new to hunting I found this funny. Anyway to the point, i had 2 of the 5 deer bust me i'm assuming. The first doe came up over the hill and looked dead at me. She bobbed her head looked at me for a few seconds and bolted back down the hill. The second time was a button buck, he had to smell me or the neighbors off the way scared him, he had his head behind a tree 90% of the time i saw him. As for my gear i was wearing some cheap camo i used for paintball a while back and a hoodie. I sprayed myself down in hunter specialty scent repellent and even put on 3 scent disks. I don't think my scent is a problem, i'm guessing it's my outline. The doe had me pegged, my question is what's some decent camo I can buy for Ohio hunting? I don't really want to buy 30 different items, would be happy with head/body/pants. Obviously money is always an issue. Just not really sure what I should go for. Predator Grey looks good, just don't know how it works in Ohio trees.
I would say your sent is more the problem,you should wash all your clothes in anti sent stuff and spray down.
Tons of factors are involved. Scent, stand placement, cover, did they catch you moving. You say the doe came over the hill and looked straight at you. Is your stand in a tree at the base of a hill? This contributes a lot to getting busted. As a deer comes over the hill they are eye level with you. You may as well be on the ground with them. Also, look at the cover around you. Is there anything there to break up your outline? Breaking up your outline is the most important thing. Its a fine line between to much cover and not enough and I know I have trouble towing that line when cutting lanes to shoot from. Wash your clothes in scent-a-way, throw them in a tote or unscented plastic bag (I like to throw earth scent wafers in there too) and don't get them out until your ready to throw them on and walk out the door. If you have a place outside get dressed outside do it. Less chance of picking up in the home odors by rubbing up against something. I also spray down the inside of the vehicle and make sure any car fragrance stuff is taken out. I actually never put any in to begin with. This may be a little overboard but if the girlfriend is wearing perfume she doesn't get in my truck we take her car. When you get to where your going spray down again put any cover scent on you wish. And go for it. Also be mindful of the wind. Your always going to have to give something up just make sure its not what you perceive as your best opportunity. Check out military surplus stores for camo or go shop the clearance racks after season is over. Camo pattern really isn't that important. Its all about breaking up the outline. The color is sort of important. While deer don't really see many colors they see shades and you want the color of your camo to represent shades that are familiar in your woods. That being said they have a ton of what are called rods in their eyes. These pick up on movement. They are very sensitive to movement. That why I asked if she caught you moving. It doesn't take much for them to catch you. Still even if you do everything perfect deer will still bust you. They have senses that are sharper than we can imagine. They have evolved to be able to sniff out danger. Literally. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and try and give ourselves the best chance we can. Trying to fool them is most of the fun for me even if I don't get a kill out of the deal. One more thing make sure you are using a cover scent that makes sense. Thats why I like earth scent. Theres dirt everywhere. I know some guys that use Raccoon pee or fox pee. But you need to ask yourself do you have raccoons or foxes. While the answer is usually yes I am sure there are areas that have very low or nonexistent racoon and Fox populations so make sure you use a cover scent that makes sense with the area your hunting.
I also feel that u being busted had more to do with ur scent or movement than anything else. Camo patterns or ur clothes actually have a lot less to do with it than many realize. IMO its better to eliminate ur scent or "smell invisible". I personally wash my clothes in scent eliminating detergent then I store them in a tub that I have some of the dirt and foliage of my hunting area in with the clothes. This helps the clothes absorb some of the natural areas scents. I honestly feel its much better to smell like the area ur hunting than to have a bunch of strange cover scents on u. I will use an attractant scent but that's usually in an area I would like deer to go, not on my person. Just my opinion and the way I like to go about it. Good luck on ur next hunt.. Nock em down, Drag em out!!
Good advice remember deer are not blind if your on a hill 20 ft in the air and they come over the top that is near eye level and you do not have anything to break up your pattern you will get bagged allot camo or no camo. Remember the woods are the deers living room when something is out of place I am a firm believer they take notice. Who ever said deer have a memory span of 30 seconds has not spent enough time in the woods hunting pressured deer!
X2. movement is the number one killer knowing when to grab your bow, draw your bow will make or break most close encounters. Also if you are hunting near hills if the deer come down hills towards you you need to be normal treestand height over the top of the hill. If you are 16 feet up and the hill is 12 feet taller than the base of your tree your effective height is 4 feet and you are now eye level with the deer.
All of the above is good advice. From a fellow paintballer - I would wear anything BUT paintball camo. Even after multiple washes - my gear smells like..well..paintballs. It's a very distinct and strong smell. If I can smell it upon opening my gear bag, deer can no doubt smell it from a long distance. I don't think even scent killer sprays / washes can get rid of it. The paint residue just stays in the fabric. Pick up some cheap camo pants, hat, gloves and a shirt at walmart. Also get some facepaint or a mask and scent killer detergent. All that at a cheap dept. store shouldn't run you more than $50 or $60. You can wash some regular clothes and your camos in scent killer detergent (separately of course) and use your regular clothes to layer under your camos for warmth. Find yourself a good camo jacket and you'll probably be right around $100 total. If you have a dlck's sporting goods nearby, start looking for camos on clearance in the late season. They have their own line of "Field and Stream" gear and while it's not Sitka quality its better than run of the mill stuff. It's just a little pricy in season but when the sales start in December / January - grab that stuff up!
