How far and at what lengths do you go through to get to your stand or blind without being detected? Im always struggling to get to my stands w/o getting winded or walking on the game trails. I do what I can to be scent free by wearing rubber boots and spraying myself all down with scent a way and all but I still. I even go so far to collecting scat and leaving it near where I park my truck so that I can walk through it to scent the bottoms of my boots before I walk into the woods. I'm thinking of going back though and cutting some more trails just for me to walk.
I try to be as sent free as possble Only wear boots to hunt they actuall have their own scent bag. I also walk in and out using a stream depending on the wind. It can take me 15 mins or 35 mins to get to my stands. Also never wear same clothes for morning or evening hunts or back to back days. Also spray down every two hours.
I focus on scent minimization and entrance and exit routes and will and do walk up to a mile into some of my spots. I keep several changes of clothing in totes so I can alternate day to day, after a hunt my clothes get aired out outdoors. Then I rotate them back into my totes once they are aired. I keep baking soda in my regular hunting clothes totes. I keep my scent lok completely separate and have several sets of the liners so I can rotate those as well. I never dress at home and or ride in my truck with my hunting clothes on. I always dress in the woods or outside of my house if I am walking to a stand from the house. I use creeks if they are present to walk into stands. I spray down heavily with Vanishing Hunter right after a shower, then once I get dressed I spray down again, finally at least one more time while on stand. I like to spray down on exit to minimize residual scent. I can and have been able to hunt the same stands day after day if they are hot.
I try to get there when the critters aren't around and I try to take routes that aren't going to get me eaten by the critters I'm after on the way in and out. Running headlong into a feeding brown bear in the dark at 05:30 in the morning trying to get in my stand was something I never want to repeat. I get puckered just thinking about it! Now I go in when I can see what I'm doing and get out before I can't.
Sometimes you can use your location/surroundings to your advantage. I have one spot I hunt from time to time that is close to a highway. It's a small enough of a spot that no matter where you hunt, you'll be close to deer. If it's quite outside where the wind instead hiding the sounds of my steps, i'll wait for a vehicle to come down the highway to move. It definately takes a lot longer to get to where to want to be(depending on the traffic), but it works. Just one example. I also don't use a flashlight very often. I always have one if needed, but it rarely comes out. I'm familiar with the spots I hunt and after my eyes adjust to the darkness i'm good to go.
I shower with scent away soap and shampoo, use scent away deoderant and brush my teeth with scent away tooth paste. I dress when I get out of the truck and spray down good with scent away spray. I spray my boots every so often while walking in. I try to walk in and be in the stand and sit in the dark for an hour before even having enough light to see, that way the area has atleast an hour and a half to calm down before shooting time.
I shower with scent away soap. Then spray my body down with scent away spray. Get my clothes including boxers, sox and if its cold enough long johns out of my tote that has baking soda sprinkled in it and a box that is open. I do dress in my house but only eight before I walk out the door. When outside I spray down with scent away. I have trails and small roads cut going out to my hunting areas. I usually use a flash ligh only shining it on my trails and not out in any woods. I also have entrance and exit trails cut to each stand. before I enter the stand trails I spray down again and after so long on the stand usually an hour or two I spray again. This season I will not be using any type of cover scents or attractant sprays like I did last year. Only using the wind and trying to minimize my own scent.
