Beating deer defenses

So you know where the deer are and when. You've found a funnel or food hot spot with sign all over and yet you're just sitting in stand with no deer to shoot at. What's the problem Mongo - mister big-head, smarty pants, arrogant, know-it-all? Hold on there Russ. They're not gonna do it on the table. Not until you've beaten their defense of smell, sound and sight in that order.

The most important deer ability you must get past is smell. They can smell about 20 times better than us and boy do they know how to play that card. The thing some people miss is that you must control your air scent and your ground scent. Let's start with ground scent.

Ground scent is the trail of smell on the ground and low-growing plants you leave as you tromp by; crashing in the dark, cursing, trying to find that damn stand. As you tromp those leather hunting boots are leaving a giant wash of human scent that they have wicked up over the years and are letting any deer that comes within 20 yards of where you've walked know when you were there. That's right, the deer are so good that they will know the exact hour of your passing and so will be able to assess the danger you present.

So get rid of those old boots (leather is the absolute worst because of its ability to absorb odor) and upgrade to all rubber boots. Brand isn't important, just that there is no cloth or leather on the boots. An OK second choice are Pak boots with rubber lowers. Next, before you go, spray the whole boot with scent killer and then the bottom with regular doe piss. We only use HS Scents Primetime spray bottle doe urine because the spray bottle does not introduce air into the bottle to ruin the pee. The deer urine changes its smell within 20 minutes of its exposure to air and the deer will know it is unnatural. This is key when using scents during the rut too.

Use of scent control products on your rubber boots before applying the doe piss is a good idea, but don't waste your money on cover scents such as pine, earth or whatever. If your aunt Edna walks in the room wearing some reeking perfume you can't smell anything else, right? Well it does not work that way with the deer. They can smell layers of scent and will "see" right past your cover scent. A good example of layering is the ability of drug dogs to smell that mary jane right past ol Juan Valdez.

Mongo and Tard hunted opening day on some public land here in Illinois and had a four point buck prove that this system is superior to hoping the deer don't cross your entry path to your stand. Mongo was set up on a ridge and Tard was in a valley not far away. During the hunt this little buck crossed the scent path Mongo had made four times before the buck got there (Mongo wanted to see how Tard was doing at lunch time). Then the buck passed in front of Tard's ground blind (never getting in range) and ran smack dab into another hunter's entry path of three hours earlier. The buck flagged and headed back the way he came in a big hurry crossing Mongo's paths again without any worry.

I can't say enough how important ground scent is. Equally important is air scent. If they smell you they won't get within a mile of you. Use of Scent Lock, Suppressant (my new favorite because you can wash it without losing much carbon) or Scent Blocker is the first step to seeing deer. It is more important than having the fastest Mathew's bow by 100 fold. Combine carbonized clothing with the use of a scent killing spray and paying strict attention to the wind and you have a good chance. The new Carbon Blast spray, even though it darkens clothing, is the clear winner for me. The folks at Scent Blocker claim it absorbs 15 times the scent of other sprays.

One time Mongo and Tard were coyote hunting and Mongo had his full Scent Lok system on. It was the first day Mongo used Carbon Blast and a doe walked down wind to within 7 yards of Mongo. With the same items on but not using Carbon Blast the deer started doing the nose in the air sniff test at 40-50 yards. Your clothes, hair, and backpack or anything else you bring with you smells human. Nail it with Carbon Blast. One bonus is that if you use this stuff on clothes you can reactivate the carbon by putting the clothing in the drier on high just like regular carbonized clothing - Cool! (Mongo is so cheap)

Controlling scent is the number one thing you must do to see deer. If a deer hears you making a racket they may steer clear for an hour or two, but they will never get anywhere in your hunting area when they can smell you. Sound control will help quite a bit though. On a windless day I can here the distinct bumbling of people for a quarter mile. Hunt by yourself if you can or if you go with buddies limit door slamming, park as far away from your stands as possible and adhere to a strict code of silence when afield. Do two more things and the deer won't know you're there from your sound. First, set up your stands before you hunt - nothing is as unnatural as the sound of clanking metal or sawing. Second, use the easy Mongo deer walk.

The Mongo deer walk is meant to break up and limit the sound identity that lets em know you're a person. I recommend using it when you get close to your stand. It's easy - take a small step and then bring the other foot down even with the first step, repeat this process for five or six steps and then stop, pause for a couple of moments and then go a little further. Avoid stepping on sticks if possible and if you do step on one take an extra long pause. Tard and his brother stayed still at one stand and listened to me walk away using this method. Within 30 yards they could barely hear me and at 50 yards I was visible but silent - in dry leaves. If the deer do hear you, you no longer have the rhythm of movement that screams HUMAN!!!! You might be mistaken for a squirrel or even a clumsy deer.

Sight control is the thing hunters have the best handle on. Just get good camo that matches your hunting environment, cover yourself from head to toe, and set up your stand where trees break up your outline. Don't over trim your firing lanes. Just cut enough to get your arrow through to the kill zone.

Beating deer defenses is the key to Mongo's success. I have convinced Tard and the other guys we hunt with and deer sightings, shots, and kills have gone way up for the whole group.