What am i doing wrong?

[bowhunter97]

I spray down, hang my clothes out to air out. Yet i still get busted. I know its not going to prevent me from ever getting busted but it seems that it happens more than it should. Is it me or is god just being tough on me? Any ideas would help.

[Casey]

Play the wind

[hoosierhunter]

What am i doing wrong?

Hunting in stand with not enough back cover and probably too low. I'd also guess that your moving too much. Are your stands set for certain winds and ONLY hunted with that wind no exceptions? There's a bunch of variables to consider.

[bowhunter97]

I was in a blind this morning. I think I was just a little heated that after being run out of my woods that a deer cam in from behind me and busted me.

[MNhunterr]

Play the wind, play the wind, play the wind.

This was my first year bowhunting and I don't have a stand - I hunt from the ground. I never once got busted and had numerous deer at 10 yards and they had no idea I was there, while sitting on a small chair near some brush.

[Weekend Woodsmen]

What is your setup? If you give us a few more details we might be able to help, but what everyone else has been saying is correct. I find that not matter how good you are with scent control if a deer come within 20 yards and is down wind...there is a good chance you are going to get busted.

[bowhunter97]

The wind was blowing from him to me. I guess maybe i made noise some how? That is the only thing i can think of. The back was totally shut so it couldnt see me.

[PriceRacing35]

What am i doing wrong?

If the blind was just put up recently. The deer most likely noticed that and spooked because of it. I've had it happen before on rainy days. Perfect wind and scent control. They still didn't like something that wasn't normally there

[Rhino]

Like Pat said there's a number of variables to consider. In addition to what's been mentioned above, due to topography and other natural changes like tree lines next to fields wind eddy's can occur. It's the same thing you see in moving water on the downstream side of a large rock.

We set a ground blind for a W wind before the season opened on a food plot that's ~35 yards wide (E/W) & 175 yards long (N/S). One afternoon we had a W wind so I hunted it. Unfortunately the wind had some velocity and there was a tree line ~60 yards wide between the food plot I was on the E side of and a cut bean field on the other side of the tree line. Noticed I was getting busted several times by upwind deer when they got inside 20 yards. Decided to check it by lighting a smoke & see where the smoke went. I opened the back window (downwind side) & stuck it up to that window. Sure enough, the tree line was causing the wind to swirl toward the E. There was just enough velocity in that W wind when it hit the tree line it turned up and then when it came over the tree line it swirled back toward the E on the downwind side of the tree line.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Rhino

[Ravin R10 man]

Yup wind and what it contacts can do some weird things..switching winds drive you nuts

[dbHunterNY]

get a wind checker bottle with talc so you know what the wind is doing exactly. then go with what hoosier said.

[wtnhunt]

Sometimes it ends up NOT being you at all. Had deer blowing I thought at me early on this season. Could not figure out how they could have winded me since the wind was carrying my scent away from where they were. No way they saw me either, I was up the side of a hill more than 30 feet above them where they were down in the river bottom. About 10 minutes later out pops a yote. Was not 10 more minutes and a doe and fawn showed up coming out the same way the yote did.

Were you watching the deer? How did it act. Nose up trying to catch your scent or any head bob trying to figure out what was there? Sometimes watching body language will help clue you in.

[fly]

Shot a button earlier this season and a group of does came by and blew at the dead dear they walked past. I have had bucks blow at me, but generally they just turn and run.

In addition to the wind you also have to plan your approach to the stand. Deer can smell your trail for several hours. The only thing I spray down anymore is my feet and lower legs. Still, this only helps a little. Ideally you want to walk into a stand from an area the deer will not come from. Use a creek bed or harvested field. You leave more scent walking through tall grass.

[Turkeygirl]

Don't look em' in the eye...lol! Actually sounds like everyone has covered pretty much all the bases. This year I probably had more deer out of range or get spooky on me than years past...weather was tough this year to....Re-evaluate your set-up. If you are in a ground blind, perhaps those deer have already been shot at by someone in a blind or they just know something is 'out of place'. I'm a tree stand hunter, do have a blind set-up in our woods but rarely hunt it.

[RangerClay]

I've been bowhunting primarily from a ground blind for 8 years. Ground blinds offer their own little challenges and are not totally scent free. They have their own set of rules. If you hunting primarily from a blind, send me a PM and I'll share of my tips with you for success.