"Scent, or the Lack Thereof"

By: Braden Arp

Part 1

One of my favorite commercials to date was a Scentblocker® commercial whose slogan was, “Forget the wind, just hunt”. I was so intrigued by this slogan that I simply knew I must have one. I think everyone has had a crisp morning’s hunt spoiled by the sounds of stomps and snorts of winding deer, only to see a glimpse of a monstrous backside that leaves you wondering with every spare minute of what could have been. I definitely had my share of those mornings and also had come to the realization that I had had my fill of missed chances due to scent. I was tired of being smelled and I was tired of worrying about the wind. I was ready to forget the wind and just hunt, just as the manufacturer suggested so I made my Scentblocker® purchase and was ready to get back in the game.

On the first morning, I reached my stand after a short walk and brief scuffle with the gnat clouds, which I think were victorious, to find my stand on the edge of a swampy mucky mess. Being a fan of what other hunters skip over, I headed up the tree. As I reached my post, I unpacked my jacket and put it on along with my pants. The sweat instantly came rushing from every pore of my body but soon calmed back to a steady stream. I mean it was downright hot. I pulled my bow from the ground and put my head net loosely around my head trying to avoid the reflecting warm breath that I was now channeling down my neck. I settled in and got ready. Daylight was fast approaching.

I remember thinking several times that if anything came within miles of me that I was sure to be busted. I was thinking of how to orchestrate the morning sounds of sniffs and snorts that would surely come. However, I did have an advantage which was the wind was carrying my scent, or lack thereof, directly away from where the deer would filter in from. It was hot, but I was set up right. I still wasn’t feeling too warm and fuzzy inside, but hey, forget the wind and just hunt right? It was around 8:00 AM when I took a long look down the creek as I heard some squirrels barking. To my surprise, I caught movement just on the edge of a cane break by the creek. It was a deer, and a large bodied deer at that. I zoned in and the deer weaved back out of the cane break and also to my surprise, it was a buck and a nice buck as well. The buck was a hundred or so yards away and coming straight at me, slowly but surely. Just when I thought I had defied the odds, you guessed it, the wind shifted. I had a nice buck to my left and a hard breeze from my right. It was horrific. The wind carried me straight to my trophy as if to serve my scent up on a silver platter saying “run, run for your life”. At that moment, the deer raised his head directly into the wind and gathered every particle of scent into his nostrils that he could.
“I’m had”, I said to myself and myself was agreeing with me. To my surprise, the buck never spooked. He made about three more steps and repeated the process of winding and smelling.

Every time that I thought he was surely pinning me down, the buck just kept coming. By now he was within eighty yards and not feeling it. One turn into the cane break and the buck was gone. I let out a few soft social grunts and hoped for the best. He popped right back out and stood for what seemed like an eternity.