1st time bow hunting questions

[Kcam23]

Hey y'all, Oct. 1st will be my first time bow hunting, and I'm super pumped. I know it'll take years to find answers about everything, but there are a few things I'd like to know before Sat. I'm used to being in a box blind and not having to worry about scent, sound, or movement. Here's what I am curious about:

1) What kind of scent control spray is best?

2) Is there any snack I can eat that won't get me busted?

3) What do you do about pee breaks? Just pee in the tree?

4) I've got the basics in my field pack (Binos, Rangefinder, Thermocell, water, etc), but is there something you would recommend I not forget?

5) Last, if I'm lucky to shoot a deer, how long do you let it sit in this 80+ temp?


Thanks for any help, and good luck to all of y'all.

[laredoarcher]

Wash your clothes with the scent free stuff. Spray yourself down. Most important play the wind. Nothing crunchy. Pee wherever. Your phone and a good book. The longer you sit the better. October usually leave around 9 ish. Safe hunting.

[Matt2006Martin]

Make sure to store ur hunting clothing in a good scent control bag,bind,etc..
Scent control r pretty much all good ,it's more placing ur self downwind,as far as snacks ur really not in ur stand that long 4/5 hrs why chance smell,
P break carry a empty Gatorade 32oz
Have a good hook to hang ur bow locked and arrow loaded, pull range finder out and mark yards with rock,tree,trail,yardage to feeder etc...and WHEN you get one down and you see it fall or hear it crash don't waste time tag it ,field it and place that stud in ice..

[Pullersboy]

This is how I roll w/ reference to your questions:

1. Clothes washed in Primos detergent and dried with Primos dryer sheets. Largely because my local outdoors store carries it. Clothes stored in a bin by themselves until time to hunt.

2. I don't even try it. Red Bull and a Honey Bun before I leave camp. Breakfast after the morning sit.

3.I don't. Pee before I leave camp. Wait until I'm away from my stand before I go again. I'm usually good til as late as 9:30-10:00.

4. In addition to what you've got, I don't even carry my Thermacell anymore (it has an odor). I wear a bug proof mesh suit over my clothes and head. I also carry appropriate sent for the ti.e of season i.e. Pretty rut, rut, and post rut. I also carry a wrist rocket and some marbles. This is great for running off cattle or a stray dog that might come through sniffing around. If cattle, I pick out one cow and tag her in the rump. Might take 2-3 shots before it really spooks her good. When she does, and runs off, the others usually follow. This, of course is pretty quiet and I don't have to get out of my stand and chase cattle off.

5. Not really sure... I don't usually have to wait long w/ the way I shoot. Haha.... just kidding of course. I'm sure someone will be along with a good answer to this question.

Good luck to you on your 1st bow hunting sit. You'll mess stuff up and learn alot this season. TBH has given me some great suggestions. I have learned alot here. But, the best lessons on what's going to best for you will come by getting in that tree and making mistakes. Have fun and shoot straight.

[Shinesintx]

Don't make the same mistakes I did my first year:

1) get rid of as much scent as you can and play the wind. These two seem simple, but ya gotta do it.

2) if you're in a tree stand, keep your bow in your lab. I've missed several deer because I couldn't get my bow. Some of these guys can get their bow because their deer hang out at their feeder.

3) know where to shoot the deer. Be patient shooting the deer, make sure it's calm.

4) scent control and play the wind.

5) don't look behind you because you hear sounds that sound like deer. I've missed out on a few doe by peeking.

6) keep in mind that this will be my fourth year and I've never killed a deer with a bow.

[joebriles]

Everything above, and with that said.... I had the wind change for the worst on me mid sit last season. I happen to have a spray bottle of vanilla water with me and sprayed down with it. Deer came in right down wind and ate all the corn I had on the ground. Wind was just as bad for that set the next hunt so I sprayed down real good with the vanilla water and had a doe walk the same path I took to my tripod, sniffed yhe 1st step and stare at me like she was crazy. She walked back to my hand corn and ate like nothing was out of place. Not saying that is an end all fix all but it sure helped those days. Oh, and if you have a snack in a loud wrapper then put it in a plastic sandwich bag. Good luck, aim small miss small.

[ChrisB]

The biggest mistake I see new bowhunters do is not giving the deer enough time after the shot and bumping them. Always give them at least an hour before getting out of your stand. If the shot is questionable then slip out of your stand after an hour and head back to camp and wait a couple of hours before going back to look.

[Kcam23]

TBH has given me some great suggestions. I have learned alot here. But, the best lessons on what's going to best for you will come by getting in that tree and making mistakes. Have fun and shoot straight.

I appreciate all of the tips and advice. I look forward to learning more and more on TBH.

[seminole1990]

Wash the clothes in scent free detergent. Make sure to clean the fabric softener out of your washer-our old one had this gummed up in there all the time--can't help.
I also wash out the inside with scent killer before I put clothes in to try to mitigate past Tide aromas. Spray down before you enter your area. Keep in mind the aromas in your vehicle-seat, steering wheel--I'm sure my car has cologne on it for instance.
Wind is everything. joebriles uses vanilla water. Nose Jammer really works too, same concept. I mean it REALLY works. Snacks for all day sit, otherwise not necessary. Apple aint bad though. I have a large pee bottle (actually bought one) reason being it doesn't make a crush sound b/c its thick plastic. Back home dump the contents in the toilet, wash it out, reuse. Thermacell and "No Stinkin' Bugs". Good luck.

[Ryan81]

I always forget water. I don't worry about snacks.

Normally, I don't forget anything important.. Just forget to take it out of my pack before setting it behind me on the tripod. Makes for a lot of movement after getting settled in.

[dphillips62]

I wash clothes in sent free brightener free detergent, I shower using a scent free hair and body soap. That's it I don't use cover scents or scent eliminators. I avoid any smells that may get me busted like putting on camo at home then driving to the ranch don't ever wear hunting boots anywhere except hunting (did you know no laundry detergent will remove gasoline). Be sure to keep the wind in mind this includes approaching and departing from the stand.
I limit myself to 1 small cup of coffee at least 1 hr before I go to the stand to eliminate having to pee and no food until after hunting. I am a big time snuff user, none of that either until done hunting.
as far as how long to wait after the shot that depends on the shot, if you put it where it's supposed to go (lower 3rd of the chest and straight up the leg) you can usually see or hear them fall. If it is a bad shot and everyone makes bad shots at least an hr.
I usually try to hunt until 9:45 mornings and 45 min. after its way too dark to shoot so I don't spook anything getting down.

[Jmh05]

1) really any scent spray is fair game. I've tried them all. There is one that I get at academy. They make a neutral scent eliminator, earth scent and even cedar. I usually got with neutral. I bathe in scent free products, I dry off with towels that have been washed in scent free soap...same with clothes. I do not wear my hunting clothes indoors or to town. I only wear them to and from the stand. I will change outside and I keep my hunting clothes and gear in a large plastic tub (which is de scented).

2) Eat something before you go hunt. If you are sitting all day...take quiet clean foods aka not a bag of Cheetos that's going to leave you crunching and leave orange smelly residue on your fingers. I've taken granola bars, jerky etc...but typically leave the food at home. If hiking all day, I take a MRE and field strip it.

3) PEE- the most controversial question. Hunters spend so much time and money on scent control to only pee all over their set up. Makes no scents to me . Our diets are different than deer and all the other wildlife, therefore our waste products are different. Ever eat asparagus and then pee? Smells doesn't it? What we eat changes how our urine smells. Deer have incredible noses. Why risk introducing a foreign urine in an environment that you are trying to keep scent free? My rule is to leave no human scent. I take a Gatorade bottle to pee in and I pack it out with me.

4) unless hunting all day without a return to camp, or on an all day spot and stalk, I only take bow, binos and range finder (and pee bottle- but I usually just take a final pee on the road somewhere before getting anywhere close to my stand). Why pack a bunch of crap if you are only on stand for 3-4hrs? Simple, and light weight.

5) unless I see the deer fall, they are getting 60mins PERIOD. That's 60mins of sitting there quietly as if the shot had never been taken.

I've been exclusively bow hunting for about 12-15yrs. I've killed several dozens of animals (whitetail, exotics, hogs and turkey) now including several P&Y bucks. im doing something right. Take lessons from multiple hunters, try things and see what works for you.

[MONSTERKEN]

I agree with everything everyone said, i do however have one tip for ya. When that big buck or doe appears, aim for the EXIT hole. Put yourself in your zenlike state, stay calm, aim for where you want that arrow to exit. That has helped me alot after i lost the first buck i shot at. Its all about patience. Dont rush your shot.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

[Kcam23]

I bathe in scent free products, I dry off with towels that have been washed in scent free soap...same with clothes. I do not wear my hunting clothes indoors or to town.

I've washed my hunting clothes, and heard to never wear them anywhere but on the hunt, but never even thought about what towel I dry off with. Cool tip. Lots of things I hadn't thought about. Glad I asked.

[Jmh05]

I've washed my hunting clothes, and heard to never wear them anywhere but on the hunt, but never even thought about what towel I dry off with. Cool tip. Lots of things I hadn't thought about. Glad I asked.

I even store my scent free bath towels in with my hunting clothes. I'm kind of a scent control freak but...I can't argue with success.

Good luck this season.