Smoke!?!?!?!

[elkoholic]

Who thinks that the smell of smoke, cigarettes, camp fire, cooking ect will or could mess up your hunt?
This is a big debate on a lot of forums, I'm sure almost everyone has read or been part of this debate. Just thought I would get the in put from my fellow elk nuts.
When I'm at camp I'm a big camp fire guy, like to sit around the fire talk the day, plans for the next day and shoot the bull. I do change into a change of cloths but I know the fire smell sticks to hair, skin and a lot of other things. I do know that we as humans as any other animal have a distinct odor.

So is smoke smell worse than our natural human scent? How much does smoke affect the hunt?

[Swede]

I really don't know if it helps or hurts. For the most part, I believe the elk will recognize your scent whether or not you smell like a camp fire. That said, I don't like the smell of smoke on me. I will use a little crushed pine needle, Sage or Western Juniper juice, but usually I go with nothing or use some Scent Killer.

[dotman]

I don't think campfire smoke does a negative thing at all, I always use it as a cover scent. Now cigs I would think could cause an issue.

[elkoholic]

Swede,
I'm the same way, I to don't like the smell of smoke on me. I try to eliminate smoke smell in any way possible before I step foot into any of my honey holes. But like you said, if a elk is going to bust you through scent it doesn't matter if it is smoke or any other odor

[WapitiTalk1]

This has been a constant debate with me and the guys I've hunted with throughout the years. I never used to have fires (cold camps) at all for many years. Honestly, I think a hunter stinking to high heaven of smoke will spook and elk if he gets your wind. The argument from my buddies seems to be that elk live in an environment where smoke and charred wood smell is oftentimes the norm so the odor of smoke is not a factor and perhaps, can be used a bit of a disguise for our human stench. As I get a bit older, the evening fires in cold weather are sure nice to sit around and dry clothes. My position at this stage of my game is that you must work the wind... period. Don't care if you bath in scent free, scent killer products... nothing disguises human scent and, smoke on your clothes/body/hair is not a normal smell for elk as they come into your calls to see who is there.. Just my opinion but yes, smoke smell can blow a hunt if the elk winds you..

[32hunter]

I have never had a fire in elk camp mainly because its a big no no in the minds of my hunting buddies. I seen in a sportsmans catalog a few weeks ago a propain fire pit with lava rocks in it. i thought that it may be worth having for the warmth and comforting glow of a camp fire with out the smoke. I say always play the wind. after several days of hard hunting even smoke wont cover your stench.

[foxvalley]

Like phantom said,no amount of scent killer bathing etc. will make you smell invisable,they ALWAYS seem to smell you.On the flip side,to what degree,or how far away can depend on how bad you stink.A very slight wiff of human might make him stop or hesitate,where a full blown hit me with a sledge hammer stink will send them turning inside out getting out of there. I live where I hunt,and play games with the whitetails that smell me on a daily basis.Getting super clean,then hunting,they smell me,but I smell like I'm 200 yds. away, not 20.
Anyway,I think smoke smell on your person will not hurt anything,if there is a lot of smoke in the general erea to begin with.If they are used to smelling smoke,ie. forest fire,for example,what a great cover scent.But they are still going to smell YOU. If there is'nt a lot of campfires,or smoke in the air,it could be just as big as alarm as smelling like a goat.

[Lefty]

I believe sometimes it will alarm them other times it wont,..
Im not willing to smell like a campfire, cigarette or anything else if I can prevent the odor.
As clean as possible on everything
Ive watched a number of different game animals walk into a smoke scent plume. Some turn and walked away, some took a few wiffs and moved forward,.. but they all alerted to the odor and it wasnt ignored by the deer, bear, fox, coon, moose that moved downwind

[buglmin]

Personal hygene is very important to me when I hunt...clean clothes, and yes, short hair. Its a known fact how bacteria grows on hair, all body hair. And areas of the armpits, groin, are all major bacteria areas. There are a few companies that use certain anti bacteria cloth in these areas that do control human oder.
When in camp, all camo is removed before you do anything. Camo is hung up to air out. No one in our camps are alowed to eat or sit around the fire in camo. And why would you cook in camo or eat in camo? And no matter how far in you are, or how lite you pack, taking daily sponge baths does go a long long way in reducing human oder and stink.
We always have fires in camp, and using dry wood goes a long ways in reducing smoke. Plus nothing makes a dark, wet night seem a lil easier then a good, warm fire....

[flystrait]

I don't care what anyone does to cover or not cover their scent. If the wind is wrong they will leave period. I have seen guys every direction of caring and not caring about what they do as far as scent. The biggest factor IMO in succsess is confidence, to shoot, play the wind, when to call not call, what to say to bring those wiley critters just another couple steps etc. I have been on both sides of this debate as well and found no evedence either way if the wind is wrong. Except that they will leave either running or just slipping away like a ghost..

[buglmin]

I beg to differ...in the late 80's, when Abe Meline showed me mist spraying and explained the concept to me, we would have elk circle us, know that a human had been in the area, but with the scent of elk also, were not as alarmed. When you mist spray, get that fresh urine in the air, no, it dont make the human smell disappear, but it does show the elk that other elk are in the area and the human smell isnt as strong.
I seen Abe spray bulls in the face with the urine, and have had cows completely circle us trying to find the lost calf. When we used to use the cow in heat gel along with spraying, bulls would come into point blank range. But with the hassles anymore, trying to find pure fresh urine, I dont mist spray like I once did.

[Swede]

Just as I minimize all human sounds, I minimize human odors. Just because I keep my smell to an absolute minimum does not mean I throw out all other caution. All of us have smelled folks who do not shower regularly. The stronger the smell, the farther away we can get their scent. I have no doubt the same is true with deer and elk. As a tree stand hunter I am convinced that my odor leaves the stand area quicker by minimizing my smell. I have a friend who smokes. He does not shower much at all during hunting season. I have used some of his tree stands, and he has used mine. He has never killed anything from his stand, and rarely ever sees anything close by. The same where place where I have had my greatest success, he considers a "dumb" tree stand location. That tree stand is in a little basin where his scent hangs around.
Buglmin: Did you call while misting? I theorized that what you were doing with Abe would work. I even tied to purchase some pheromones from an advertizer in a car magazine to add to the mix. When I told the lady what I wanted them for, and that I would send her some elk urine to bottle the pheromones with, she hung up on me. The advertisement says they will mix the pheromones with your favorite cologne or something like that. Go figure.

[>>>---WW---->]

For you guys that may be interested in misting with elk urine, Elk Inc. in Gardner, Mt. used to sell it in large quanities and also had a special spray bottle you could purchase from them. I'm not sure if he still has it but you can check his website out and find out for sure. He even had a video on how he used it.

[buglmin]

Yessir, mist spraying. I never used the ELK Inc stuff, never tried it. The stuff I bought came from an elk farm in Montanna, and Chris Hagard used to sell me the urine and the cow in heat gel. I would buy it by the gallon.
I sprayed a lot, carried lil 6" bottles, and would usually use two bottles in a three hour hunt. The key was fresh urine, with nothing added to preserve it...like the stuff you buy in the lil spray bottles at the sporting goods store, its junk.