Camp fires and scent control

[NorthIDTLH]

So maybe this is a dumb question, but I've always been hesitant to take a break and start a little warm up fire during bow season because I do my best to keep my scent under control. Does anyone have input as to whether this even matters or not? A little fire on a rainy day, even in September can be a morale booster...

[saddlesore]

Smoke and fire don't bother elk much. Watch them after a forest fire and they will be in there while it is still smoking. The man smell and noise is what get s them. I sure wouldn't build it right where you intend to take a stand though. I hunt later season when it is a lot colder,I'll move off a few hundred yards and build a small fire if needed. I think moving around gathering the wood,you leave a lot more scent around. Cracking a lot of branches making firewood doesn't help much either JMHO.

[Swede]

I know people that will smoke up themselves to disguise they human odor. I rather not cover scent, but reduce it as much as practical. Besides who wants to smell like yesterday's campfire. Saddlesore nailed it. Smoke doesn't bother elk. Human odor does.

[Lefty]

I avoid camp fires . Im a scent reducer freak,.. I know some scent will always be there. At what point does it alert or alarm game?
I love sitting around fires, the rest of the year and actually sat at one , took a nap during rifle deer. Normally during hunting season, no fires for me My possible hunting clothes are not around fires.

I dont want to smell like anything. At one time I thought I was using cover scents, fox urine or skunk. Ive watched fox, coyotes and deer run hard. i would guess the human odor is still too much. Most animals will check out a new odor when they walk into a scent plume.

[WapitiTalk1]

Nowadays, its normally too warm to need any sort of a campfire during September archery camp (global elk woods warming I guess ....), besides, I deploy the tank top propane heater in my covered war room/gathering dwelling (big ol' gazebo covered in a tarp) for morning/evening warm ups during base camp hunts. Oh, back on topic. A cracking fire is sure nice on occasion while hunting but I'm relatively certain that if a wapiti catches the downwind scent of smoke, whether on a human or not, it still captures the attention of their snout like a slap in the face and puts them on alert. Smoke is just not a natural smell in the woods, it usually means bad things are a coming. During boomstick season where shots are normally a lot farther, perhaps out of the olfactory perception of elk? Stoke that fire! Just my thoughts

Edit: Just reread the OP. If you're talking about a mid day fire break while out hunting in bow season, I personally avoid it "normally", but, yep....on those rainy or unseasonably cold days, it can sure be a morale booster.. have done it more than a few times myself.

[N2mywake]

we typically even avoid a wood fire at our camp as long as we can stand it. Usually by day 7 we're looking forward to having a fire in the wood stove at night, especially if it's been rainy. I've never built a fire while out mid-day, it's just never seemed like an option. We're usually waiting to ambush elk during the afternoon hunt. (I'm also a scent freak yes I even ozone my gear).