What's your morning deer camp hunt routine?

[MacGyverberry]

I saw this question posed on another forum, but since I'm not on that forum I thought I'd bring it back here. So here is my routine:

Wake up by 3. Shower with scent killing products, throw on a pair of street clothes that have been washed in scent killing soap. Grab an energy drink, my gear, my gun, and my hunting clothes that are stored in their scent-proof bag. Walk/ride within a 1/4 mile of my stand. Strip down to my bare hind quarters in the woods(praying a hog doesn't arrive to send me running bare cheeked through the woods) and wipe down with scent killing wipes. Apply scent free deoderant, and re-dress in all of my hunting clothes from their scent bag. Once dressed, I spray down myself and all of my gear to ensure no contamination. I walk from there to the stand. Once I'm in the stand and "settled" I spray myself again to ensure any sweat from the hike doesn't ruin my scent-free efforts. I'm in the stand by 4-430. Sleep/ play games on my phone until the sun starts to rise. I sit ALL day. Eat snacks and find relief in the extra empty water bottle I take with me. Apply scent killer throughout the day (pending temperature and number of water bottle reliefs). Leave the stand after dark. Hike 1/4 mile away. Strip out of all my hunting clothes and spray them with scent killer before storing them back in their scent bag. Get dressed back in my street clothes and head back to camp. Eat a quick dinner, shower again in scent killing products, go to sleep and repeat the next monring.

[Bigrock]

Man, all that effort must really stink.

[on a mission]

I have learned over many decades that smoked clothes over the campfire is all you need. A LOT of people throw their cash at "scent killers".

[FishingSETX]

Get up about 30 mins before daylight, get dressed, climb in truck and drive to stand location, walk 100 yds to stand, wait for sun to come up, hunt till 9:00-10:00 (time really depends on activity), reverse route, hang out at camp till 2:30 pm or so and repeat, get off stand about 15 mins after dark (again depending on activity), eat supper and repeat the next day.

I've rarely used scent killers or worried about scent and have had deer so close I could have poked them with the gun barrel on numerous occasions. Ive returned from the stand and found tracks less than 50 yds from the still warm truck. Your milage (or location/deer) may vary.

[Milkjug]

Not going into details but it involves crapping in a 5 gallon bucket.

[chasing tailz]

scent dont matter to me i hunt in a climbing stand thirty feet high. i just make sure wind dirction is favorable for the direction i think the deer are gonna appear.

[LocoSeamonkey]

the only time I even bother with scent killer stuff is I do spray my clothes down when in a tree stand or in the pop up on the ground and really close.

When hunting from my blind, I wake up, brush teeth, pee, get dressed and walk out to the stand. Scent killing is not important as not actually being seen or being too loud. Don't get me wrong, sometimes they will bust you with scent but not as important at distance. Plus I think a lot of that depends on how pressured the deer are at the time.

I know people that smoke cigarettes or cigars in the blind and see deer with no problems during those hunts.

[Hambone]

I wake up a six ....take a wiz.....look out the camper window... crawl back under the blanket sleep till around eight..... fix breakfast for the guys who went hunting.

[Hirsch]

Wake about 4:30, unzip the tent and make a dash to start the coffee and stoke the fire. Go back and dress, check the tin peculator and add fuel to the fire standing and warming myself. Get good and smokey as I eat two breakfast cars and dried Mango plus dried apricots and have two cups of coffee. Then I get in the truck and head where my nose leads me that morning.

Then again I may hang back putter and let the rest head out. Go back to the fire, have another mug of coffee, putter around a bit, take a drive and see how others have done and then go back and start lunch for the crew. I can always say I have seen something (running across the road or being loaded in a truck, but usually forget that little detail) I have hunted almost 50 years and a doe now and then is enough. I do not need more antlers, I have given most away. I am 62 and the next oldest in camp is 43. The others have kids and I enjoy being with them watching them start their kids.

[Alsatian]

Wake up at six, drive to the hunting area, hike 8 yards to the stand, open windows and get everything ready, go back to sleep, wake up when the feeder goes off, go back to sleep, wake up 10 minutes later, shoot deer, get out of stand, hike 8 yards back to truck, drive to deer, heave my monster 80 lb deer into back of truck, drive to barn, clean deer, put deer in walk in cooler, have breakfast...

[SAHunter1983]

Rofl! Mah man Al. I like how you roll. Btw I do the same unless bow hunting axis...

[Flatfish]

In the words of my old neighbor, "I've killed them smoking a ceegar."

[Alsatian]

Rofl! Mah man Al. I like how you roll. Btw I do the same unless bow hunting axis...

It's harvesting not hunting. I do hunt, just not deer. We have to many around here to actually hunt. At lunch I'm going to look at a place that has a very large population of axis that the owners want thinned out (commercial property). They don't want guns for liability reasons so I'll do the same thing with a bow. If they would let me use a gun I wouldn't even get out of the truck until after the deer was down.

[SAHunter1983]

Call me lol

[FishingSETX]

Went squirrel hunting Saturday, sat down against a tree after walking 1/2 a mike in the dark through the brush in the heat. Doused myself with off fro the Skeeter's as the sun came up. 30 mins later had a doe walk up on me (no blind/stand, reeking of deet, still sweating, minimal camo, no scent products, etc). She stopped 10' from me, turned, looked, stomped a few times then slowly walked away. This was on public land. She knew I was there but didn't know what I was. Sound and movement will give you away MUCH more easily than scent ever would. If I would have flinched or made a sound, she would have been gone in a heart beat!

Also had a yote run up to me after blowing my squirrel distress call. He startled me,came in from behind, and I poked him with the gun barrel (can't hunt them there). Scared the crap out of both of us! I've seen them from my deer stand but never that up close and personal!

[Facehook]

I do wash my hunting clothes in scent killing detergent and spray down my boots, but that's the extent I'll go. The main thing I do different is that when it comes time to piss and just let it flow. Trying to bottle that stuff up can get nasty!

Some guys swear that pissing into a tree even helps bring deer in, but I can't tell one way or the other yet.

[rockin4m]

boy after reading the 1st post, I thought I was not taking deer hunting serious enough. But I'm glad that everyone chimed in with their routine.
I don't feel so bad!!!
It's not so much what I do, its who I'm doing it with. for the majority its my same hunting partners that I've hunted with for 30+ years, and kids, and grandkids.
I think if the kids ever loose interest in hunting, or get to busy. It will be the end of deer hunting for me. but I don't think that will happen.

[Alsatian]

I don't wear camo either. I have two main rules for a successful hunt. Don't move and don't make noise. Those two things will blow your stand faster than anything.

[Bigrock]

I don't wear camo either.

Doesn't make much sense when you're sitting in a dark box. But if you do wear camo...make sure it matches.

I have two main rules for a successful hunt. Don't move and don't make noise.

Try sitting in a dark 3x3 box with Bill and Erin. You would go into cardiac arrest.

[Alsatian]

I don't wear camo either.

Doesn't make much sense when you're sitting in a dark box. But if you do wear camo...make sure it matches.

I have two main rules for a successful hunt. Don't move and don't make noise.

Try sitting in a dark 3x3 box with Bill and Erin. You would go into cardiac arrest.

Matching camo is only for those great hunters that enjoy shooting loud bang sticks with a hangover.

I don't like sitting next to BB in the dark period, much less in a 3x3 box.

[orangeocean]

instead of no scent which is impossible according to F&S field tests, why not try masking scent. granpa used vanilla extract.it still works. as for my morning routine here in my hill country home: wake-up before light (usual time) make a bowl of cereal, look out the windows between spoonfuls. if my quarry is in the front yard,then I get the bow n 2 arrows and sneek out the back door,come around the corner at full draw, release, finish cereal, get dressed, sharpen the knife,,make sure a full 30 minutes have gone by, gut deer,take it to the processor , return home, make coffee for the sleeping spouse and well... you know.

[karstopo]

No way would I do all that scent eliminating rigamarole for box blind or tree blind hunting/harvesting. If I'm stalking or still hunting I just try to move slowly and use the wind to my advantage. I have used cow elk or doe in heat sprays to mask my scent when hunting on the ground. Be careful with these, I had 2 separate bears, 5 minutes apart come from downwind in thick brush and run up on me, one to about 25 feet, after spraying cow elk in estrus spray.

[CopanoCruisin]

When I was quiet a bit younger I did all that, kinda of tapered off bout twenty or so years back. Still get fairly close to the blind and walk rest the way. Get all set up in the blind and the next step is to get the six pack out of the pack, open them all and line the up on the 2 X 4 frame on the floor. The important part is to open them up one right after another. I am always concerned of the "pachooose"(sp.?)noise later on is going to scare the deer away. After all the beers are empty, it time to roll back to the camp. Head back to the blind about an hour and half prior to dark. Line up all six open beers, finish em and it dark thirty. Oh by the way, the camplife is my favorite part anyway. Not much actual hunting anymore. Enjoy the hunt!!!!!!!...........cC

[Yaklash]

On those rare occasions when I'm on the ground hunting, I use scent free soap, shampoo, antiperspirant and after my morning constitutional, I use unscented baby-wipes to finish up. I don't put on my hunting clothes inside the cabin (breakfast smell), I spray down with scent killing spray after I get out of or off of the transportation but before I get into the stand and then I clip small rags with doe-in-heat on them to the brush all around me. I have had doe walk within 20 yards of me downwind and bowhunting from a pop-up have shot deer within 20 yards (tho not a big buck).

But if I'm in a high blind - I smoke & fart freely. I am just sure to be as still as possible, not be silhouetted and don't make any noise.

[cliftonio]

Also had a yote run up to me after blowing my squirrel distress call. He startled me,came in from behind, and I poked him with the gun barrel (can't hunt them there). Scared the crap out of both of us! I've seen them from my deer stand but never that up close and personal!

They are actually pretty impressive beasts up close. I guess once he realized you weren't a wounded squirrel he decided to make scarce?