It seem's that smoking would be an obvious no no when hunting, but does dip give off an disadvantegous odor?

Question

By dip I mean chewing tobacco and it's relations.

Answer 1

The jury is out on this question. It is like so many other things that you see on the news. One day a thing is reported an having wonderful health properties and a few days later the same thing is reported as being carcinogenic. I guess you just pick the person whom you believe the most and follow his advice.

One study that I saw reported that any foreign smell made deer wary and made a great case for the wearing of charcoal treated clothing to keep down human and other foreign odors. Then later, another study was done and the test was shown on one of the outdoor shows where they went to an area where there were known to be a lot of deer. They set up their camera and went to the edge of an open field and poured about a pint of human urine on the ground. They then moved down about 35 yards and poured some diluted ammonia on the ground. Lastly, they went another 35 or so yards and poured a bunch of Mennen aftershave lotion on the ground to see how the deer reacted to the odors. The results were quite surprising. The does were attracted to the human unrine most of all. They smelled the ground and even tasted the urine on the grass. Not much fear there. A few were interested in the ammonia and even fewer were interested in the after shave lotion. They showed no fear of the last two but not much interest either. Meanwhile, the bucks stayed back in the trees at the edge of the field and waited for the does to make their initial survey of the area. Once they saw that the does were not in danger, they, too, showed the greatest amount of interest in the urine. None seemed to show any fear of it. They concluded that peeing near your stand was not a problem as far as scaring deer away. The foriegn odors were not a problem in this instance. Unfortunately, they didn't include tobacco in this test. But the bottom line seemed to be that deer weren't bothered by foriegn odors and, in fact, their natural curiosity drew them to check out what the odor was. So, do foreign odors scare deer away? One study says yes and another says no. Me? I try to keep myslef as odor free as possible. I keep my hunting clothes in a plastic bag with some cedar blocks (cedar is indigenous to the area where I hunt). I do not wear the hunting clothes while in camp for fear of getting wood smoke and cooking odors on them. I only put them on just before going to my stand. I also make sure that I bathe regularly, not only for my own comfort and that of my hunting buddies, but to keep down human odors. I don't use tobacco so that is not an issue. Am I overdoing it? I don't know but I seem to bring home more deer than the others with whom I hunt. So, I am of the opinion that if any foreign odors don't spook deer themselves, they at least put the deer on alert and more prepared to spook.

Answer 2

It does have distinct smell, but it is nowhere near as powerful as smoking is, obviously. But anything that gives off a foreign smell that an animal may pick up is not a good idea to have around. Deer may have trouble scenting it, but if they do, they will be gone or at least much more wary until they figure out what and where the smell is coming from...which is you. My advice, leave the dip back at camp or at home. If you can't deal without it for the time you are out in the filed hunting, then maybe you need to think about which you would rather do. Hunt or chew tabacoo. Just a thought.

Answer 3

I have close personal friends that I hunt with on a regular basis and have for the past 25 years or so.One uses Dip and spits all around himself while he's in his tree stand or ground blind, and the other uses Skoal Bandits and spits into a screw top soda bottle. My bud Brad see's the least Deer of the 3 of us (He's the one that spits all around his stand) While Dennis and I are seeing big numbers of Deer. I know scientifically that Deer can easily pick up the scent,and often do, and I've witnessed them get wind and disappear more times than I can count. If I can smell it , or the Mint or Spearmint flavoring that's in dip and Bandits how hard can it be for Deer who have 60 times more ability to scent things than humans do. Not to mention it's certainly not a common smell that is often found in the woods to begin with.........

Answer 4

if your out there and not watching the wind your giving off scent anyway that can be smell by game from long distances but the chew would be better than smoking

Answer 5

I agree with JD's assessment. If you can chew without spitting, I think you may be fine. I know guys who can chew Coppenhagen without spitting, but not me There are expectorant free chew you can buy at speciality smoke shops. They are like hard little pellets you suck on. Or take a cigar to chew on without lighting.
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Answer 6

My belief on this matter has more to do with the human scent & the shifting wind & air currents, which you have no control over.* As far as smoke or smoking or chewing goes I do not believe it is responsible.*

Answer 7

i chew and hunt, have for years, i swallow it though no spitting.
i see lots and take lots of deer in archery season as well as muzzleloader and rifle. during archery seasons i regularly have deer within 10 feet of me and do not know i am there. this includes tree stand and hunting from the ground. my experience tells me that it has no effect on deer however i dont spit and wouldnt recommed spitting around your stand, get a bottle if you feel the need

Answer 8

You might as well.....You will smoke before the hunt and that will not help your chances anyway.