Smoke cigars while hunting?

Question

I like to smoke cigars when I'm out in the woods. I do this because (a) I enjoy them and (b) I think it masks my scent. Thing is, does this spook deer?

Answer 1

LOL, I don't blame ya either, I smoke...and I hunt...and have combined the two for years. It hasn't stopped me from killing a couple of deer a year from my deer stand.

But...I do watch the direction the wind is blowing in from, and which way the smoke may go...and how often I have a smoke.

Answer 2

I'm also a cigar smoker and I know what you mean. The woods are relaxing enough, why not enjoy a smoke while you're out there? However I'm very certain that a deer would pick up on the scent of the smoke. Cigar smoke is a different breed of smoke and is very strong. But I'm sure you knew that. Maybe save your stogie as a celebration for after you harvest an animal.
1 day ago

Answer 3

I'm also a cigar smoker and I know what you mean. The woods are relaxing enough, why not enjoy a smoke while you're out there? However I'm very certain that a deer would pick up on the scent of the smoke. Cigar smoke is a different breed of smoke and is very strong. But I'm sure you knew that. Maybe save your stogie as a celebration for after you harvest an animal.

Answer 4

The jury is out on this question. Many people say that they smoke in their stand and it does not keep the deer away. On the other hand, we all know that deer are spooked by strange smells. If a deer lives in an area where there is no human habitation then they may be the ones who are most bothered by the smell of smoke since it is most foreign to them. Deer that live near human habitation such as farms may have become used to smelling smoke and not be bothered by it. Maybe it is these deer who are reported by smoking hunters as not being bothered by smoke. I don't smoke so it is not an issue with me but I make it a point to never carry a thremos of coffee, soup or hot chocolate to the stand with me because I believe that deer are bothered by odd smells. I also bathe daily to keep down my human smell. I don't wear my hunting clothes around the camp so they do not become fouled by cooking smells and the smell of the campfire. I just change clother when I come in from hunting and put my hunting clothes into a large plastic bag until I go out the next time. Yeah, it is probably overkill but it is my routine and it seems to help. If it doesn't help, it at least makes me feel better.

The bottom line is that if you are successful with a cigar going in your stand, then by all means enjoy your cigar. After all the hunting experience is all about having fun and if that cigar is a major part of the fun you are having then smoke that baby because you have met a major part of your goal. Any meat that you harvest is just a cherry on top.

Answer 5

I'm an occasional smoker, and I got several mulies bow hunting from a tree stand shortly after finishing a smoke. I don't smoke when using a rifle, too much chance of spooking a downwind deer. During the scouting season, I've been puffing away and have seen deer as close as 30 yards upwind that didn't spook until I moved. Personally I think scent masks are a waste of time and have never used any, but I'm not as hard core deer hunter as most on here so I will bow to their expertise in this. I think it is much more important downwind/upwind as opposed to a scent blocker. I know a lot of hunters that don't bother with scents, camo or anything else, they go out in their jeans and jackets and come home with deer. But I do think if a downwind deer got scent of a stoogie, they would boogie away in a heartbeat.

Answer 6

Of course the deer will smell cigar smoke. As for IF it will spook them, that depends If you hunt where deer are accustomed to human smell and activity, it won't. But they WILL smell, and know where you are.Sir, do yourself a favor. Don't smoke the day you hunt. Wash EVERYTHING you wear in hunters soap, and dry them either outdoors, or at least in a dryer without anything like dryer sheets. Don't even put your hunting clothes on before you get to the woods, if you smoke in you car. Controlling scent is the ONE best thing you can do to increase you chances of scoring on a deer.

Answer 7

spook deer- from studies in corn belt zones NO
ALERT DEER YES!!
If you are after a possible book buck I would not smoke the odds arent good for you!
If you are just enjoying the woods and will take a younger animal hey enjoy your time afield.
I think the down fall to smoking is you alert deer to possible dangers and you make a real easy target for them to see with the movement.Also they can pin point your exact location and avoid coming in close.
But hey I have a smoke once in awhile when I am just out to relax and enjoy the woods but when I hunt seriously I do not take the chance by smoking!

EDIT- I have taken well over 100 deer since 1974 and with those years afield I have never shot a quality buck moving about or smoking in stand.Yes I do believe in luck but I talk of skill as it seems several have very little of!!

Answer 8

The smell of the cigar will probably not spook the deer, but it will make them aware of you and your scent. The scent will not go away when you finish your smoke either. Unless you have a buck that is done breeding and has put on his smoking jacket and slippers, leave the stogies at home and hunt.

Answer 9

Yea, it might mask your scent, but I don't know how natural smelling cigar smoke would be to a deer. Unless it was some crazy pine or doe-in-heat scented cigar, I think it would keep the deer away.

Answer 10

There are two schools of thought on the subject that I have heard. One is that the deer will be curious and come to check out the smell. The other is that they will shy away from it. I believe it comes down to the amount of interaction the deer have with people, and also the age of the deer. Also wind direction and all that. I know when I used to smoke cigerettes and did so while hunting i would still harvest deer, but when i quit I started to harvest older and larger deer and more of them. I beleive early in the season deer are not spooked by much but after a day or so they are spooked by everything. But with things getting better for me in the woods after I quit I would say that atleast the older and larger deer that we hunters want to see at least shy away from smoke if they are not outright spooked by it.