Cigarette Smoke at the Deer Camp.I have a quite little place out West and me and a local guy there was talking about smoking cigarette's around the Deer Camp.I thought it may run the deer away he thought that it wouldn't.My question is would that interfer with the deer coming around that area.The blinds and the deer feeders are at least 300 to 500 yards away for the deer camp.So what do you think and should I band it from my place????

I don't think it would effect the deer coming to feeders at all but it would at camp but then again the noise and movement at camp would do that!!!

The reasons I don't allow it on my place is not inside the lodge because I have to accommodate non-smoking families sometimes and they usually do not want to smell the smoke. It's a pain to get rid of and so I ask my customers to smoke only outside and pick up your trash when your done. If we are out riding around and they want to smoke, that is fine with me. I have that happen a few times and its no big deal to me. I just move out of the direction of the smoke if I can.

Im a smoker and I can say unless you are bow hunting and within 50 yards of a direct wind into their nostrils it doesnt matter. Even then I tend to think that its usually if they associate with danger if they bust you while smoking. At past leases I would smoke in my box blind all the time and regularly see more deer than everyone else. But if I got busted by a good buck I would cut it out because they didnt get old by being stupid. As far as camp I dont think you will have a problem with spooking any deer.

Pretty sure the deer are more scared of human odor than they are of a Marlboro...

If the deer can smell the smoke, they are going to smell you. If you are sitting around a CAMPFIRE, pretty sure you smell like smoke anyway

I have seen my father hunt for over 30 years while smoking. He shot a 189" deer with his bow, at 25 yards and had to put his cigarette out before he shot.

Agreed.

It has been pretty much proven, that the smell of wood/grass smoke does not scare deer. However, as a former smoker and a person who is around a smoker (my wife) everyday I think I can say cigarette smoke and campfire smoke smell nothing alike.

It is the movement more that the smell that is a problem. So at 300 - 500 yards I would not worry about it.

Agreed. As a hunter and a person who is around other hunters, I think I can say that deer don't like the smell of hunters..whether or not they smell like smoke or not

(P.S. I don't smoke)

Deer LOVE cigarette butts, although they tend to clog up a spin feeder, use a free-choice type feeder...Seriously though,I wouldn't worry about it as long as you don't smoke at your stand.

It burns my eyes.

I don't think it really matters. Every time you breathe you emit human scent and it doesn't matter what kind of pseudo scent killing clothes you wear. Wind to the face, sun to the back. Best way to beat the scent factor.

I was smoking a cigarette this past season out in the open and two doe walked within 20 yards of me downwind. They just stayed there eating corn off of the sendero for 10 minutes. Of course, I stayed as still as possible, but I still finished that cigarette.

Is cigarette smoke that different than campfire smoke? At least it masks natural human smell.

x2

I once shot a deer from a box blind, while eating salt and vinegar chips and drinking rootbeer. he never knew I was there. and I know two other guys in our club that smoke in the stand and kill deer every year. sometimes I think it has to do with luck as much as anything else.

Does not matter at that distance.

Last year when I was pig hunting, the wind was going directly from me to the feeder. I didn't really care about deer because the season wasn't even open, so I did a little experiment and intentionally blew smoke out the window and let the wind carry it to the feeder. 3 or 4 young bucks and at least 4 does:

a. Definitely noticed (stopped, looked my direction, sniffed the air; and
b. Definitely didn't care.

Again, before the season started, so maybe they just weren't in person avoidance mode yet. But my stand is only 50 yards from my feeder, so there is no question that they smelled it.

Noise that is out of the ordinary and human scent are your worst enemies.

I once urinated out of a stand and a buck watched and walked right past my tripod-THE STAND, anyway this was in Schleicher cty. Ray Charles could shoot a deer out there.If he was alive anyway... I've seen other deer bolt at the THOUGHT of a urination. Deer are strange creatures for sure.

X's 2, I think they can almost tell when your working or hunting.. Seen plenty of deer while on a tractor, best blind I ever had was a Case 2290...LOL. As far as cigarettes, only if the deer are "brand" specific

Great question Curly. My FIL swears that the stinkier he is (with smoke)the better off he is ...Who am I to argue? He's killed a TON of deer over the years. He hunts in Comal cty though. No ARs and LOTS of Deer.

if they are close, they prefer the non smoking section

I smoke and bow hunt and yes usually at the same time. I have had to put out many O cigarrete in order to pick up my bow and smack a buck. I shot one with it hanging out my mouth because I could not get it out before he came in range. I used to not smoke and use all the scent control in the world. Deer still busted me down wind. Hunt the wind in the woods or in the camp. A cigarette aint going to bother no deer 500 yds away. Those deer know where your camp is and when you're gone they go in there and sniff all your stuff.

IMO it dont bother them at all i smoke while hunting in a rifle blind very often and they come within 30 yards of the blind and dont seem to be bothered

I guess we're ok with it at our lease. I haven't seen a deer with a cancer stick hanging out of it's mouth yet!