Just looking to get a few opinions and experiences of y'all on campfire smoke (smell).
About 4 years ago I killed a 6.5 y/o 10 point after a night around the campfire. I got up the next morning thinking I won't see crap today because I could smell the smoke all over my clothes. Later that morning walking back to camp I noticed the buck way before he saw me and with the wind blowing straight at him, he walk to within 25 yards of me before he looked up at which point I shot him. Was it a good cover scent?
I have noticed over the years though that we always saw a lot more deer when we did not have a campfire at camp vs seeing less deer when we did. What are your thoughts on this? I kinda have mixed thoughts.

I think it depends on what the deer relate the smell to. Most guys hit the lease after hitting the convenience store for junk food a fuel, so

I once used diesel as a cover scent, I was hunting beside a 500 gallon tractor fuel tank, so I just soaked a rag and hung it on the frame. I dont know if it truly worked, but I shot a decent main frame 10 that evening.

I preach cover scent to everyone I know all the time. My dad however seems to think its all crap. He has shot tons of deer yet never got a trophy. It does work and it has also been used for thousands of years. Indians used to cover themselves in ash before hunting to kill their human scent. Fires happen in the woods from lightning strikes to whatever else. It's not a smell that seems to scare deer away. In NM we had a campfire on the hill and a deer walked right up to about 10 of us around the fire. It was pretty cool.

Some people think too hard about deer hunting. It's really not that difficult.

Indeed they do and haven't we been down this road before just a feww days ago

Good topic.

Our place in Kimble County burned to the ground in 2011, smoke was a great cover scent...

My boy was sitting the morning out and he watched a 6 point Stoll thru camp about 50 yards from our campfire. Didn't seem to bother him...

I have been busted very few times by scent.......movement is what will get you in trouble......

X2..

You must not bowhunt then...a deer survival ability to smell us far out ways vision and hearing.
Many times you never see the deer because they smell you before they see you or before you see them and they obviously go another direction.
I've seen many post about smoke helping with scent. Personally I just try to have wind in my favor and be scent free as possible.

"WIND" people, wind. If you keep the wind in your favor, then you could set in your stand in your underwear, wearing old spice and eating donuts and, and the deer won't smell you. Sure, you need to be still, but that should be a given,(to most of us anyway).Smoke smell is common anywhere you can hunt a whitetail, so it should not bother them. By the way, most of the old films I've seen with old Fred Bear, he wasn't wearing Real tree or Mossy oak camo. But I bet he was using wind direction in his favor!

You'll know if it works or not. If it doesn't you'll get the dreaded "I'm outta here" sound.

I hunted in Louisiana in my younger days. The woods were so thick I hunted with a shotgun and buck shot. I limited out almost every year. I never used any kind of scent or scent remover. Didn't wear camo. Was smoking a cigarette or had just put one out when I shot most of those deer. Being still is the major thing. I used to tell people that you have to make yourself a part of the woods. Of course now days people don't hunt like that. Today it is climb into a box and watch a feeder.

^^^ Also, do y'all remember back in the 80s when hunting videos where really getting a foothold, all VHS LOL

A pretty good bow hunter named Chuck Adams had a few vids and he hunted in blue jeans and flannel shirt. He has a "few" accomplishments under his belt

The only camo we had in the 70's was our US Air Force olive green fatigues. We wore them all week so on the weekend we wore the warmest clothes we had. We didn't worry about the color. In my opinion you can put too much into things you do. I still like to keep it simple. I have meat in the freezer.

wind...movement..noise..had a doe walk within 20 yds of me sat..wind was in my face..she never knew I was there..walked past me ..into the woods..

I have smoked a cigarette in a tree stand and had a doe walk right by without noticing. I have sat in a 3 foot deep gully wearing shorts and blue t-shirt and had 3 bucks walk within 10 feet, stood up and drew an arrow and they never noticed me. I have sat in a ground blind and does snorted and ran if I freaking blinked. I was at a camp that had a fire going morning and night and it didn't seem to bother the deer.
No hard and fast rules about how they will react to anything.

They are unpredictable sometimes!!!