Dead Down Wind – Is it a myth?
For the longest time, I hunted without a care in the world in terms of scent elimination. In fact,
the best deer I have killed to date was taken before I started thinking about trying to be dead down wind. During that time, the very most that we did was step in the horse manure at the bottom of the hill to try and mask the scent of our boots as we walked in. In the days before the field sprays and numerous other products relating to scent elimination, I got busted by deer on a fairly regular basis. On certain days I didn’t see a single deer and had no idea why. On other days (when the wind was different) I would see plenty of deer. Now, at that time we also only had a couple of tree stands set up. They were all within 125 yards of each other as well. Basically, we could see each other if we were trying to since we all wear the beloved blaze orange during gun season. The way we were set up, usually only one or two of us would see deer, and the third person was skunked (until someone tagged out at least). We had no idea that we were basically killing someones chances of even seeing a deer because that person would be directly down wind of at least one other person. To say that you don’t have to play the wind or worry about scent control to have human odors dead down wind would not be a fair statement. Deer have awesome noses, and they absolutely use them to their advantage.
Am I a Dead Down Wind fan?
I would have to say yes. So far, my experiences with dead down wind’s field spray have been nothing but good. Because like many other hunters, my options for days to hunt and locations to hunt are very limited, so if I need to hit the woods when the wind is not going to be in my favor, then I do what I have to do. I couldn’t do that without using my scent elimination spray. Prior to using dead down wind scent eliminator, I would routinely get busted by smart old does, and rarely had chances at true mature deer. In the last few years, while deer numbers are decreasing in my hunting area, I am still seeing a decent amount of deer, regardless of wind direction. I do not have scent eliminating clothing, so the dead down wind field spray is pretty much my one and only life line. While sitting in stand, I have watched young deer walk right over my path without worries. I have watched mature deer walk my trail with nose straight to the ground, only to have them become disinterested and go about their merry way. In fact, they have usually decided to leave the trail when within 10 yards of my stand. They do not seem spooked. They are not on edge, and genuinely seem to not have a care in the world. I can honestly say that the dead down wind field spray has worked better than stepping in horse manure. I don’t know the reason for that, but the deer are definitely calmer smelling my trail coming in after spraying down than they ever were walking the trail after stepping in horse manure.
Conclusion
You can find the Dead Down Wind field spray at many different retailers. I would recommend getting your products from Amazon.com or GanderMountain.com. Believe it or not, it’s actually cheaper to buy it from Gander Mountain than it is from Amazon. If you have not tried using any scent elimination products, I highly suggest you jump on the band wagon. It’s one more slight edge. One that could mean the difference between a 6 month old fawn that doesn’t know anything about survival and the biggest mature buck you’ve ever seen.