Tip 1: Making Sense of Scents.
When walking through the woods, you are constantly noticing interesting smells. Now imagine you are smelling 60 times better, like a deer can. How would you understand it all? There may always be whiffs of coyote or people, but deer seem to either ignore or react to specific odors based on what they perceive to be a threat. A smell that is new, intense, or surprising may provoke an immediate response, while one that is common, vague, or expected might be ignored.

Tip 2: Location, Location, Location.
Whenever possible, position yourself so the wind is in your face in a place where the deer will approach you. Deer constantly check the air, and it’s almost impossible to eliminate all human scent—every breath you exhale carries an odor. If you always hunt in an ideal location, you’re a very lucky hunter, but the rest of us need to take action to reduce our human scent. For some hunters this is almost a part-time job, while others may take a more relaxed approach.

Tip 3: Start With the Basics.
Americans use a lot of products that are scented—shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, toothpaste, deodorant, and aftershave. When you’re hunting, just say NO. It is easy to find unscented versions of these products, and at a minimum you should start your hunting day smelling like nothing rather than like you’re heading out for a Saturday night.

Tip 4: Eliminate Actively.
There are a wide variety of products on the market to eliminate odors, including sprays, ozone generators to eliminate odors, and specialized clothing. There are ozone generators customized for cars, containers, duffle bags, rooms, portable gear chambers, and even a device that creates ozone-infused water. But make it easier on yourself—keep your hunting clothes (including boots, gloves, and hat) away from camp or household odors, like cooking, smoking, and pets.

Tip 5: Cover Passively.
Even if you start the day scent-free, the process of being alive creates human odor. Bacteria on your skin feed on sweat, and the digestive process produces gas from both ends of your system. Add to that, scents from gun oil, rubber, plastic, leather, and whatever you brought to eat or drink, and you may just be a gaseous warning sign plopped into the woods. Well, there is help for that too. Many hunters use something as a cover scent, an aroma that is natural in the area that a deer expects to smell. If there is more acorn, pine, apple, or earth scent than the pickled eggs you had for breakfast, the deer might get close enough for a shot.

Tip 6: Make the Deer Come to You.
While deer use their nose to keep them away from danger, their nose can also encourage them to move toward things they may be attracted to, like food, mates, or rivals. There are many deer lures, attractants, and doe estrus urine products on the market, as well as devices and products to make or freshen scrapes.

Tip 7: What Works For You?
I know hunters who do little to control their scent and are successful. I also know hunters who are obsessive about it to a point of neurosis, and sometimes they get skunked. There is no magic solution—find a scent control process that is comfortable for you, and keep working on your hunting skills.