Anytime scent control has been discussed here on ALDEER in the 16 years that I've been a member, some folks will recommend simply "hunting the wind" rather than spending money on non-scent products.

I would like to take this advice and use it every time, but in truth hunting the wind only works if you know for sure which way the deer will come from as they approach your stand. On a lot properties I've hunted, a deer is as likely to come from this way as that, hither or yon -- especially if you hunt deep woods as I do rather than big green fields.

Pre-season every year, I build an oak fire in the fire pit and smoke all of my hunting clothes, daypack, boots, everything. Will then reapeat this a few times during season. Thhe only reason I ever worry about the wind is if it's making the tree sway too much.

the brutal truth about it is you can take scent free showers, wash your clothes scent free, use scent free deodarant, scent free tooth paste and mouthwash, scent wafers, scent killer spray, put your clothes in a airtight container with a bucket of pine sap and oak leaves, and if a deer gets downwind of you it is gonna smell you. now is the deer gonna care or be alarmed that it smells you? sometimes yes, sometimes no. better to hunt thermals and wind because you will always be a human and you will smell like one as well

I agree totally. The most frustrating part is about 90% of the time the wind switches directions every 10 minutes and cuts off at least half the ways a deer could come from. I tend to think about it and feel it doing it enough to become frustrated and letting it ruin my confidence and hunt. I've hunted the flattest of flat land to some of the "hilliest" places in Alabama, and this is the case in all of those areas IMO, especially around sunrise and sunset. It makes hunting these "stupid" things extremely challenging and frustrating at times.

Then you have light gusts of wind that blow one direction, and in between gusts, your scent drifts in a complete opposite direction. Then there's swirling winds half the time. Hunting the wind in Alabama is very difficult to say the least.

Someone once made a good point about all this: yes, the deer will smell you downwind no matter what you do to control scent. Taking the precautions to minimize scent may make the deer think you are 100 yds away instead of 10 and be more relaxed

Anyone who says they always hunt the wind in hills, hollers and mountains is fooling themselves. And deer don't always travel into the wind in that type of terra either or they'd never get from A to B.

Several have said that on Aldeer.

I've had several buck encounters where a couple of steps is all I needed to put ones chin on the ground.

Since I am still kind of new to hunting the advice of "hunting the wind" has only made halfway sense to me so far. I've found that deer can come from anywhere and everywhere, so the advice of "only hunt a stand/spot when the wind is right" pretty much got thrown out the door immediately for me based on my experience.

Do I pay attention to when the wind will give me a more favorable setup or entry? Sure. Do I hunt high in the mornings and low in the evenings due to thermals? Yes. Does a certain wind kill my plans to hunt some of my stands? Nope. I just see it as an opportunity to see deer coming from another direction.

That may be I have been here 4 years longer than you and only recall seeing it once. I rarely read the scent threads though because it's always ends the same. It's much like the hunting with 223 debate

Hunt the wind works great in the midwest were the wind blows the same direction all day. But, here in Alabama, it is not that consistent.

Or peein' in a bottle, nothing is ever settled. It has been posted several times , not always those exact words . The exact version you posted may be Troy's, he's posted on the subject before. Pretty sure he don't pee in a bottle either.

Correct, the trees grow crooked in some areas because it blows so much from the same direction.

What do you a call hunter that says he/she hunts the wind all the time??? LIAR. Can't be done! How many time have you been perched high up in a tree and mid way through your hunt the wind does a 180 degree swing on you? Do you climb down out of that "great spot" and call it a day??? I bet NOT.
Even the Indians kept trying different ways to improve their odds while on a hunting party. Yes...they paid attention to the wind, but they also used cover scents, such as smoke, wood ash, berry juices, plant emultions, etc. They would also fast, or eat a very vegetarian diet for days before going hunting. Off gassing through the poures of your skin probably smells like our flatulence after eating a bowl of chilli to a deer. What you eat comes through your skin and other tissues as well as your bowels.
Ever notice the Asparagus effect? The human nose can even detect that one.
As for all those who keep saying "don't use no scent protection...blah..blah..", I just figured they were saying that to help keep the stuff in stock and on the shelves at the store so they can go pick up some more when they run low.
By the way I personally don't use Dead Down Wind products...so you can use all of that stuff you want, just leave the other brands alone.

I do believe that spraying my boots with scent killer has significantly reduced the times that I see deer smell where I have walked in. I have no scientific proof, just my observations over the years...