Im rather amazed at times at the almost resistance I see, among many newer and at times even a few older hunters, to stopping and looking at evidence thats readily available that could very easily increase the number of elk and deer they tag each season.
I'm sure at some point two rather controversial subjects will come up for discussion, in the thread, the use and effectiveness, of various camo vs the use of required blaze orange in many locations,
and the necessity of scent or odor control and a hunters awareness of thermals and how odor can effect or degrade hunter success rates.
In my experience proper use of camo is far more critical in archery season where ranges and any elks ability to detect movement at the closer ranges is obviously greater,
but from what I've read scientists have determined elk and deer eye sight differed a great deal from human eye sight, ungulate eye sight sees blue and yellow shades well but the orange and red shades are much harder to differentiate and are likely seen as shades of greys, yellow and blue. that may be true, but they catch movement very easily.
yeah, most guys want to debate endlessly about rifle caliber or scope power ranges or even camo patterns, and while these factors have a place they are minor concerns in your success if you make even semi reasonable choices, grab about any 270 win-375 H&h and any higher quality 4x, or 3x/9x scope, wear about any gray/green/tan camo pattern, and be in physical shape to cover several miles every day, and if you know how to find game and shoot accurately you've got most of the problem under control.
yeah! thats the factor many guys would rather not be brought up, find game and shooting accurately!
you need to understand how to read topo maps and use your experience to see natural travel choke points, the best feed and cover areas, and understand that easy access by the majority of the hunters that will seldom travel more than at most a mile from where they park a truck/car, has a big influence on game movement and where they spend the day, in cover after the first day when theres a carnival like rush of far less experienced orange dots moving aimlessly around the camping and logging road access areas.
deer and elk will rapidly adapt to what they know is a threat, they use both sight and odor to locate the threat, if you carry a small container of unscented talc, you can constantly check wind direction. you can partially overcome their ability to see and locate you by the use of camo, finding a location where your outline is mostly behind screening branches and in shadows, scent control can be helped by use of several scent killing products, and washing clothes in laundry products that contain no color brighteners or fragrances.(adding a couple table spoons of baking soda to the wash is not a bad option as it can absorb some odor causing chemicals.
laundry soaps
https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Laundry-Detergent-ElimiShield-Brighteners/dp/B07CCN419N/ref=sr_1_7_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1542557582&sr=1-7&keywords=scent+control+laundry+detergent&refinements=p_n_feature_three_browse-bin:17864520011
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VWMJDF...970d-869b7af44d1d&ie=UTF8&qid=1542557582&sr=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KQR9JM...&pd_rd_r=27559843-eb4d-11e8-9ae7-f7bd06e3c933
odor kill spray
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KQR7YW...&pd_rd_r=27559843-eb4d-11e8-9ae7-f7bd06e3c933
https://www.amazon.com/Scent-Killer...14?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=JF9FZJ1YNHE2CXCJ5BJB
deodorant
https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/sure-antiperspirant-&-deodorant-aerosol-unscented/ID=prod6187-product
if your in any area that is conductive too use of a tree stand, getting high helps a great deal with scent control
https://www.qdma.com/beat-bucks-nose-remember-thermals/
https://www.wideopenspaces.com/understanding-thermals-affect-elk-hunt/
https://thlete.com/understanding-thermals/
https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2014/8/27/beat-thermals-and-tag-more-deer/
https://www.whitetailhabitatsolutions.com/blog/morning-thermal-deer-hunting-advantage
https://www.outdoorlife.com/reading-wind-heres-how-to-predict-where-your-scent-will-blow
I'm sure at some point two rather controversial subjects will come up for discussion, in the thread, the use and effectiveness, of various camo vs the use of required blaze orange in many locations,
and the necessity of scent or odor control and a hunters awareness of thermals and how odor can effect or degrade hunter success rates.
In my experience proper use of camo is far more critical in archery season where ranges and any elks ability to detect movement at the closer ranges is obviously greater,
but from what I've read scientists have determined elk and deer eye sight differed a great deal from human eye sight, ungulate eye sight sees blue and yellow shades well but the orange and red shades are much harder to differentiate and are likely seen as shades of greys, yellow and blue. that may be true, but they catch movement very easily.
yeah, most guys want to debate endlessly about rifle caliber or scope power ranges or even camo patterns, and while these factors have a place they are minor concerns in your success if you make even semi reasonable choices, grab about any 270 win-375 H&h and any higher quality 4x, or 3x/9x scope, wear about any gray/green/tan camo pattern, and be in physical shape to cover several miles every day, and if you know how to find game and shoot accurately you've got most of the problem under control.
yeah! thats the factor many guys would rather not be brought up, find game and shooting accurately!
you need to understand how to read topo maps and use your experience to see natural travel choke points, the best feed and cover areas, and understand that easy access by the majority of the hunters that will seldom travel more than at most a mile from where they park a truck/car, has a big influence on game movement and where they spend the day, in cover after the first day when theres a carnival like rush of far less experienced orange dots moving aimlessly around the camping and logging road access areas.
deer and elk will rapidly adapt to what they know is a threat, they use both sight and odor to locate the threat, if you carry a small container of unscented talc, you can constantly check wind direction. you can partially overcome their ability to see and locate you by the use of camo, finding a location where your outline is mostly behind screening branches and in shadows, scent control can be helped by use of several scent killing products, and washing clothes in laundry products that contain no color brighteners or fragrances.(adding a couple table spoons of baking soda to the wash is not a bad option as it can absorb some odor causing chemicals.
laundry soaps
https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Laundry-Detergent-ElimiShield-Brighteners/dp/B07CCN419N/ref=sr_1_7_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1542557582&sr=1-7&keywords=scent+control+laundry+detergent&refinements=p_n_feature_three_browse-bin:17864520011
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VWMJDF...970d-869b7af44d1d&ie=UTF8&qid=1542557582&sr=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KQR9JM...&pd_rd_r=27559843-eb4d-11e8-9ae7-f7bd06e3c933
odor kill spray
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KQR7YW...&pd_rd_r=27559843-eb4d-11e8-9ae7-f7bd06e3c933
https://www.amazon.com/Scent-Killer...14?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=JF9FZJ1YNHE2CXCJ5BJB
deodorant
https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/sure-antiperspirant-&-deodorant-aerosol-unscented/ID=prod6187-product
if your in any area that is conductive too use of a tree stand, getting high helps a great deal with scent control
https://www.qdma.com/beat-bucks-nose-remember-thermals/
https://www.wideopenspaces.com/understanding-thermals-affect-elk-hunt/
https://thlete.com/understanding-thermals/
https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2014/8/27/beat-thermals-and-tag-more-deer/
https://www.whitetailhabitatsolutions.com/blog/morning-thermal-deer-hunting-advantage
https://www.outdoorlife.com/reading-wind-heres-how-to-predict-where-your-scent-will-blow
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