Deer hunting can be an exhilarating and rewarding experience that requires a lot of preparation and attention to detail. From the attire, to the right firearm, and even picking the perfect stand spot. However, one essential aspect of deer hunting is using scent control to avoid detection; cover scents play a key role in that process. A deer’s nose can smell around 1,000 better than humans, so it’s worth adding a little preparation.
Cover scents are essential in masking human odor, and they help blend into the environment, making it harder for deer to pick up your scent. Depending on the scent, they might not only mask yours but also attract deer, improving your chances of success.
If you’re in a deer blind or tree stand, and you’re not using a cover scent, you’re missing out on increasing your odds of bagging a buck. We always recommend new and seasoned hunters to make the most of cover scents.
With this, there are literally tons of different scents on the market. However, they do fall into particular categories, which we’ll thoroughly cover.
Here are a few of our favorite brands and types of deer scent products.
| Brand | Name | Type | Why We Love It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildlife Research | Scent Killer | Autumn | Effectively cleans and eliminates odors from hunting clothes without introducing new scents, it lacks UV-brighteners, works well with standard and high-efficiency washing machines, and features a potent formula that combats odors during the cleaning process. |
| Outdoor Hunting Lab | Deer Attractant | Pine | Helps attract deer by masking your human scent with a potent pine-scented deer attractant, making it a quick and convenient alternative to setting up food plots and bait piles. |
| Hunters Specialties | Cover Scent Wafers | Fresh Earth | Convenient and durable, easily attachable to clothing or branches, with the ability to renew their scent in storage between hunts thanks to Primetime Scent Wafer technology. They offer long-lasting, concentrated scent and can be used for multiple hunting outings. |
| Pure Whitetail | Mock Scrape Scent | Buck Urine | High-quality, natural deer scent collected from a single buck, ensuring freshness and purity. Attracts bucks so you can monitor their territorial behavior, making it a valuable addition to your hunting gear. |
Pine Cover Scents
Pine scents are fairly popular in deer hunting and can be found in natural and manufactured forms.
This scent is arguably the most authentic cover scent, given that deer’s natural habitat is made up of predominately pine trees, making it hard for deer to detect your scent. However, if you’re using a lab-made scent or manufactured scent, then don’t use this if you’re in a pine forest.
While the artificial scent is great, the deer’s scent detection ability is exceptionally high, and the artificial fragrance may not match the natural scent of pine trees. Using manufactured pine could confuse and alarm a deer, causing it to steer clear.
We always recommend going with the natural pine, but it really boils down to where you’re hunting.
Deer Urine
Another popular cover scent for deer hunting is deer urine. This method involves collecting pee from a female deer and bottling it commercially. The theory behind this method is twofold: it masks the natural human scent you have on your skin and clothes and creates an attractable scent for male bucks interested in a doe.
Of course, the effectiveness of deer urine depends mainly on the season. During the rut or mating season, it is an adequate cover scent as male bucks are actively looking for mates and will be drawn to the smell of a doe. That’s not to say it won’t work outside of the rut, but we’ve noticed it doesn’t have quite the draw during the other times.
Cedar Cover Scents
Cedar scent is another popular cover scent option for deer hunting. It’s right up there with the pine scent, as deer are naturally found in cedar forests.
Just like pine, the scent of cedar helps to blend into the environment and mask any foreign smells. Cedar is also a natural insect repellent, so it can double as both a cover scent and bug repellant during those hot summer hunts if you’re scouting your tree stand.
Acorn Cover Scent
Acorn is another clever cover scent for deer hunting. Acorns are arguably one of the deer’s favorite foods, making acorn scent an effective cover scent.
You can use actual acorns or acorn-based scents or oils to mimic the smell of acorns in the deer’s natural habitat.
One thing to keep in mind with acorn scent is that it is mostly effective during the autumn months when deer migrate to the oak trees and feed heavily. We like to use acorn cover in September and October and switch to urine-based products in November once the rut starts.
Earth Cover Scents
Earth scent is arguably the most popular cover scent and is easily available at hunting gear stores.
It is an effective cover scent due to its organic nature and blends smoothly with the environment. It’s great to use anywhere — pine forests, cedar forests, brush fields, etc.
Earth scent in spray form can be sprayed on your clothing and gear to create a natural scent that masks human odor. This scent is useful in regions where trees-and-leaves scent may not be helpful, such as the southwestern United States.
Mask Your Scent and Attract the Deer
Getting the best cover scent for deer hunting takes time and lots of research to ensure you get one that can mask the human odor, blend into the environment, and not be a source of distraction to the deer.
Think about where you’re hunting, the environment, and the time of year to determine which cover scent is best for you. What works for one hunter may not work for another, so don’t be afraid to try out different scents and see what works best for you.
If you have a scent that drives deer crazy in your area, we’d love to hear about it! Share your tips and tricks in the comments below.
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