How to Make Homemade Cover Scents for Deer Hunting

Mule deer

One of the most difficult situations every devoted hunter must deal with is finding a way to remain unnoticed long enough to pull off a decent shot. In warm weather, odds are good that you will break into a sweat before you even reach the tree stand. If the wind is not in your favor, every living thing within 500 yards will already have a whiff of you and be headed the other way. Cover scents can help in one of two ways. They can remove your scent entirely or they can camouflage your human odor and make you smell like the surrounding woods. If you blend in, your intended target won't even notice that you are there. Your best chance of blending in with the environment is to make a cover scent from materials found naturally within your hunting area. Don't go stomping through the woods smelling like a human, destroying your opportunity to bag a prize buck. Follow the steps below to create a one of two different cover scents and improve your chances of a successful hunting trip.

Things You'll Need

• Method one:
• 3 lbs. of naturally occurring material
• Large pot with a lid
• Water
• Strainer
• Large bowl
• Funnel
• Plastic bottle with sprayer attachment
• Method two:
• Two bottles of hydrogen peroxide, 16 oz. each
• Bottle of distilled water, 32 oz.
• Wooden spoon
• 1/3 cup baking soda
• Plastic cling wrap
• 1 oz. unscented detergent
• Dark bottle or container with lid or old 2 liter soda bottle, colored with black permanent marker.

Instructions

Method One: Smell like the Woods

1. Gather approximately 3 lbs. of natural material from the area in which you will be hunting (twigs, bark, leaves, pine needles and nuts). The ultimate goal is to blend into the surroundings.

2. Place the gathered materials in a large pot. Add cold water until the material is completely submerged.

3. Place the pot over high heat. When the water begins to boil, cover the pot and turn heat to medium. Allow the materials to simmer for 25 minutes.

4. Remove the pot from the heat. Pour the liquid through a strainer and into a large bowl. Discard the solids.

5. Place a funnel into the plastic spray bottle. Transfer the liquid from the bowl to the spray bottle by pouring it through the funnel.

6. To use, spray liquid on your clothing prior to going hunting and allow the clothing to air dry.

Method Two: Smell Like Nothing

1. Pour two 16 oz. bottles of hydrogen peroxide into a large bowl.

2. Add 32 oz. of distilled water and stir slowly with a wooden spoon.

3. Add 1/3 cup of baking soda, one spoonful at a time, stirring well after each addition.

4. Cover loosely with plastic cling wrap and place in a dark, cool place for three days. Do not cover tightly as the hydrogen peroxide will degrade over time, releasing gas. With no way to escape the bowl, pressure could build up and cause a messy explosion.

5. Stir in 1 oz. of unscented detergent. Cover loosely and place in a dark, cool place for two days.

6. Transfer to a dark storage container with a tight lid, or improvise with an old 2 liter bottle and a black permanent marker. Light causes hydrogen peroxide to degrade, so every effort should be made to block the light or the quality of the finished product will deteriorate over time.

7. To use, transfer a small quantity of the solution to a plastic spray bottle. Spray liberally on clothes and on your self prior to hunting, paying special attention to any particularly 'aromatic' parts of your body. Allow the clothing to air dry.

Tips & Warnings

• In method two, if you use hunters soap or earth scented soap you can reduce the amount of detergent added to the mixture to ½ oz. Prior to wearing them, wash your hunting clothes in unscented detergent and add ½ cup of baking soda to the wash. Dry the clothing in the open air or in a dryer without a fabric sheet, so no additional fragrance is clinging to your clothing. Homemade scents will keep for up to two months if stored in the refrigerator.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Camouflage and concealment guide