Opening Day

Posted By PJ Reilly - Shield Field Staff at 10/13/2010 12:00:00 AM

scent1.jpgMaryland’s archery season opened Sept. 15, affording me my first bowhunting opportunity of the 2010-11 season. It was a warm afternoon, with the mercury hovering right around the 80-degree mark as I drove down the farm lane to the parking spot I use when I hunt my field-edge stand.

The stand hangs in a tulip poplar that grows right on the edge of a crop field that has soybeans this year. And it’s my favorite place to sit on opening day because loads of deer usually pass right underneath it, and because it affords me a commanding view of about 50 acres of field.

Sitting in a stand that has lots of deer traffic under it, in 80-degree weather, is a tricky endeavor. Scent control is absolutely imperative, or you’re just going to spook a ton of deer – possibly including the king of the farm.

Before heading off to my stand, I took my ScentBlocker Dream Season XLT suit – pants, jacket, hat and gloves - out of itsscent2 (2).jpg carbon-lined storage bag, pulled my Dream Season Pro Knee Boots out of the truck, and sprayed everything liberally with Scent Shield White Lightning. I rubbed all of my exposed skin with a Scent Shield Field Wipe and then stuffed the can of wipes in my pack for a reapplication once I got into my stand, since I was sure to be sweating by the time I got there.

My two hunting buddies made fun of me for going to such lengths, but I had the last laugh. The evening sit was relaxing, and I saw lots of deer - just not the right deer. I had two bucks and five does directly under my stand at different points during the evening, and had several others approach from directly downwind. Not one deer winded me, nor did any pick up my scent on the trail I walked in on.

Both of my buddies said they got busted by big does when the deer got downwind of their stands. Scent control is well worth the effort.