Want a cigar, can't have a cigar. What do you do instead?

[JDoughty]

Originally Posted by Brian D.

Through the years I've had three different deer hunters tell me this same basic story, and as far as I remember none of them knew each other:

After several fruitless early morning hours of spotting no deer, they lit up cigars out of boredom. Not long after, one or more of the critters wandered nearby, sniffing the air with great curiosity. In two instances the deer were too small, but the other hunter harvested a full sized buck.

Hunters and fishermen/women often fib or exaggerate, so I can't verify the above as factual.

I've heard it often enough that it may well be true. Native Americans disguised their scent with wood smoke, which is not unfamiliar to deer. But I've also had them spook when the wind changed and they smelled something not quite right - my coffee, possibly, or just me. So I'm erring on the side of as little scent as possible other than the cover scents I use. Doe pee, raccoon pee, pine scent and acorn extract are my go-tos. I don't think I want to vape any of those, though.