I've been getting hits on my bait stand and am planning on hunting it all next weekend. I'm in a very mosquito infested area and have always found cigars to be a pleasant, all natural form of bug repellant. Anyone have any experience on whether cigar/pipe smoke affects bears behavior in any way?
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Smoking in the stand?
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Ha! You're gonna ask a bunch of guys who purposely leave their B.O., spit Copenhagen, and piss at their bait sites if some smoke would matter. I'm gonna guess most on here won't think it'll matter at all.
Me, I'm going to "waste" a bunch time and money on scent killing body wash, deodorant, laundry detergent, spray, disposable rubber gloves, and I'll save the cigar for after I've got the big bear down.
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There is no smoking allowed in or around my stands (or in camp for that matter) and I don't eat, spit, or do anything else on stand minus drinking bottled water. Bears noses are thousands of times stronger than our own and I'm not going to complicate things any more than need be. Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions on this but I believe Daveinthebush has it right.. buy a Thermocell - they work and there is NO smell. IMO they are worth their weight in gold."He should have been packing a more powerful gun...you have to be a very good shot or very lucky to stop a brown bear with a .357 Magnum." - Rick Sinnott, Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist after a double attack by a grizzly.
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I smoked at mine well the 3 of us all did. We started when we found the area and ended up smoking everytime we were there. I harvested a bear on the 16th and actually smoked about 2 hours before he came in. I think he associated the smell with me and more food!
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I was just weighing my options. My train of thought was that the smell of bug dope (which I hate the feeling/smell of) might be way more harsh and off-putting than a sweet cigar or some pipe tobacco. I got eaten alive when I restocked last night so I'll have to either wear bug dope or burn something. Maybe just a flimsy excuse to smoke a cigar in the greatest outdoors, but hey.
Never looked into a thermocell but I've only heard good things about them. How much do they cost and where?Alaskan expat, civil engineer, FAA consultant.
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Originally posted by AlaskanOutdoorsman View PostThere is no smoking allowed in or around my stands (or in camp for that matter) and I don't eat, spit, or do anything else on stand minus drinking bottled water. Bears noses are thousands of times stronger than our own and I'm not going to complicate things any more than need be. Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions on this but I believe Daveinthebush has it right.. buy a Thermocell - they work and there is NO smell. IMO they are worth their weight in gold.
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Originally posted by highestview View Post[...]Maybe just a flimsy excuse to smoke a cigar in the greatest outdoors, but hey. [...] Never looked into a thermocell but I've only heard good things about them. How much do they cost and where?"He should have been packing a more powerful gun...you have to be a very good shot or very lucky to stop a brown bear with a .357 Magnum." - Rick Sinnott, Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist after a double attack by a grizzly.
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Cherry Tobacco! My husband smokes a pipe and bears don't seem to mind.Jess
Bait Em 907
Bear Bait & Moose Lure Company
www.baitem907.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bait-E...56572604387163
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The answer to this and the all the "scent" questions is going to depend on what your underlying belief about how your scent affects bear behavior is.
My belief is that human odor alarms bears and they avoid it. A lot of other guys on here operate under a belief that their own scent equals food so the bears have a positive association with their scent.
The trouble is, if you are trying to kill a 6.5 to 7 foot bear, that is a 10+ year old bear who has made his living around the Parks, Glenn, Seward or Sterling Highways, that bear did not get to be that size and age by being careless, uncatious, letting his stomach overpower his good judgement, etc. Just because you have younger, less experienced bears crawling all over each other to get to your bait does not mean that your smell does not alarm bears.
Those younger less experienced bears are less adept at getting other food sources - catching and killing a moose calf or other animal or running a wolf or a smaller bear off of a kill. Those inexperienced bears "need" your bait much more than a trophy bear does. Those smaller bears are under pressure to get to the bait barrel and get some food while they can before a larger bear shows up to kick their butt. The fact that you had 15 different bears at your station last year does not mean that your scent does not alarm them.
That said, there is no way I'll believe that the sweat-spit-piss method of getting bears used to your scent is superior to doing everything I can to cover up as much of my scent as I possibly can.
If you are happy with a 4.5 foot bear because he makes for better table fair what I've said is irrevelant. But if you want to kill a trophy, the "smelly" method will bring in every bear except the trophy.
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Originally posted by stick+string View PostThe answer to this and the all the "scent" questions is going to depend on what your underlying belief about how your scent affects bear behavior is.
My belief is that human odor alarms bears and they avoid it. A lot of other guys on here operate under a belief that their own scent equals food so the bears have a positive association with their scent.
The trouble is, if you are trying to kill a 6.5 to 7 foot bear, that is a 10+ year old bear who has made his living around the Parks, Glenn, Seward or Sterling Highways, that bear did not get to be that size and age by being careless, uncatious, letting his stomach overpower his good judgement, etc. Just because you have younger, less experienced bears crawling all over each other to get to your bait does not mean that your smell does not alarm bears.
Those younger less experienced bears are less adept at getting other food sources - catching and killing a moose calf or other animal or running a wolf or a smaller bear off of a kill. Those inexperienced bears "need" your bait much more than a trophy bear does. Those smaller bears are under pressure to get to the bait barrel and get some food while they can before a larger bear shows up to kick their butt. The fact that you had 15 different bears at your station last year does not mean that your scent does not alarm them.
That said, there is no way I'll believe that the sweat-spit-piss method of getting bears used to your scent is superior to doing everything I can to cover up as much of my scent as I possibly can.
If you are happy with a 4.5 foot bear because he makes for better table fair what I've said is irrevelant. But if you want to kill a trophy, the "smelly" method will bring in every bear except the trophy.
I cannot agree with that at all. There are plenty of pics of big bears on bait sites that people have "smelled out" to the max. They will get used to the scent, although their demeanor will not change. They'll still be cautious, but to say they won't go to the bait is just nonsense. Years of baiting has already proven that to be untrue."Ya can't stop a bad guy with a middle finger and a bag of quarters!!!!"- Ted Nugent.
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