Brent's Bass to Bucks Part III

This is the third in a series of eight articles on Bassmaster Elite Series angler Brent Chapman’s best bow hunting tips

Click here for Part I | Part II

Brent Chapman has more trophy bucks to his credit than Bassmaster Elite Series trophies. That’s saying a lot considering he’s one of the top anglers in the world. Ironically enough, he uses the things that make him successful on the water in the deer woods.

The following is a continuation of his tips.

“I've learned, and I don’t care what you do in this sport, you can’t beat a deer’s nose,’’ Chapman said. “You can dilute it and you can get away with some minor deals, but if you think you’re going to go forget the wind and just hunt, that’s impossible. If there’s somebody out there that says they can do that, then bring it on and I’ll take you to the deer that you can’t do that to.

“Just like fishing, I've learned in hunting in certain parts of the country and even certain parts of states and counties, deer are different, just like fish. You go to the local private strip and you can go bass fishing and anybody can catch them. You take a novice angler to the Sabine River and let’s see how good they can catch them.

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Click the image to see photos of Brent’s Bass to Bucks

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“It’s the same thing in deer hunting. I feel like I go to extremes and probably overkill on scent control and trying to be cautious and I still get busted by deer. But then I went to an area last year in Western Kansas where a lot of big name hunters hunt. I'm like, out there it looks like I'm an expert at scent control because those deer didn’t get spooky like the deer at home.

“It’s really opened my eyes to the different deer and how they react to human scent. The deer where I live, they’re not dummies. They know. They’re a whole different species now that they’ve had some hunting pressure. So yeah, beating a deer’s nose is almost next to impossible.

“This is where I tend to get a little anal with stuff. I’m probably too particular, but I've learned as a fisherman to control the things I can control. That’s what we do as fishermen. We try to be prepared for everything.

“When it comes to scent control, I'm a nut about it. When it gets close to season everything I have I’m wiping it down with scent killer spray. I'm washing stuff. I'm airing it out. Everything from my bow case, to my bows, my arrows, all of it is de-scented. I have a ridiculous amount of the scent proof bags that all of my clothing stays in.

“I've got a 6-gallon Coleman water jug that sits in the back of my truck with a little container with scent-free soap and unscented towels. So when I get up in the morning, I shower, I put on a pair of sweats or a sweatshirt. And of it has been de-scented. I drive to the farm. When I get to the farm I wash my hands and my face with my unscented soap because I maybe ate breakfast or something. I take off the clothes I had on and I take out all of my hunting clothes from my unscented bag and put all of that stuff on. Then I go to the woods.

“When I come back from the woods all of that clothing gets changed back in bags and it never goes in the truck. It’s always for hunting only.

“There’s a lot of times when it’s really cold to change all of those clothes and it takes a little bit more time, but I believe it at least helps. You can’t fool a deer’s nose totally but I feel like you can at least cut it down. That’s what I feel like I can definitely control.

“I'm going through a lot of scent-free soap and time. It’s pretty bad to admit, come hunting season the sheets on the bed, all of that stuff is de-scented. I talked to a guy this year that come September 1 he watches what he eats. He starts using the scent-free soap and deodorant and all of that daily even if he’s going to work just to start cutting down on scent.

“That’s something I'm probably going to add to the list.”

Next: Chapman talks about giving yourself options with tree stands. Stay tuned!

Go to 2013 Deer Camp

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