Style: Manner, how something is done or how it happens, a way of expressing something that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period, the way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed.

Since embarking into the woods on my own in recent months, with a few close friends and family members, I made a great discovery. Everyone has style; their very own hunting style. Rituals, routines and habits. I realized this to some degree of course – but because I had only hunted with my husband Bo, I was used to his style and way of doing things. I forgot to consider that others have their own routines and rituals. And now that I have experienced the routines, rituals and habits of several others, I am fascinated. I know that I must develop my own style. My guess is that I will take on some of Bo’s style (which I already have – that began a long time ago) and then add my own flair. Before long I will have my own routines, rituals and good luck charms. Everyone’s got to have style. Even if you don’t know it or had never considered it, you too have style.

Scent Eliminators for the Body

Through the years I have washed our clothes in a non-scent detergent; we bathed with non-scent soap and shampoo and used non-scent deodorant. Of course no perfume or colognes, lotion or hair sprays. We were not religious about these things, but we did try to make a concerted effort to follow these steps throughout hunting season. H.S. Scents Scent-A-Way® is what we commonly used. Bo’s dad and uncle and the rest of our group seem to all agree on this topic, some being more faithful than others.

I was part of an all women’s deer and hog hunt in Avon Park, Florida in November of 2005, and I was paired with a hunter/guide for the weekend. This gentleman has been hunting for many years. I asked him a million and one questions about his life and experiences hunting and he happily obliged. We talked scents. He said that in all his years of hunting he had never used any of these products on his body or clothes. I was pretty surprised. His response was that perhaps he would have harvested three times the amount that he had in his life, but he thought he had done just fine. Everyone I ask seems to have a preference on brands, and on what is necessary and what is not.

Miscellaneous Scents

Bo was not overly cautious about covering his scent in the woods or overly religious about using attractants – though I know that at times he did both. And of course I can only measure this based on the years that I was with him, because habits do change through time and with experience. I know many hunters who purchase all kinds of products to block and attract – spending hundreds of dollars each year on these accessories that they swear by.

I was surprised to see my father-in-law, Bob, hanging a scent bomb from a tree when he and I sat at his feeder a few weeks back. I believe it was Tink's® brand. I thought this was a great idea. I had no idea that Bob used things like this.

When hunting in Avon Park, my partner lit a cigarette up right in the middle of the woods! I was dumbfounded, and a bit annoyed. I am not an expert by any means, but something about smoking in the woods while hunting just does not seem right…But again, I asked the question. His answer was that smoking while hunting has never hurt his hunting. He said that the biggest buck he ever killed was while smoking a cigarette, standing under a tree. Interesting.

So you can cover your scent and smell like dirt, trees or of course the urine of an animal…or you can spray on an attractant or pin a scent wafer to yourself….I always had a Diet Coke with me in the woods when I was with Bo, and he always dipped Copenhagen. Would we have been far more successful without these un-natural things in tow? Or is it just a matter of opinion and preference? There is way more to hunting than I had ever imagined.

Clothing and Outerwear

Bo always hunted in blue jeans and a sweatshirt or a t-shirt with a thermal underneath, and a camo jacket or in a t-shirt when it was warm. His boots were camo, and so were his gloves. His hats and other accessories were always camo or dark green or another dark color. He did wear camo bibs when it was very cold. I basically followed suit – usually wearing camo on the top, and blue jeans for pants. Dark colored t-shirts and sweatshirts as well. I noticed that Bob and Bo’s Uncle Bill dress this way as well. However, Bill often wears black jeans rather than blue. Bob says that there was a time when he wore a lot more camo and he plans to start doing so again. My brother-in-law Danny is usually dressed in camo from head to toe.

During my time in Avon Park I paid extra close attention to the attire of the hunters around me. Lots of jeans, lots of camo, almost everyone wore camo jackets or tops. The bottoms varied the most. Some people wore tennis shoes no matter how wet the woods were, while others wore boots that stayed dry all day. The man I hunted with wore army type camo on top and bottom. There seems to be no right way or wrong way and no rhyme or reason. Perhaps it comes down to preference, location, temperature or landscape.

Covering the Spot

Bo and I did sit in treestands, but it was far more common for us to walk and to sit on the ground. We also hunted the road a lot. Bob and I have been doing some sitting and walking together in recent weeks. We sat on tripod folding stools one day and in camo folding chairs the next. We sat and stood on the road another day. We did not do much to camouflage ourselves other than staying off the road and by wearing camouflage clothing. Bob drives a white truck, which we took into the woods each day. He mentioned one morning that he had forgotten his tarp. When I asked him about this – he said that he would have liked to have covered his truck a bit to camo it some. He also was sure to pull his truck all the way off the road and hide it in the trees as much as he could. This was all new to me. Bo and I had never done these things. Like so many things, I made a mental note.

One evening I hunted with Bill. We took our 4-wheelers in to the woods late in the afternoon, with plans to sit on the road until dark. The bike I was on was dark green and the bike Bill was on was red. Bill took lots of care to completely camo his bike with palm fronds and branches – he was not very concerned about my bike because of its dark green color.

When I hunted with in Avon Park, my partner told me that he has never been a treestand hunter, as he is far too antsy. He said that he prefers to be on the ground. He did not seem concerned about camouflaging the areas we stood or sat in. And then of course there are the hunters who hunt in a blind, which I must admit interests me quite a bit – and something I would like to try. So many options.

Common Ground

Feeding times, weather, times of the day, food plots, feed, seed and feeders, baits, decoys and calls…all hunters seem to have an opinion or preference. Some prefer to be 20 feet up in a tree and stay for hours, while others prefer to be on the ground and keep moving locations. Some seem to walk and sit silently – covering their tracks and scent carefully - while others pay less attention to the noise they make as the tromp through the woods toward their destination. Even how to skin it, how to wrap it, and how to cook it can be debated. Some enjoy black powder over archery, and some folks hunt with their dogs. But there does not appear to be a perfect formula. It comes down to preference. All hunters have their own preferences – or as I like to call it – style.

There are two things that I would imagine most hunters would agree upon. One, the signs: tracks, buck rubs, scrapes, hog rooting, wallows, droppings and pellets (scat), trails and crossings – just to name a few - something has been here and will probably be back.

And second, the definition of successful hunting: What makes for a successful day in the woods? To most of the hunters I know, it is a day that is peaceful and relaxing, silent and calm, listening to the squirrels run the trees, the wind blow and the acorn drops - with the day ending in laughter and camaraderie – surrounded by friends and family, enjoying your time together as the same stories get told over and over. Having a deer or a hog to skin is just the icing on the cake.