hunting and smoking... don't mix?

popcan

popcan

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I've quit smoking, for over 2 months now...
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So then I was wondering - will that make any difference out hunting?


What is the conventional wisdom on that.

I would think smokers have a very distinct smell to game animals. Now that I've quit, boy I can really tell when a smoker comes into my office, and surely animals have 50 times the sniffer that humans do. What's your opinion or experience?
 
first of all ..congrats on the 8 weeks:) ... im on week 10 myself:eek: .. but as to to smoking while hunting.....
for years i would smoke a pack a day...:redface: but i would get my deer.. but i,d bet my chances would be better with out the smokes...
up were we deer hunt..a neighbor up there makes a little wood fire beside his stand,to keep warm...he claim,s the deer are use to wood smoke from all the houses...and this guy gets his deer also..
 
I know people get there deer while smoking on the stand but this does not happen for my uncle, we position him at the end of the run so that the deer will smell the smoke when running a cross wind and drive the deer down the line. My dad sits beside him as much as possible, he loves it and has shot a half dozen deer off him over the years.
 
the only effects i see smoking having on hunting is the motion of lighting up and smoking the cigarette, plus the decrease in concentration when smoking.

as to the smoke, if an animal smells it, they are going to smell you.
 
Smell aside, you'll probably have alot more years of effective hunting in you if you don't smoke. I know lots of old timers who can't make it up the mtn anymore becuase they've fried their lungs.
 
I don't think it makes a difference whether or not you smoke, if your quarry smells you, it's usually all over.

How did you guys quit I have tried and tried but have not been able to
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I was a smoking athelete for over 30 years :( My wife and I both stopped. Just said no more smoking. It's been just over 18 months now :D Hardest fricken thing we ever did. Still have the urge to light up every day :mad: Just have to suck it up Princess and say NO. Just like a recovering alchoholic can't have another drink, when you stop smoking, you can never take another drag again. Not one. Ever. No cigars or pipes either. Like I said, it's the hardest thing we've ever done and worth it a thousand times over :D
 
bonecollector said:
up here animals smell smoke all the time from slash fires , I dont seem to have a great dificulty finding animals to shoot and eat while Im smoking :)
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That's sort of what I thought, but wanted to hear it from you-all.

I have the same sort of theory regarding noise from ATVs etc: I don't think vehicle noise necessarily scares game away. Especially diesel engines.. they're probably used to the sound.
 
Excellent power off the mind, good show on not smoking, it may not have a great effect on the deers nose , but it will have a great effect on you hunting into your senior years. Hang in there and enjoy many hunts later in life.:cool:
Frank
 
Boer seun said:
How did you guys quit I have tried and tried but have not been able to.
You guys make it sound so easy
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I quit 12 weeks ago (Jan 24)... It isn't getting any easier...Kind of an ongoing battle with myself.

I was fishing today with my buddies who all smoke and it was killing me to not give into temptation. All I can say is you gotta set your mind to it, Challenge yourself. I told myself if I couldn't get through this I couldn't get through anything. I swear it's like crack, Ive had dreams that Im smokng and I'd still kill for a smoke.

Its all in your head.
 
Congrats on the quitting smoking, it will be 15 years this September that I quit.:) I don't know if it makes any difference while hunting but you will probably live longer to enjoy more hunting and be able to get up the next hill without wheezing your way up.:eek:
 
popcan said:
So then I was wondering - will that make any difference out hunting?
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Yes!

If you stay quit you will be a hell of a lot less likely to have a heart attack while dragging that deer or moose out to the road.

March 26th was 6 years off the weed for me and I have felt so much better since quitting. It is amazing how much better food tastes and how much more I can smell. Last fall I actually winded a big old rutty moose long before I saw him.

And yes I agree ............. the worst smelling thing in the world to my nose now is a smoker. :rolleyes:
 
Boer seun said:
How did you guys quit I have tried and tried but have not been able to.
You guys make it sound so easy
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I had an interventional cardiologist sit on the foot of my bed and ask me if I wanted to live to be 45 .I was 40 at the time and had just been wheeled out of the cath-lab after having an angioplasty following a myocardial infarction (heart attack) . He was very blunt and explained that if I didn't stop smoking the odds were that I would be dead in less than 5 years. His words have stuck with me for 6 years and every time I want to light one up I think of him.
 
Boer seun said:
How did you guys quit I have tried and tried but have not been able to.
You guys make it sound so easy
Click to expand...

My GF and I both quit on April 13th. We use the patch and it helps ALOT but you have to tell yourself NO everytime you want one. No matter what. Sometimes your head says "just one" you gotta keep saying no.

I dream that I am smoking, then I wake up feeling like crap cause I think I failed.
 
I have always played a lot of sports all my life, while being a smoker, and it never seemed to bother me... so I thought.

Now that I had to retire from hockey (knee) and other sports, I really started to notice.

The final straw for me was when I went to Alberta last year for a Hun hunt, and just didn't have the wind for all the walking in the fields. I used to do a ton of hiking and ice climbing when younger... I was shocked at how bad my wind was. that was the beginning of the end for me.
 
a steady smoker of over 20 years..... I smoke while hunting. I often hunt coastal blacktail deer and i hike to areas where I sit on deer trails. I generally take every precaution to position myself so that my optimum shooting lanes are upwind. if the wind currents change, I will move or not smoke if it is prime time like the first hour of daybreak..... 10 am to 11 am (hehehe) and of course that last hour of daylight. I also carry earth scented cover spray and give my hands and clothing a good dousing after havin a smoke. It has not seem to have affected my hunts so far, this season especially, one of my best ever.
 
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