Campfires when tent hunting?

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jim in Anchorage

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Do you have them? I had this debate with a friend of mine a while back when we were hunting a remote area[fly in]. I have to have a fire when I get back to camp. He claimed I was running out all the game. I just don't believe animals run off willy-nilly when they smell smoke. How would they even know what it is?
Shot a moose a quarter mile from camp on that trip, incidentally. And yes I was building campfires.
 
Fire in a stove in my tent? With a 10 ft stack?
Yeah, no problem.
Campfire? Not so much. I stink like pine fire for days when I get home in that case.
If the animals you're hunting are used to woodsmoke, you'll be fine.
 
No, their not accustomed to smoke at all. Or man scent for that matter. I just don't believe animals spook at every strange smell-all they would do is run in panic all day. Now if I smelled like a bear or Wolf that would be different.
 
My grandfather used to smoke while out hunting. After one of his hunting partners told him it would spook the game, he said: "Well, the smoke lets me know what the wind is doing. And if the animals can smell the smoke, they can certainly smell you and me. And I can tell you that smoke is a more natural smell than either one of us at this point." His partner never said anything about it again.
 
ngnrd, that was a smart man, I dont believe you need camo etc. all you need is the wind in your favor, move quietly, years ago the natives used crude bows and they had to get close, I dont believe they smelled too good, but they knew what they were doing.
 
My grandfather used to smoke while out hunting. After one of his hunting partners told him it would spook the game, he said: "Well, the smoke lets me know what the wind is doing. And if the animals can smell the smoke, they can certainly smell you and me. And I can tell you that smoke is a more natural smell than either one of us at this point." His partner never said anything about it again.
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Exactly. When I was a kid I had no hunting relatives to guide me. I just had outdoor magazines[outdoor life, etc]. for advice and the whole scent thing almost spooked me off hunting. "Leave your clothes in the woods for a month" "put your rubber boots in the river for 2 weeks and wrap in a skunk skin" "eat nothing but acorns 2 weeks prior to the hunt".
It was bowhunting that really showed me how nonsensial that all was.
 
I don't think that deer (at least in my area) spook at the smell of smoke. The land we hunt has a few houses around them that has fireplaces. If the wind is right you can smell their fireplaces. I once had 8 deer within bowrange with strong smell of fire around me and they never spooked. We have a fire every night at camp and I've seen more deer this year than I've ever seen in my life while wearing the same clothes I'd been wearing by the fire the night before.
 
My father in law smokes those little cigar cigarette things. Darn near shoots a deer everytime he lights one up and those things stink. Wish the same were true when we hunted turkeys
 
No campfire? Where else you gonna sit and drink beer and lie about the "monster/trophy" that was just out of range or grill your steak and saute mushrooms and onions? Campfire while tent camping/hunting, hell yeah.
 
I don't smoke myself, but one of the best bowhunters in the area smoked in his treestand all the time. Earlier in life it was cigarettes and later a pipe. He said pretty much the same thing, it didn't seem to bother the animals, but he was also savvy enough to keep close tabs on the wind. Every year he would take a Pope & Young whitetail out of public land that was hunted heavy. One of the lousiest shots on paper targets I have ever seen, but put a live animal in front of him and the man was an incredible instinctive shooter.

Gone but not forgotten, here's to you Lenny.

FWIW
 
I used to roughneck on drilling rigs in Texas, the noise even when tripping pipe didnt scare deer, they would come out into the clearing to check things out.
 
I have had them walk into camp while I was building up a morning fire. I guess I stoke a fire like some rattle antlers. I might not have one in Africa, they say Rinos don't like them, or was that just a movie...
 
I do, but I'd rather not.

We backpack into areas as remote as we can to elk hunt, and we camp in tents. The guys that hunt with me always ant a campfire, but it is of little to no use to me. We cook on a propane stove, wear clothing appropriate for the temps, and I go to sleep when it gets dark. The only thing we use it for is a spot to stand around. It puts the scent of smoke on me, which is not worth it.
 
I think a lot of you are missing the point.

It all depends on what animal and in what area...

Like the noise thing.... When the noise is consistant, sure the animals in THAT area get use to it. Same with car's ect... If the noise is constant and on going, then all the animals get use to it.

Anyway, i've hunted where the moose would walk toward you, they had never seen a human, and didn't think there was any danger. My buddy shot a over 60" bull one day, that walked out to the river across from us, looking right at us. Of course we were a couple hundred miles out in the interior of Alaska... You would never see that happen in an area close to where folks had hunted them much.

As for SMALL camp fires... My biggest fear when out in the bush was, someone burning down my tent, and i'm stuck there without shelter for a week or two waiting for a plane to come back and get me!

I always made everyone keep the fires down wind and 20 to 30 feet away, but mostly i didn't have or want a fire.

Animals get scared when they associate what ever they smell with danger, it's NOT the same in all area's!

DM
 
I usually just listen to the guide and follow their direction but I would think smoke is a natural smell to animals no matter where you go because of natural forrest fires. If I pack in somewhere I definately need a campfire.
Gotta talk about the mystery's of life around the fire before bedtime with my buds. Thats part of the hunt IMO.
I went on a bow hunt in Kentucky a few years back, as the guide was taking me to the stand he handed me a cigarette and told me that was my cover scent and smoke it or let it burn the rest of the way in. He knew something I killed a very nice 9 pointer.
 
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With all the things you pack with you to go camping, a fire is just another one of many things that alert animals to your presence. That's why when you're hunting, you should expect to go "trudgin across the tundra mile after mile". That's half the fun!
 
A buddy and I were sittin around a fire drinking beer and tellin lies about 2 weeks ago, had a deer walk up about 15 feet from the fire. Woulda never known she was was there had the dog not caught her scent.
 
True believer that a camp fire has nothing to do with successful rifle hunting.

I actually think it is part of the hunting experience. There is nothing better than sitting around it and solving the world's problems with the rest of the hunting party or getting lost in your own solitude, either one.

For deer, they could care less.

Elk, not sure, but I think it is the same as deer.

Maybe other game is more sensitive to it but deer and elk are all I am familiar with regarding the effects of a camp fire. They don't care.
 
Sitting around an open wilderness campfire in Maine while bear hunting has given me some of my fondest memories. We have had bears, moose AND coyotes come into camp -- even while the fire was still burning.

Relax, enjoy the outdoors. A campfire is a wonderful, ancient thing. If it doesn't ignite some of the recessive hunter-gatherer genes in your system, nothing will.
 
I've always found that the best part of a hunting trip was the whole campfire shtick. Some of the cooking, and most of the visiting if it was a group thing. And when I'm solo, I can sit close to a small fire and just think. Makes me feel connected to all those who've gone before.

I dunno. I guess a campfire is just the frosting on my cake...
 
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