Antlers! Big ones!

I’d been about half-gazing to my right, where a button buck fed contentedly, so close that the weak fall sun of the early afternoon outlined the network of veins in his ears. Like those of his age, wrapped up in the thrill of filling his belly, the little guy had been keeping his nose and nearly his eyes buried in the lush growth.

I am a button buck magnet. The youngster snapped up his head and stared into the woods. Carefully, I turned my head to the left and saw a big buck approaching at a steady walk. I’d thought it was too early for big bucks to be on their feet, but this one seemed determined to scent check the field.

With the giant oak tree that held the stand shielding my movements, I got to my feet, bow in hand, keeping my eyes on the deer. Finally, after passing on enough bucks to compile a winning poker hand (a straight, one through five), a no-doubt shooter was headed my way. I coached myself not to look at the rack again.

The stand was expertly placed. Any deer quartering the wind on the way to the field could use a well-established deer trail. I was on the downwind side of the trail. The slight breeze was in my face and my release was on the string.

I could feel my heart in my throat. My breaths came shaky but steady and deep, as I readied for the best time to draw. My legs started to shake.

Darn it! If you were to look up “buck fever” in the dictionary, you might find my photo there.

And then the buck came to a stop. He lifted his nose slightly. No, no, no, no, I was thinking, no way! I hadn’t moved, and the wind was perfect. He turned, agonizingly showcasing the spread of his rack, and melted back the way he’d come.

It felt like I was lost in the title of Hillary Clinton’s book, What Happened.

Only about a week into the season, my hair had the constant look of balloon rubbed into it, due to the harshness of the unscented soap. I faithfully wash myself and all the clothing I wear in unscented soap, and spray things that can’t be washed with scent killer spray.

So how did that big buck bust me? It might have been what I had for lunch – a cheesesteak sandwich, the way I like them, with lots of onions. And what was the first thing that happened when I saw the buck? My heart and breath rates increased.

Here’s how odors get on our breath. Our food is digested and absorbed into the bloodstream, where it’s carried to the lungs before it’s given off as breath. If you haven’t thought about adding breath control products to your pre-hunt regimen, here are a couple facts that may convince you:

Every day, we move 10,000 liters of air in and out of our lungs.

Two-thirds of a deer’s brain is dedicated to perception and evaluation of odors. A deer’s nose is filled with an intricate system of nasal passages which have millions of olfactory receptor sites.

According to medical research, 80 percent of scent given off by humans is related to breath.

As you ready your gear for Pennsylvania’s two-week firearms season, don’t overlook that last detail. It won’t take long after daybreak before the deer are on high alert.