Swamp Dawg Hunter

Has anyone ever used a portable heater to bow hunt? Can deer smell propane? I am from Texas and dont have to deal with bad weather very often. At the end of this month, I will be bowhunting in NOrthern Missouri. With the lows being projected around the low 10's, I dont know how I will stay on stand long enough to get a chance at the big one!!!! I am used to hunting 4 hrs in the moring and 4 in the afternoon. Someone once told me they used rubbing alcohol and toilet paper in a coffee can and burned it to stay warm. HOwever, I did a test run in my garage and could smell the alcohol. Any help would be apprciated!

keeper of the strings

Hey Swamp Dawg,
I live in MI and occasionally I get to deal with sub zero temps for bowhunting. Just last week as a matter of fact.
Heres some of the things I do to help stay warm. My boots are a couple sizes bigger than the size shoes I wear so I can fit three pairs of socks. I layer my clothing starting with my long johns, a pair of sweat pants and then my scentlok pants and three pairs of socks with some disposable odorless toe warmers shoved into the toe section between the last two pairs of socks. For my upper body I wear the shirt section of my thermal underwear, a sweat shirt and then my scentlok shirt. I have a nice warm parka and bib set that I wear over the top of everything else, along with my scentlok headcover and one of those mad bomber hats over the top of that. I also have a camo muff that belts around my waist and I put one or two disposable odorless handwarmers in that. My gloves I use are just some light felt gloves. They don't really keep my hands warm per say, but I can't release my arrows smoothly with heavy bulky gloves. I just put my hands inside the muff to keep them nice and toasty until I need to get ready to try and make a shot. Best to have your clothes on the loose fitting side so you will be able to move easier. This is the way I hunt when its really cold. If you have to walk along ways to your stand you might want to wait to put your parka on untill you get there. Otherwise you'll sweat your tail off, and thats no good either.
Good luck on your up coming hunt!

The spirit of the woods is like an old good friend

BOWFANATIC

We use the propane heaters in our box blinds and it's never bothered the deer any. We also use isopropol alchohol and a roll of toilet paper in a paint can that doesn't seem to bother deer any. Again , our heaters are in box blinds , if your hunting treestands I'd concentrate on warm clothing (layers , and wind proof) , hand warmers , and a full face knit stocking cap. Wool is great for cold weather. Put your primary focus on keeping your head , neck , feet , and hands warm. Anything that cuts wind is a must for late season hunting.

Good luck!

<---Doug---<<<

dick cress

Along with the layering mentioned earlier . . .it is hard to beat a pail of the Large sized Jon-E Handwarmers. Properly filled and lighted they will last all day. Worn in a belt over the kidneys it will go a LONG WAY toward keeping you warm and toasty.

Dick

Sitter

Swamp Dog

If you are hunting in an enclosed blind the toilet paper works great. If you are in an open stand I dont know of any gizmos to keep you warm except for warm clothing and the disposable warmers. Keeper, you're not kidding about last week, got a little nippy didnt it.

jakehead

You may try this.. I have used &quot;canned heat&quot;.. the kind that chefs use to keep food warm... I sit the canned heat in small pail and place a 2 foot piece of stove pipe in the pail and over the heat source... Holes can be placed in the pipe . An army cooking pot, with a female attachment, can be used... I taped a male receiver on my treestand to accept the pot... It works for me... As for the smell... I have not noticed any affect on deer... May be, because , I am 25 to 30 feet in a tree.... Merry Chistmas...

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Elsie

lazyarcher - are you 100% sure that the propane catalytic heaters are approved for use in enclosed spaces? I would love to have one but I read the outside of the box thoroughly and could not find anything that indicated that it is safe for enclosed spaces. I'm especially cautious of this because my hunting buddy lost his brother several years ago to carbon monoxide poisoning in a hunting shack. His heater was a flameless catalytic white gas heater and it killed him. They always say that the CO is tasteless and odorless so you can never smell it. And the effects of CO are acumulated in the blood stream over a period of time and are not reversable. I guess that means that we could do just fine for the first night, hunt the next day, and then during the next day at dinner time pass out from acumulated effect of the CO. Kind of scary stuff.

Elsie
&quot;Downsize government - all government!&quot;

recurvehunter_leon

Well really heaters shouldn't be used in a stand because there is always that chance of a big buck smelling the gas and changing routes and and not getting another chance at him. If I were you i would were a whole lot of extra clothing and hot hands an there is also tostie toes. They are a oxygen base heater pad for your feet/toes. They sell these things at Wal-Mart and Hunting equipment suppliers. Just try to stay as dry as possible. You could also try wearing rubber glove under you gloves to keep your hands dryier. Kendrick Bunting