Question about hand corn.

[Brute Killer]

Those of you that use "hand corn", in conjunction with a feeder or not, what is your experience with scent from your boots spooking game away?
I hunted this morning near (not within recurve range of) a feeder and put a small pile of corn behind a bush for the old blindfold shot. I ran some hogs off of the feeder at about 5 am as I set my hand corn out.
It was raining lightly.
The hogs came back shortly and started in on my corn. After confirming that they were inded hogs (and not deer) I hit them with a bright flashlight.
The light didn't seem to bother them but two of them trailed me back to my tree. I had sprayed my boots pretty liberally with scent killer and had walked about 150 yards thru wet grass on the way to my treestand, but they still were able to trail me.
They eventually got skeered and ran off, which is what I wanted anyway.

After about 2 hours of rain had elapsed and the sun had risen, a pair of does came to the feeder. They were very nervous and I assumed the strong smell of hogs had them that way.
They spooked several times but not badly and eventually worked thier way to where I had put my hand corn.
Now, when one of the does, with her nose to the gound looking for corn, hits the line where I had walked she acted like her nose touched a hot wire. She jumped up and scooted away about 50 yards.
The deer calmed down (relatively speaking) and again approached my little corn pile. The doe did the same thing again!
Even after 2 hours of rain and rubber boots she apparently could still smell where I walked!

Any of you other "hand corn" users have this happen? How do you avoid it?
I know ATW uses fresh cow dung, but none was available and I didn't think it would even be necessary.

The deer never offered a shot and moving around as much as they were, eventually got down wind of me and blew out of there.

[Walker]

The wet grass probably washed all the scent killer off your boots. Are your boots leather, rubber, or something else.

[orion]

i had the same exact thing happen to me 3 times this season. i have sprayed my boots with doe urine, stepped in cow dung and used the bow hunters set up scrape juice. nothing seems to work. well i think the BH scrape jucie worked a little. they smelled where i stepped but it did not freak them out.

when i used the doe urine i had a nice 9 pt walk in, nose to the ground, and when his nose came accross my foot print he jumpd in the air and ran off.

I am considering trying the vanilla scent cover i always read about on here.

Not real sure of any good stuff for the boots. Kinda curiuos about that myself.

[jyoung]

Never had that happen but I wear rubber boots.

[KFD29]

I have thrown corn out with my feeders everytime I go hunting and I have not had any problems with the deer eating it. I have sprayed my feet and not sprayed my feet and I could not tell the difference in the way the acted. I don't know what to tell you other then I have never had any problems with them smelling me on the corn. Now smelling me when the wind is blowing the wrong way now thats another story. Maybe it was just one of those days the deer act weird and it wasn't you.

[Brute Killer]

They are rubber bottomed. Pac type.
This same style but not this exact boot:

[tipitina]

Good one!

I was wondering what the thought was on that one.

[Hunt NXS]

I smoked doe last night on hand thrown corn. Dressed out at 102 lbs.

[jyoung]

I also use dirt scent cover spray. I have had deer walk right through the same trails I walk on and never had a problem. Forgot to mention the cover spray.

I always use dirt since, well, when you walk your basically walking on it.

[Stupid]

Try Coon Urine --- works for me.

[Johnny Hydro]

two years ago I hunted wearing regular tennis shoes cross trainers, I always made sure to step in cow dung before heading towards my stand. I'd also keep all of my hunting attire in a bag that had cedars from the location that I was hunting, instead of using scent killer. I never scared deer off of my travel path, it was normally b/c of the deer getting down wind of me.

I honestly was more scared of hand feeding and my hand scent being on the corn I was throwing. that's where I thought I would get busted.

just my 2 cents. good luck

[Cotton]

Boots are only one part of the equation. When you walk you leave a ripple effect of scent on the ground, much like when a duck swims a pound. Most of that scent will disperse fairly quickly unless it’s wet.

The biggest misconception folks have is that water somehow washes away scent or covers it. The best tracking condition is when the ground and forage is wet, it holds your scent at a much higher concentration than if it was dry.

When I hand corn I do it in 18” rubber boots and usually the night before giving any scent left behind time to dissipate but again if it’s wet the water will hold the scent as if I was just there.

[birkdog]

I use rubber boots and vanilla scent spray on them. Haven't noticed a deer spook from my boot trail.

[texag93]

Cow $h!t if you have cows on the place. I wear rubber boots most of the time to and from stand. I haven't had a problem that I have noticed to date.

[tuthdoc]

I take out chum every time I hunt, whether around a feeder or not. Never had any problems. I wear snake boots or camo pac boots. I throw the corn out with my hands to scatter it. The deer never seem to mind. I also use a road feeder on my Ranger to scatter corn when I'm road hunting. The deer are used to smellling me around my feeders for 12 months, so it doesn't bother them.