My scent control …

[Nomad]

To keep live form the woods actually that , I thought I’d answer some questions here on way I use the same soap ,laundry detergent in hunting season as year round why I ,gas up while in hunting clothes etc.

I started gun hunting in the 70s, no stands or gadgets .

1988 I bought a bow and killed a button  buck at 8 yards ,he went about 20 . Talking with other bow hunters I started washing my clothes in baking soda , then I learned the reason you cut the top of the box and put it in your refrigerator was because it ABSORBED odors , that seems dumb for hunting so I gave it up . Then all the products came out and I used them all, UV,killers sprays and soaps of all kinds , I drove down in street clothes and changed in field hopping around on a tote top , I’d freak out if a guy brought a cup of coffee inside the car .

Then a couple things happened, I went to hunt with friends in Montana, we camped out and did t bath for days , ate drank and sat around campfires, yes it was rifle hunting but they bow hunted the same way .

Then one of the best hunters I know ,with a jaw dropping wall, a guy who kills two great  bucks a year ( who also hasn’t gone out once yet ) gave me a box of soaps sprays etc . I asked why , he said someone gave this to him and he doesn’t use any of this ,but I did.

I was quite taken back ,he said he just hunts the wind it’s free . After that I got to hunt with him a bit , a freak about the wind , and his stands are so well concealed and  brushed in ,to an art form ,he’d never hang a stand on a telephone pole tree ,nor use one if the wind wasn’t perfect not just for hunting ,but getting to and from . Oh and his cheap old camo is so faded it’s almost white . Yet some how he kole great deer year after year .

So i just gave up all the crap and hunt .

 

[mowin]

49 minutes ago, Nomad said:

To keep live form the woods actually that , I thought I’d answer some questions here on way I use the same soap ,laundry detergent in hunting season as year round why I ,gas up while in hunting clothes etc.

I started gun hunting in the 70s, no stands or gadgets .

1988 I bought a bow and killed a button  buck at 8 yards ,he went about 20 . Talking with other bow hunters I started washing my clothes in baking soda , then I learned the reason you cut the top of the box and put it in your refrigerator was because it ABSORBED odors , that seems dumb for hunting so I gave it up . Then all the products came out and I used them all, UV,killers sprays and soaps of all kinds , I drove down in street clothes and changed in field hopping around on a tote top , I’d freak out if a guy brought a cup of coffee inside the car .

Then a couple things happened, I went to hunt with friends in Montana, we camped out and did t bath for days , ate drank and sat around campfires, yes it was rifle hunting but they bow hunted the same way .

Then one of the best hunters I know ,with a jaw dropping wall, a guy who kills two great  bucks a year ( who also hasn’t gone out once yet ) gave me a box of soaps sprays etc . I asked why , he said someone gave this to him and he doesn’t use any of this ,but I did.

I was quite taken back ,he said he just hunts the wind it’s free . After that I got to hunt with him a bit , a freak about the wind , and his stands are so well concealed and  brushed in ,to an art form ,he’d never hang a stand on a telephone pole tree ,nor use one if the wind wasn’t perfect not just for hunting ,but getting to and from . Oh and his cheap old camo is so faded it’s almost white . Yet some how he kole great deer year after year .

So i just gave up all the crap and hunt .

 

This ^^^^^.

About what I've done over the years. 

Only wish I had all the money back from all the scent control gimmicks I purchased. 

[Doebuck1234]

The only thing I do is keep clothes in tote.which is mainly for transportation reasons.other than that I change nothing,old spice in the morning as usual!had plenty of deer in bow range already.what screwed me was the wind

Edited October 26, 2023 by Doebuck1234

[broomeguy]

Remember those old charcoal lined fatigue camo that left your skin black?? 😆 

All I do is spray my rubber boots and play the wind. 

[mowin]

2 minutes ago, broomeguy said:

Remember those old charcoal lined fatigue camo that left your skin black?? 😆 

All I do is spray my rubber boots and play the wind. 

Yep.  I fell for that garbage.  

Bought new camo last year, and made sure I wasn't paying for some BS sent control garb.

[broomeguy]

2 minutes ago, mowin said:

Yep.  I fell for that garbage.  

Bought new camo last year, and made sure I wasn't paying for some BS sent control garb.

No kidding. The only camo I wear is my jacket and maybe a face mask. Wearing neutral colored pants breaks up the human shape IMO

[Buckmaster7600]

I’m no scientist so I can only go off the thousand of hours I’ve spent in the woods throughout my life. Most everyone can agree that it’s impossible to be scent free. I don’t think deer process a little or a lot of scent, they process scent or no scent. Scent control doesn’t limit the cone of your scent, the cone is the same size if you’re “scent free” or wearing your work clothes. 
 

If a scent mitigation regiment keeps you in the woods longer or in the woods on a questionable wind day then it’s working and upping your odds. 

[518BowSlayer]

Like most of you, I've tried all the scent blocking and scent free nonsense and it never made a difference. I still rub a little evercalm on before I go out but that probably doesn't do anything either. Never tried the ozonics thing but I assume that's a waste of money too. Play the wind the best you can. Or just be lucky!

[crappyice]

And yet, since wind swirls and deer show up in places or directions we didn't expect, wouldnt some precautions then make sense? 
I wash my clothes in a scent free orange bottle (sort my "get ready it's close!" tradition) and then keep In an old Tinks scent free zip bag for convenience more than scent. Throw some Evercalm on my boots and occasionally spray down with scent blocker if I need extra luck!!!

I need to do a better job of avoiding "telephone pole trees" and concealing my climber and ladders-sacrificing shooting lanes for concealment may be necessary 

[SilentStalker]

Tote with leaves in the bottom. Regular detergent for everything. Haven't washed my outer layers in a couple years. I'll hang my gear outside for a few days if it's not going to rain. I think AT said it in the other thread, your body smells regardless of what measures you take.

I think Nomad's buddy has it right, hunt specific stands when the wind allows and be mindful of entry and exit. I don't always follow those rules for myself unfortunately, but am a trying to be more disciplined.  

Edited October 27, 2023 by SilentStalker

[The Back 40]

I started paying much more attention to wind direction in the last few years and moved many of my tree stands to play the wind better. I also was afflicted with the telephone pole mental impairment and over trimming shooting lanes. Now i move the stands back a little further look for trees that provide better cover and break up. The hemlocks have a lot of lower horizontal branches that provide good concealment. I also had to stop thinking about "My favorite stand" and just hunt the wind. I typically look at Huntstand  to see what the wind is supposed to do and pick whichever stand is right for the wind that day and there are days that the right choice is hunting from the ground.

[ZAG]

4 minutes ago, The Back 40 said:

I started paying much more attention to wind direction in the last few years and moved many of my tree stands to play the wind better. I also was afflicted with the telephone pole mental impairment and over trimming shooting lanes. Now i move the stands back a little further look for trees that provide better cover and break up. The hemlocks have a lot of lower horizontal branches that provide good concealment. I also had to stop thinking about "My favorite stand" and just hunt the wind. I typically look at Huntstand  to see what the wind is supposed to do and pick whichever stand is right for the wind that day and there are days that the right choice is hunting from the ground.

Hemlocks my favorite tree to hand a stand in. No better tree imo.

 

[grampy]

Deer hunting Rule #1......  Keep the wind and thermals in YOUR favor.

Be surprised how much better your hunting will be by following that rule ALWAYS.

There is NOTHING you can do, to become "scent free" to a deer !

[phade]

We as humans don’t have a great ability to understand scent in other beings in some sort of comparative numerical fashion. 

But, what I understand of it is that many animals can smell multiple smells at one time and discern the level of that scent to time or concentration. So I do not believe deer smell scent or don’t smell scent. The way they may interpret it could be different though.

There is a theory that dogs and animals like deer can smell time. Sounds crazy. But I believe there is research on this. Dogs seem to know when to begin looking out the window for their owner to come home from work. As I understand it dogs can identify the level to which the human scent dissipates and it triggers them to know that means the owner will be arriving soon. I’m not smart enough to elaborate further but I see it as more directional data that animals can detect or make decisions on scent concentration.

My scent routine is in the middle. I use scent free detergent and soaps in season. I don’t use field sprays and generally only put outer layers on at the hunting site. More so because I either walk in, in base layers to keep from sweating, or because I don’t want to get hot in the truck with the heat on, etc. I use ozone only when traveling. Mostly cause clothes start to stink and keeping them in the camper gets gross after a few days. My boots sit in the back of the truck.

I do pay attention to wind, thermals, and the associated approaches/exits when hunting. 

I don’t know what has helped or not helped. But I don’t spend any more money than normal soaps or detergent and my routine isn’t materially altered. Maybe it helps. Maybe it doesn’t. 

Edited October 27, 2023 by phade

[broomeguy]

1 hour ago, ZAG said:

Hemlocks my favorite tree to hand a stand in. No better tree imo.

 

X2. I also like white pine.