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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Gordy on November 07, 2007, 11:37:00 AM

Title: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Gordy on November 07, 2007, 11:37:00 AM
They don't stink, but what are the best methods for making wool scent free ?

I've washed them twice now and had them outside several nights.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: buckracks7 on November 07, 2007, 11:43:00 AM
It's probably the natural wool smell, and doesn't hurt anything.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: JDinPA on November 07, 2007, 11:46:00 AM
It's probably the natural wool smell. I just use the  scent blocker spray.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Molson on November 07, 2007, 11:52:00 AM
Good wool will not be "scent" free.  You want to get rid of the human odor, not all odor.

I wash mine in scent free soap and hang dry it.  Then I give it a good coating of scent free spray and let dry.  Whenever I go out, I give it another light spray as I put it on. It still smells like wool. Even getting it wet with scent free spray will bring out the wool smell, but any human odors are gone.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: JBiorn on November 07, 2007, 12:29:00 PM
No worries---you just smell like a wet sheep. The Scent Killer "autumn" covers that smell pretty well.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Blackhawk on November 07, 2007, 02:24:00 PM
What if he's hunting in an area where the deer have never smelled a "wet sheep"?   :bigsmyl:
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Gordy on November 07, 2007, 02:29:00 PM
Good points. Thanks for the info guys.

Have any of you ever done 'smoke camoflage' on your wool ?
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Stone Knife on November 07, 2007, 06:53:00 PM
I think wet sheep are indigenous to all ares   :bigsmyl:
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: JBiorn on November 07, 2007, 07:06:00 PM
I reckon he could just get some woolly chaps and a woolly vest and just hang out amongst them. Just hope someone doesn't "fall in love" with him!

Seems to me that wet sheep are just EVERYWHERE unfortunately.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Bonebuster on November 07, 2007, 08:23:00 PM
My wool stinks too. Its not wet sheep, just stinky me.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Gene Roberts on November 07, 2007, 08:30:00 PM
good luck
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Guru on November 07, 2007, 08:51:00 PM
I love wool, but that's the reason I don't wear it. There's no way to control the scent. That's why I love synthetics...They don't hold odor, and are easy to wash and dry...

This year I've been wearing Sitka Gear exclusively    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: PrarrieDog on November 07, 2007, 09:36:00 PM
If they're clean, you might try putin' the clothes in a plastic bag with some pine boughs and lettin' 'em sit fer a while.
Prarrie Dog
(I like it better than buffalo dung)
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: tippit on November 07, 2007, 09:46:00 PM
I leave my wool on the line out side in the rain & snow.  It never comes in from August to Januray.  I'll rotate sets under the cover of the porch as my dry gear.  That seems to work for me and the deer...Doc

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/Huntinclothes.jpg)
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: 30coupe on November 07, 2007, 11:11:00 PM
I don't think the deer really care. I had a bunch downwind of me tonight and they just kept doing their thing. I didn't get a shot, but it had nothing to do with being winded. They just didn't walk into my shooting lanes...well, okay a little buck did, but I am not shooting the 1 1/2 year olds.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: DeerSpotter on November 07, 2007, 11:17:00 PM
You can take the wool off of the sheep, but you can't take the sheep off the wool !   :scared:
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Legolas on November 08, 2007, 06:08:00 AM
The owner of Rancho Ghille suits had a wild suggestion when I said the burlap had a smell and I wanted to know how to get rid of it-- bury it!  :scared:   He said deer have their noses in dirt all day looking for food.Leave it in old mother earth a few weeks and she would take care of it.

Paul
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: chesapeakeblend on November 08, 2007, 08:21:00 AM
QuoteThat's why I love synthetics...They don't hold odor, and are easy to wash and dry...[/QB]
Synthetics can hold a lot of bacteria and odor more than natural fibers.  At least that is my experience and what I have read based on my other passion for endurance sports.  If stink gets embedded in synthetics it is over.  You really need to stay on top of that stuff.

I agree with you though, Sitka is top notch stuff.  Finally a company looked at other sports for precedence.  Gotta tap all of those resources.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: chesapeakeblend on November 08, 2007, 08:30:00 AM
Legolas -

I do something similar.  I put my hunting clothing in the big 18 gallon containers with leaves and dirt in there.  The leaves right now are giving off a sweet smell  that just gets right in the material.  Works like a charm for me so far.  And you know the smell comes from where you hunt.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: lodestar on November 08, 2007, 09:56:00 PM
I once read on a website that 100% wool will not hold odors. I myself have only hung out in fresh air with the occasional dead down wind spray on just in case and I wear my wool from first frost to april. I love it and have all brands from columbia to sleeping indian. When it gets dirty with blood or mud I just let it dry and knock of the nasties. More important is the base layer and tucking pants into the knee high boots so that dead skin cells that are shed continueously are contained and not spilled out on the ground to and from our stand locations.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Allan Hundeby on November 08, 2007, 10:08:00 PM
If your wool clothing has an existing smell, that's different from the 'natural' wool smell.

I bought some wool that had an AWFUL mothball/napthalene smell.  I'll list the link below for more details, but basically the only thing that worked was...

...throwing them in the pond for a few days to let natural bacteria eat away at them.

 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=038034

QuoteOriginally posted by lodestar:
More important is the base layer and tucking pants into the knee high boots so that dead skin cells that are shed continueously are contained and not spilled out on the ground to and from our stand locations.
Interesting point, lodestar.  I'd never thought about that.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Gordy on November 08, 2007, 10:13:00 PM
Allan - Considering how much I just spent on a pair of pants and vest .... maybe I'll just stick with the leaves and keep my face in the wind   ;)
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: Roadkill on November 09, 2007, 03:07:00 PM
We had this same conversation on this site a couple years ago and the guy from SC that shoots a lot stated he didn't have any sheep from his parts and said he wouldn't use wool.  I have hunted from VA to TX to WI to AK using the same Swedish surplus wool pants and Pendleton wool jacket.  Rifle and bow and I believe the natural wool smell doesn't seem to bother animals-the human scent from hands and faces seem to be the killer.  I'd hunt with the cleanest body I could get, air the wool out daily.  Worked for me.
Title: Re: My Wool hunting clothes smell....
Post by: lodestar on November 09, 2007, 09:54:00 PM
Hey guys, Bloodhounds used for tracking purposes pick up scent left on the ground and moving in the air. What they are smelling is the skin cells shed with normal movement that are deposited upon the ground and in the air. My theory is like this. Seal off as much of your body to the open air by buttoning up shirts to the top button a tight fitting under layerwith everything overlapping. This starts with base layer bottoms into socks, base layer top into wasteband of bottoms and again the same with outer layers. Of course we should always start with a clean body which is cleaned with scent free soaps and deodarant. Body odor is controlable but the shedding of old skin goes on constantly in our daily activities.   This system has always worked for me weather I'm wearing wool or some synthetic material. Of course this is only in theory