ok couple questions here. i have learned to play the wind at about all costs as it most definitly is huge. now to stay scent free and keep my clothes scent free seems virtually impossible and heres why. my favorite place to hunt is a 45 minute straight up a rocky mountain top. i tie my heavy items like sweater and jacket around my waist. no matter how easy or slow i take it by the time i get to where i want to be i am in a fourth quater sweat and i mean a good lather! i do bring scent elim spray but how much is that really going to help? i do play the wind but to hope and stay scent free to the other direction is impossible! same thing on the way down, get a drenching sweat which would make keeping my clothes in scent free bins useless. ok and ideas or help???
Nope!!!!!!!!!!
(Now ya know why I quit trying YEARS ago...) ;)
Some people sweat more than others it's all about how much heat your body produces internally. Thats a body's natural thing to do to cool you off. You may be able to take a supplement that will smell more pleasant when you sweat.Thats the best I have for ya.
You can't be scent free...even though some companies who sell products would like you to think so. What about brushing your teeth? I hunt smelling of mint because I brush my teeth. I'm sure that's not scent free. There's only so much you can do. The main thing, like you say, is be mindful of the thermals and wind. I do wash my hunting clothes and keep them in a container with fir boughs. But when you backpack in several miles you don't have the luxury of changing clothes in order to keep "camp odors" off you hunting clothes...? So, there's just so much you can do. But if you play the wind it doesn't matter.
No! Hunt the wind.
Tom
Humans will always smell like humans and what ever odors the may have come in contact with. You might limit some of the smells or manipulate some of them but you arent getting rid of it.
If you're breathin' you're smellin'.
"scent free" is not achievable and not necessary best to play the wind.
In the past I did it all.Washed clothes in the expensive sports wash,hung them out to dry,put them in a sealed bag with pine limbs,used baking soda for underarms and toothpaste,etc.
Now all I do is wash my clothes in baking soda and that's only to avoid the UV brighteners in detergent.
I see just as many deer as I did before.
Hunt the wind and enjoy yourself.
Never can stay scent free....I just try to do my best to help cut down on as much extra scent as possible and hunt with the wind.
Sweat isn't the only thing that makes you smell human. I used to hunt where it was a very short walk to my stand. I tried not to touch things with my hands on the way in but sometimes I accidentally did. More than once I had deer come to a spot where I touched a barbed wire fence with my bare hands and the deer stretched out his neck to smell the fence at the exact spot where I touched it. Both times the deer went ballistic and turned around and headed back the other way. I've had more deer smell where I've been than wind me where I'm at. I try very hard not to touch ANYTHING, including weeds and limbs, with my bare hands when going to my stands.
Ken, I carry a big Bison gear pack and carry all my clothes in most of the time. I wear only my boots and underwear even on very cold days. I carry scent wipes and wipe down when I arrive at my stand and than zip loc bag them. I also take chlorophyll tablets and watch what I eat. Your hair and breath are very important, so spray the hair down with scent killer and chew apple gum or pine flavored. It helps a real lot and I know I cannot fool a whitetails noise but I can make him have his doubts! :bigsmyl: Shawn
If you stay out of the woods they will never smell you so in essence you are scent free in some places. :biglaugh:
my scent free shower is just a shower where i dont use any soap or shampoo. my clothes i was in hot water with no detergent. i do like to use a good earth scent cover spray pretty heavily. and i only hunt twelve feet off the ground. just two nights ago i had four doe under me 1 upwind and 3 downwind they had no clue
How much scent your body puts out isn't the issue. From my years of raising, training and running field trial bird dogs and seeing some of the best bird finding dogs in the country I can tell you some days they can smell you and some days they can't. No matter what you put on or take off your body. Bird hunters refer to it as "The scenting conditions". On a hot dry day the best dogs in the country can stand right on top of a quail and will never smell it. The cool damp days they can smell them up to 60 yards away in ideal scenting conditions. Deer noses are the same. Just early this season I had a very nice older buck come in down wind of me and he had no idea I was there, even though I was had been sweating terribly. It was a very dry day above 90 degrees. Needless to say these are some of my favorite days to be on stand. Just the other night I had some does coming straight to me 100 yards away. The wind swirled in their direction for less than a minute and they stopped in their tracks and high tailed it out of there. It was 66 degrees. So to my point it matters little what you do on a cool day. They will smell you.
well i guess i am pretty much doing all i can do as i seem to be in the same boat with waht everyone is doing. i know how extreme many are with their scent free ideas and was hoping to pick up some ideas but in the end looks like the majority ( me too ) say play the wind, which i do.
I wash my clothes in baking soda and dry them like normal...then toss them in a trash bag. I use scent killer spray if I have some laying around. In my area it's not the deer I worry about winding me, it's the hogs.
Keep the wind in your face........there is no sent free.
use other scents to detract, drown out, overpower whatever... your own scent. I love coon urine! seems to put all animals that come across it into a daze....not sure why but it works. Spray that junk on both sides of the wind. Might just confuse your quary long enough for you to make one count! :saywhat:
Can't be scant free, you just have to do the best that you can.
Impossible.
Deer don't care about arm pits, sweat, deodorant, baking soda, bad breath or smelly socks. If the prevailing wind blows from human to deer, they know it. They may not always react in terror but if you are up wind they know it. :D
Don't really think you can be 100% scent free...you can however take the steps to smell like your 100yds away when your really only 10.
Nope just ask the wives here they will tell you. :biglaugh:
Well, you can bathe in scent free soap, wash your clothes in baking soda, spray yourself down with scent killer, keep your clothes in trash bag, and dress in the field, but one moment of windiness and it's all for naught.
Look into liquid Chlorophyll brother, found this thread http://tradgang.com/noncgi ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=087738;p=2 and if you research it on the net it also has many other benefits. It does help. This is a subject that has it's far share of Pros and Cons,(Like Religion and Politics)and one will never convince the other of what works for each of them. One may have a wall full of Mounts using the wind and another may have a wall of heads using products or formulas. Like life, one must take in all information and experiment until he finds what works for them. I'd give you my two scents(cents) what has worked for my family, but critics are we all. :campfire:
thanks big brother, going to order some liquid chlorophyll and try that as well as a few other things.
Def NO!!!!!.... Use the wind.... I try to keep my cloths separate and do use scent spray... But spending excessive $$$$ on carbon and stuff... to me anyway ... is a waste of $$$$$... I have stalked up to mature does and bucks in regular street wear, by using the wind....
Trust me, it makes you a better hunter....
I'd like to hunt where some of you do where the wind always blows in a constant direction. :D
QuoteI know I cannot fool a whitetails noise but I can make him have his doubts! Shawn
Tha't my goal. Scent free is impossible, but some scent reduction to maybe lower the threat level is what I try. I'm told being a little less smelly can be a very good thing. :D
They had a good episode of Mythbusters a couple of weeks ago. They tried to fool a bloodhounds nose by using scent lock suits, sprays and such and also by showering before donning all the "magical gear"!
Guess what....they could not fool the bloodhound's nose. If you can't fool the bloodhound with all that crap, you can't fool a deer!
It is all a huge waste of your money. If you ain't got the wind right, you ain't got nothing!
Mike
No.
However, you can hold the human stink down and certainly prevent other foreign odors from going with you on the hunt.
I get a kick out of the TV hunters quick spraying themselves down before they walk in. If that stuff worked (and I don't think it's worth a nickel)you'd have to dip your entire outfit in the stuff. A little aerosol here and there is going to leave so many "gaps" what good would it do.
I think strange or dangerous odors spook some deer. Some deer don't spook at my odor. Some do. Some deer might be attracted to foreign odors while others will bolt at a new smell.
I wear rubber boots to my stand and try to keep them away from anything that doesn't smell like the woods.
Last week I must have stepped in something. I got to my stand and watched a family group of does and fawns pass by upwind. The lead doe must have crossed my tracks at some point and remembered me from last year. She hound-dogged my foot steps right to just out side my bow range and stood there stomping and weaving. She's got my number!
To answer the OP's question I have to agree with most that replied. Try to keep it clean and play the wind - or hunt nekkid! :)
Having hunted your species for nearly two decades with dogs, I can tell you the answer is no. Regardless of what you're wearing or what you bathed with (and whether any of that could survive a lawsuit on that point), if you're breathing, you can be detected. (If you ain't breathing, you can be detected as well. It might take a couple days in cold weather, depending on how long it takes for the bacteria to start working on your organs and skin. :D )
A SAR dog colleague put one of the early "scent blocking" suits to the test when they first appeared in MN back in the 90's. The dog went to the suit wearer like a fly on you-know-what.
If you're not wearing a closed-loop breathing system, it doesn't matter what you're wearing, or what you ate. You're pumping out massive amounts of moist, human-odor laden air and skin cells from your breathing passages. It's up to the deer to decide whether they object to that odor. They most assuredly know it's there and usually know where it's coming from. Being elevated helps disperse it -- isn't it odd how the advent of tree stands coincided with early user reports swearing by their various "scent blocker" suits . . .
I do the best i can i used to be ridiculous with it and i got caught as many times as now. When the winds wrong its over! That said i cant remeber a stand i ever sat here in NE pa where the wind stayed continuosly perfect. It seems to be in a constant state of change. I use the soap and keep my hunting clothes as clean as i can with the idea that if the wind is wrong for a minute or two it may buy me a few seconds at crunch time. Is it really worth the trouble? Probably not but I need all the help i can get.
NO! its in the wind and wind currents. The marketeers are having a field day.
No
When my little cocker spaniel was less than a year old, I took him with me deer hunting and left him in the van. My wife was wearing rubber boots. She doused her boots with scent shield about 50 yards from where we parked. When I got back to the car later after sun set and I left the dog out. he took off and followed the exact circular route my wife took to her blind a half mile away and then caught up with her when she was taking different route back to the van. It was a typical bone dry October evening and he could trail her every place she stepped. I can imagine the scent coming off a person's head is more than those rubber boots that my dog had no trouble following on a run. we have not used any cover sprays or scents since then and it has made no difference in our hunting success.
Ken,
I am a serious sweat-er as well! I wear a sweat shirt or long sleeve t-shirt in and pack my other stuff in my daypack. When I get to my hunting spot I dry off with my shirt and swab off with a scent free wipe (like a baby-butt wipe, but made for hunters). Then I put on my hunting clothes. I have a 2 gallon zip lock I stuff the sweaty shirt in and seal it up.
For the walk out I change back or bring a spare. In cold weather I do the same but just put on heavier stuff. When it's REALLY cold, I have been known to walk in with nothing but my base layer and boots on, packing my wools and midlayer along.
I don't think you can ever be TOTALLY scent free unless you bundle up in Saran wrap. I think efforts to be "scent limited" results in close shots at game. They either smell ya too late or think you are farther away.
I know that I would sweat less if I was in better shape. Or I could lay down and take a rest every 15 min or so. It would take 3 or 4 hours to get in there if I did that, so... I do the shirt/clothes swap.
Good luck with your hunting!
OkKeith
Im out here in Kalifornia and theres way too many people . So I do not even try to stay scent free . Theres human scent all over the place. Plus I sweat more than a rain cloud. Play the wind.
No.
I don't bother with trying anymore. It don't matter how cold it is I'm soaked in sweat when I get to where I hunt. Even just wearing a tee shirt and walking slow....steep hills and meds. I guess. Only thing I do is wear as little as I can and pack my clothes in, then dry off, sack up and put on dry clothes. Every now and then I'll see something between wind shifts.
Nope
I was so crazy about it it made me miserable.
I am a wind guy now and have a lot more money in my pocket to buy bows from you guys!
Just remember wind currents are affected by thermal conditions and may drift up or down. If up you are golden but if down you will get busted no matter what you do.
I do the routine! Wash my cloths and myself in scent free soap. try not to touch stuff going in and out of the woods, wear rubber boots etc... but the playing the wind is almost impossible in some parts of southern Indiana but I do my best. As far as your question, I think being totally scent free is impossible! I've been busted more than I care to remember!! HA! Jason
I recommend everyone read Steve Bartylla's article in the Dec/Jan 2010 Issue of North American Whitetail, he says ya can beat a deers nose to a point. It is extreme what he goes thru to do this but he says it works. I would agree that it would definitely help and if we all would do it, make everyones hunting better. It is not just about being scent free when we are hunting but leaving our hunting areas as scent free as possible, so we are not spooking deer when we are not even in the woods!! Shawn
The advent of treestands happened thousands of years ago. Carbon suits only around 70 years ago! Shawn
Have read through this on and off, and like most on here I agree, the answer is no, you can't be totally scent free.
With that said, there are two things that I believe though.
One, I think that scent is a lot like a radar signature. There are things that one can do to lower their "scent signature", thus making you smell like you are further than you really are. In places where the deer are used to smelling people, this can be helpful.
The other thing, I learned a long time ago, if it helps you be more comfortable, and increases you confidence, then there is no reason not to do it!!!
No! Get 12' up a tree, hope the thermals are in your favor and get lucky. I used to smoke a pipe and purposely lit up some Amphora just to see what happened. Can honestly say that I never spooked a deer with Amphora, but suspect it was because the thermals were in my favor.
Wish it would have made difference so I would have quit smoking 25 years sooner.
Kip
There are a bunch here that say no, but I may disagree to an extent. I'm not sure if it can be totally eliminated or not, but here is my experience.
I have never owned a carbon suit...I think it's bologna. Science proves that.
I do however use "spray downs".
First time I used it I was skeptical, but went the whole nine yards. I washed socks, underwear, hat gloves, pants, shirt, and jacket in scent free wash and air dried. I sprayed everything down, including socks and underwear and let dry again then put in a plastic bag.
I showered scentfree and used a towel I had washed scentfree to dry off. Baking soda for deoderant and toothpaste.
All this was done after I cooked breakfast. I dressed outside and sprayed my truckseat down also.
sprayed my boots dripping wet and my clothes not so wet about 100yds from my spot and walked in. sat my stool down and sprayed it dripping wet along with my bow and arrows...minus fletching and waited for dawn.
I was surrounded numerous times that morning by deer that had no clue. Eye level. Most within 10yds. I couldnt draw on any of them because they were that close. About an hour after that a lone doe came in directly downwind at 8 yrds. she stood still for several minutes, but was relaxed. the sun was shining on me and I was holding my breath down best I could because I was afraid she would see my breath drifting towards her in a cloud. she looked at me one time, before I sunk an arrow completly thru her.
It was awesome.
Aint sayin it's perfect, but that works for me to this day.I hate carrying treestands, so it's worth the effort for me.
I now use a guillie suit that I store with cedar limbs also. now they don't even look at me like I'm outta place.
I have beat there nose for many years but it takes dedication to being scent free and it is not easy it takes work. For years I did not care about the wind paid not atttention to it and have been up wind to deer on the ground and not scented. If I can I will hunt the wind but most of the time I just dont care unless I do not try to be scent free then I hunt the wind. Widow
Two sayings i like:
1. A world of opportunity awaits upwind - but nothing awaits downwind.
2. He'll hear you three times. He'll see you twice. But he'll only smell you once.
I've never seen anything that compares to the portable dark blinds for reducing scent. i can almost hunt downwind - almost.
Bill
Keep your clothes clean and play the wind.
great info and would also like to tank the people who sent me emails, great source of information from some fine hunters!
Great info, I'm about to try chlorophyll tho, Terry,and Charlie use it ,and I was quite impressed by their scent control. When a yote walks in on the same trail you did and sits 5 FEET from the base of your stand,you have somethin goin buddy!!
QuoteOriginally posted by adkmountainken:
ok couple questions here. i have learned to play the wind at about all costs as it most definitly is huge. now to stay scent free and keep my clothes scent free seems virtually impossible and heres why. my favorite place to hunt is a 45 minute straight up a rocky mountain top. i tie my heavy items like sweater and jacket around my waist. no matter how easy or slow i take it by the time i get to where i want to be i am in a fourth quater sweat and i mean a good lather! i do bring scent elim spray but how much is that really going to help? i do play the wind but to hope and stay scent free to the other direction is impossible! same thing on the way down, get a drenching sweat which would make keeping my clothes in scent free bins useless. ok and ideas or help???
You've got the right idea by playing the wind direction. If it's not right then I don't go to my favorite stand sites. I will either move to the other side of the property and find a spot where the wind is right, or stay on the ground with the wind in my face. I don't take chances ruining my hot spots by going in there when the wind is totally wrong.....I found that out the hard way believe me.
I also sweat pretty good so I wear just the bear minimum of clothing on the way in and carry extra garments to add when the temps change, or I shed layers throughout the day as it warms up.
Humans will never be scent "Free" we start to stink the minute we step out of the shower, but we can "Cut Down" our level of stinkiness by showering often and using the scent eliminating sprays. Wash your camo often and I put mine in a big rubber tub w/lid and throw in some Earth Scent Wafers. That's about as good as it's going to get and deer still bust me if the wind is wrong.
***********************************************
One last tip for all of those who are like me and think the scent elimination products prices are way too high and soaring out of control. I saw a bar of green scent free soap at wally world the other day for $6 bucks!! $6 Bucks!!!....WHAT?!?
Ivory bar soap is naturally unscented....use that to shower with.
Baking soda is the scent elimination secret that has been around forever. Wash your camo clothes with it, brush your teeth with it, sprinkle some in your boots, keep a box inside your camo clothes tub, and you can mix it with water for a scent eliminating spray........and best of all...I can get it at the Dollar Store 2boxes-For $1 Buck! :saywhat: :thumbsup:
I also use Arm and Hammer unscented Deodorant/Antiperspirant solid that was on sale for $2 bucks..........Baking Soda is a hunter's best friend and the creative ways to use it are endless.
Also, you can get Dove hypoallergenic soap for cheap and even cheaper is the dollar store brand.
Quote from BUCKSKIN AND BONE. "How is it you can smell a fart through a carbon suit?" Good one Wensel!
No
Only if there's nothing there to smell you.
QuoteOriginally posted by TxAg:
I wash my clothes in baking soda and dry them like normal...then toss them in a trash bag. I use scent killer spray if I have some laying around. In my area it's not the deer I worry about winding me, it's the hogs.
I did a lot of thinking on this subject this past season. I started trying something different...
I started making a fire out of local wood (mesquite in most cases) and standing in the smoke for 5 or 10 minutes. Long enough that when away from the fire, I could smell a smokey smell coming from my clothes.
It worked really well. I know I will smell like a human no matter what, but the smoke did a great job masking my scent.
Texas ranchers do a lot of brush clearing and burning so this a natural smell the deer are used to.
I don't know that being scent free matters. My father in law had a deer come 10 yards from him right after he put out a cigarette. I don't think a good sized buck would go for that though. I wash my clothes in unscented detergent and shower before I go out, but that is about it. I have seen plenty of deer after I have been sweating.
You can't 100% cover it and make yourself dissapear.My opinion.
save your money for gas! so you can go huntin...
Not possible.
I left all my huntin' duds hanging out all day and night. Showered the next morning with no soap. Walked in the woods yesterday with no wind. Unfortunately I had to back track 20 or so yds. before I found my groundblind. A big fat doe came ambling slowly in front and to my left and would have offered me a perfect shot if she hadn't walked right to where I walked in. It was like she hit a scent wall, stopped for a split second turned and ambly went back the way she came. Must of been my boots!....Phil
i think as we are brought up in this modern world of deoderants,colognes,aerosals dish an laundry detergents, shampoo's and conditioners, and air fresheners, our skin , hair,clothing and homes are so saturated with these scents we have become desensitized to these smells. when we step into the woods , these smells permiate everywhere. its definately forin to any wildlife. now i have been a carpenter for yrs spent alot of time outdoors. come home from work and can smell the outdoors on me definately a different scent. have you ever hung your clothes outside to dry from the laundry, brought them inside to fold, they smell different dont they. these are just observations i have made . maybe you might want to try something different , spend a majority of your day outdoors before you go into the woods, you will see a difference. what it all boils down to is , if a deer is gonna smell ya , they're gonna smell ya. ruddy
QuoteI'd like to hunt where some of you do where the wind always blows in a constant direction.
I agree here. I am lucky if I get a constant wind just a few days during the season. I don't think you can be totally scent free but anything you can do helps. One thing that I have been using that helps keep your smell down when sweating is base layers with silver thread woven into them. The silver kills bacteria that is produced by sweat. I have used them for several years now and I really think it helps. I use the scent eliminating sprays mainly for the inside of my hat and after the hunt I will spray down the inside of my boots and let them dry.
well ken i sweat like its going out of fashion and the hair under ya arms holds it real good and makes ya cloths stink no matter how much stuff ya put on. so i did a little experiment i hunted one day with my sweaty arm pit hair in tact and got busted after a 30 minute stalk the next day i shaved all the hair under my arms off and worked up a good sweat and hello no smell as it has nothing to get stuck on and with the wind in ya face it just evaporates. so this is what i do to help the sent problem it works for me.
When we hunt we are very conscious about scent. The clothes wash thing, spraying down before going to stand,spray down again at stand,etc. I know this will not eliminate scent. Only sure way to do that is to get in a bubble. But this little bit of extra stuff I do just may take me over the edge when a whitetail gets close. He may smell a little instead of alot and keep coming. Thats all I can hope for. But I still am a firm believer in hunting the wind. I have a spot with 3 seperate stands for different winds. Sometimes even all this fails. Thats why it's called hunting! Good Luck.