i knew you'd bite on that one...
but while i have your attention, how many of you practice no scent control at all (other then playing the wind)? i know i dont, my only attempt was years ago i tried the scent free laundry soap but didnt see any difference from my normal Tide.
Wheeeew, glad you cleared that up, cause im pretty sure i was gonna get you shut down before you really got started :biglaugh:
But seriously, i think playing the wind is as good as it gets.
Even with unscented soaps and detergents our bodies still omit an unfamiliar odor to the game we hunt, which still makes playing the wind the best bet.
Nothing but play the wind here
I have stopped all odor control, and only hunt by spot and stalk-get busted a fair bit and kill as much as I can eat.
I thought for sure you were about to become a TV personality and multimillionaire, with endorsements from Pig Man, Tiffany and her husband, and that Bone Collector guy. But alas, we will just have to keep hunting the wind. I was so looking forward to getting ozonics for my back quiver, but I guess it isn't to be.
Hardwood smoke for me
I still use nonscent soap and laundry detergent. But with that being said I always use favorable winds in to my stands and hunt the winds. Guess its just part of my routine. I know your never gonna fool any games nose but its just part of what I do.
I had a hard time shooting with the SCBA mask and Tank on.
I prefer 2 weeks of early season sweat,bug spray,and sunscreen,all topped off with campfire smoke the best. Cold season sweat with wool is not so good as far as I am concerned.
Interesting post, I have a crazy ritual I follow, I use the sent free laundry soap, sent free body wash & I take a shower & run out the back door in my birthday suit to get dressed. I keep my cloths in a rubbermaid tub & hang them after each hunt & wash all undergarments after each hunt.
Now I have not had the hoof stomping or snorting salute with the white flag in a long time, but I have seen deer become nervous & leave in a hurry as they knew something wasn't right. I hunt a small tract of woods & am not really able to move around to a lot of different spots so it's a little more difficult for me to play the wind. If I move around too much, I'm interfering with the neighbors hunt & we like to keep our distance as much as possible.
With all that said, I sure would like to get out of my scent deterrent ritual I go thru :knothead: keep the posts coming, maybe if I see 50 posts saying don't worry about being sent free as it don't work I can convince myself to give up my insane routine.
Dan
The only thing i do is wash my hunting clothes in plain water, no detergents or softeners (UV brighteners), i just play the wind, is amazing how stinky you (I) can be as long as the wind is in your (my) face.
i just never saw anything that could convince me that i could beat an elk (or whitetails) nose. ok ozonics might do it, because im sure with our technology we can invent something better then a deers nostrils, but i have no idea why in the hell anybody would want to stoop to that level.
i dont believe in scent lok clothes (not that ill buy em even if they do work), i still say if i put that stuff on and had beans the night before, id still smell it...
Thats funny I was watching TV just this morning and they were advertising those freaking things. Thats the first time I have seen them and I said what a load of S#$%. My girlfriend who is not a hunter said thats pretty sad.
Mainly I try to not touch any vegetation for whitetails to and from a stand. And I do spray homemade scentkiller on my rubber boots.
Have given up on keeping clothes completely scent free.
You got me!!!
Used to use it all....realized it was a farce! Now....just scent free soap and scentless moisturizer.
I watch what I touch if going to a stand. Elk usually won't cross your trail. When stalking I just watch where my scent is drifting. Milkweed loft is my favorite. Gary
Ok call me crazy, i but remember ozone as being a pollutant that was bad for your lungs. It's highly oxidatative and isn't that why we are eating all those fruits and veggies.... Antioxidants? Seems to me a little ironic if those guys end up with emphysema trying to cheat a few whitetails! Anyone else ever have that thought ?
I try to keep relatively clean and don't wear clothes that tend to accumulate/generate odor, like polypropelene. I wear wool and it's play the wind for me.
I don't care what you use for scent control, if a deer gets down wind of you, you're busted.
Now, I do try to wear clean clothes when I go out though. I play the wind but I do worry when there is no wind and my scent lingers around me, but I don't think there's anything I can do about that. I try to not touch anything with my hands while in the woods.
I remember when skunk scent for use as a cover scent was the craze back in the day. All it did was make you smell like a human with skunk scent on you! :laughing:
Scent free deodorant, soap, no hair so no worry bout shampoo :rolleyes: and try my best to hunt the right stands for a particular wind but sometimes I just climb in and cross my fingers if Ive got that feeling. I get busted sometimes and sometimes I dont. Like you, when I was more dedicated to scent free hunting I still got busted about 50% of the time. :dunno:
You got me! Scent free laundry, scent killer spray on boots, and body soap. Keep boots away from odors, no filling the gas tank wearing my hunting boots. Hunt into the wind. Earth scent wafers, Hunter specialties.
QuoteOriginally posted by huntnmuleys:
i dont believe in scent lok clothes (not that ill buy em even if they do work), i still say if i put that stuff on and had beans the night before, id still smell it...
Ewww! Hit the nail right on the head with that one. I use the deoderant and laundry soap and spray down my boots when I walk in, and of course wear clean clothes. But as far as the scent lock clothing I am done with it.
Like huntnmules said, you don't want to be downwind of me after a night of beans even if I am wearing an old set of scent locks! :dunno:
Play the wind as best as I can and thats it. I do not have endless land to hunt, so when I make up my mind where I am going in the morning thats pretty much it. If the wind is wrong it is just wrong. Hopefully the deer will come from another direction. When stalking I try to go into the wind, or stay crosswind which I think might be even better.
The wife uses fragrance free laundry detergent. She's alergic to the fragrances in the normal stuff. I'm o.k. with that and it's a year round thing.
I don't like smelly perfumed soaps so I use unscented (no fragrance) brands. Dove has one that I really like. Doesn't dry out my wrinkly old skin. I use it year round.
I prefer Chlorophyll (taken orally) over using under arm deodorants. I think it's more effective and doesn't contain the chemicals that I can't pronounce. It's a year round thing.
So I guess I don't go out of my way to be scent free for hunting... except that I like to spray down with a scent killer spray on pants and boots to suppress latent scent left traveling to and from stands.
I try to simply stay as clean as possible. LIke Charlie I think Chlorophyll is under rated by most. I had deer downwind from me while I was on the ground this year and she never gave any indications she smelled me. I couldn't believe it...but it is not the first time it has happened but there are vast time periods in between these experiences. Before the season opened i had the opportunity to hunt a nuisance permit on a farm that abutts my property. I didn't use any chlorophyl and got busted frequently. When the season opened I started to use it and getting busted has happened only on two or three occasions when the wind was swirling. No matter what you do if you don't consider wind direction you are just foolish or out for a walk. I do believe you can reduce your body odor but not eliminate it.
I get a big bottle of apple smelling suave shampoo for myself. I figure I smell like a giant apple and certainly am shaped like one so that might actually attract the deer.
Laundry detergent is whatever the wife has bought.
I try to reduce some odor and UV brighteners by using hunter designed laundry soaps. I also store my clothes in backing soda and very careful about my boots (never wear them in the vehicle).
The key thing I like is Scent Shield LOTION. It sure is nice on the skin and I never seem to build up smell on me or my clothes. . . at least I smell good to me and family! LOL
With all that said- I am still convinced that once you touch something it smells like a human. Can't beat a deer's nose!
For what it is worth. . .Ozonics is valid technology though. We have used it in our home for 20 years- takes out odors (an ammonia soaked rag will be odor free in one minute), freshens the air- smells like it does after a strong rain storm goes through in the Spring- fresh oxygenated air. I knew of car dealers using it to remove smells from used cars. . .
As far as an application for using in the real life woods- that does not make much sense to me. Maybe an enclosed blind.
My 2C
No scent control for me.... :laughing:
I use scent away soap and detergent just because I dont want to smell like Tide or irish spring walking through the woods. I occasionally use scent away spray on my legs and boots while trying not to touch much vegetation. I used the whole scent system once and got busted by a deer downwind of me around 150 yards away.
Clips from Wikipedia about ozone (O3)
Most people can detect about 0.01 μmol/mol of ozone in air where it has a very specific sharp odor somewhat resembling chlorine bleach.
Exposure of 0.1 to 1 μmol/mol produces headaches, burning eyes, and irritation to the respiratory passages.[6] Even low concentrations of ozone in air are very destructive to organic materials such as latex, plastics, and animal lung tissue.
Although low levels of ozone have been advertised to be of some disinfectant use in residential homes, the concentration of ozone in dry air required to have a rapid, substantial effect on airborne pathogens exceeds safe levels recommended by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Environmental Protection Agency.
The Canadian Center for Occupation Safety and Health reports that:
"Even very low concentrations of ozone can be harmful to the upper respiratory tract and the lungs. The severity of injury depends on both by the concentration of ozone and the duration of exposure. Severe and permanent lung injury or death could result from even a very short-term exposure to relatively low concentrations." [45]
I am thinking that I really don't need any ozone generators in my life.
As I recall, thypically, when a firm uses an ozone generator to de-scent a car or room, nobody is allowed to be inside there until the room is evacuated of ozone.
ChuckC