Scent Control... how far do you go?

Tsalt · December 18, 2012, 01:29:00 PM

To what extent do you go to try and control your scent?
I don't buy into all the scent control clothing. "Forget the wind, just hunt" is a ridiculous statement! But I think in my rejection of these kind of claims maybe I have become lazy in general about trying to control my scent while hunting. I've been thinking about this more since reading Guru's thread about he and Cade's hunts this year. He mentions in passing that they keep all their hunting clothes in scent lock type bags and don't get dressed till they are out of the truck.
I try not to wear my hunting clothes in the house and I typically store them in a plastic tub in the garage. Of course, when I wash them I use non-scented detergent. But... I've wear my hunting clothes in my truck and I've got all kinds of gear... coats, hats, packs, etc... pilled up in the back seat throughout hunting season. I spray on the scent killer spray most of the time but I'm kind of cynical about it too.
So... how about you guys?

Sean B · December 18, 2012, 01:45:00 PM

Working with Police dogs has given me an idea of how animals can use their noses. I'll clean up, but I just play the wind. I keep my cloths clean and try to keep my area clean. I wash clothes in baking soda and I use ivory soap.

ron w · December 18, 2012, 01:54:00 PM

Keep the wind in your face..... have 2 or more options for a spot in case the wind is not good for one. I do use a cover sent on my boots when I walk in 90% of the time.

nampook93 · December 18, 2012, 02:01:00 PM

i keep my stuff sitting out in the house and in the car and everything. but when i get out to the woods i use a water and vinilla mixture. and every time i go out into the woods and i spray that on me i end up seeing deer. but every time i dont use it i dont see any deer.

ChiefStingingArrow · December 18, 2012, 02:02:00 PM

Since I hike about a half mile up into the woods to hunt....I take a product called Nullo. Alot of times a deer may never see you but if a deer is acting kind of spooky then you know they smell something and they are on edge. Makes it harder to shoot at them. So, I try to do as much as I can to be sentless. Nullo has worked very well. I even went for two days without taking a shower or putting on deodarant and boy was I suprised how sentless I was!

Ryan Rothhaar · December 18, 2012, 02:07:00 PM

When off of work hunting I try to take a shower every 2nd or 3rd day anyhow. My hunting clothes get washed probably twice a year (don't want to wash the "luck" out!). I don't worry about car/house/pet odors etc....deer ain't afraid of gasoline, onions, or my dog...they are afraid of me. The very first thing the Old Man taught me about deer hunting many moons ago was to use the wind. You can shower all you want and the deer will still smell you if the wind is in their favor. You stink real bad a deer will smell you from 3/4 of a mile off....you take a shower 3X a day, put your clothes in a bin with pine boughs, spray down with the mumbo jumbo they sell on TV and a deer will still smell you from maybe 1/2 of a mile away. Frankly, out of the best deer hunters I know I can't think of one that would count scent control (other than using the wind) as one of the most important aspects of killing big whitetails.

R

rolltidehunter · December 18, 2012, 02:07:00 PM

I have been a sucker in the past for the new and improved sentlock/sentblock clothing. and let me tell you it dont matter what you have on, if a deer gets down wind its going to smell you!

Play the wind. keep your cloths as smell free as possible!

BowHunterGA · December 18, 2012, 02:15:00 PM

I worry more about leaving scent behind when I leave than the animals detecting me while I am hunting. Play the wind and try to leave as little scent behind as possible.

December 18, 2012, 02:18:00 PM

I take scent control very seriously, I never let my wife cut the cheese in the car.

WidowEater · December 18, 2012, 02:21:00 PM

Usually I just go hunt.

NBK · December 18, 2012, 02:25:00 PM

I'll echo what many have already said. I used to be a fanatic about scent control and spent alot of time and money worrying about it. The last two seasons I switched to plain old baking soda to wash my clothes in, and the regular unscented Ivory soap I used every day throughout the year. I still keep my clothes in a separate bin and dress at the truck. One other thing I did different was I switched to all merino wool undergarments. I can wear them for a few days before they start to noticeably smell. I put in alot less time with scent control, but spent more time working on my access routes into and out of stands accordingly with the wind. I have had more close encounters with bucks this year without getting busted than ever.

Stumpkiller · December 18, 2012, 02:25:00 PM

I use Old Spice original UA deodorant stick and whatever soap & shampoo THE ADMIRAL buys.

No aftershave, no other colognes, perfumes, etc.

Don't use any kind of cover or masking scent. I just hunt assuming deer will smell me and stay very conscious of the wind.

wtpops · December 18, 2012, 02:27:00 PM

As long as the wind is in my face i am 100% scent free.

When i start hunting deer next year for the first time in some 25 years i will most likely start being more careful...

hedgerowhuntr · December 18, 2012, 03:06:00 PM

I go as far as the wind will blow my scent away from the game I pursue

Orion · December 18, 2012, 03:20:00 PM

I try to stay relatively clean, which isn't always easy. My cabin is off the grid and we have to carry water and heat it to take a (gravity feed) shower. Regardless, even a short walk to a stand increases body heat enough to begin perspiring or at least start the bacteria growing. I avoid polyester and polypropeline underclothing, which seems to be an incubator for body scent. Breath and hair are also real culprits. Regardless, I don't try to cover my scent.

I always hunt the wind.

Archie · December 18, 2012, 03:52:00 PM

I figure a lot of 'hunting stuff' that's being sold these days is like fishing lures... to make money, they don't have to catch fish, as long as they catch fishermen.

I think the scent-blocking stuff is a bunch of baloney, and spend my hard-earned money elsewhere. I wonder... could a guy eat a big pot of chili and beans, pull on a pair of those activated-carbon pants, and then pass gas that came out smelling like the autumn breeze? I doubt it. But I could be wrong. Even so, the way I figure, a person would have to be covered from head-to-toe, to keep scent from leaking out anywhere... like the opposite of a radiation suit.

I bathe as much as possible, use scent-free deodorant, and wash my hunting clothes regularly. That's it. I'm not the most successful hunter, but have had plenty of up-close deer encounters just by playing the wind right.

Overspined · December 18, 2012, 04:15:00 PM

Use wool, every layer. . Keep it relatively clean and aired out. Rubber bottom boots. Pay attention to the wind. Take a shower with hunters mask soap from 3R.

I think better results than all the scent control crap I tried years ago

BAK · December 18, 2012, 04:44:00 PM

Pay 100% attention to where my scent goes and zero to what it is.

Knawbone · December 18, 2012, 05:47:00 PM

I don't buy the carbon suit hype,but I do take a lot of precautions were sent is concerned.The main reason for this is I hunt my own land alot and I don't have a lot of land thats huntable (60 acres).The less scent I leave in the woods the better imho.Trappers especially, canine trappers understand the importance of scent control. Try making a fox or coyote set with smelly boots and/or bare hands and see how many you catch. It;s really no different with Deer. Out of sight-out of mind out of nose- out of mind. I feel it has payed off and is worth a little extra effort. The Buck I shoot this year walked down the same path I did and then walked right past my stand at a mere 5 ft. away. The thing was I wasn't in the tree, I was standing on the ground in frout of it.He walked right past me and I shot him at seven yds.He never smelled me albeit the wind was calm.He should have smelled my tracks,but I feel he couldn't with the methods of scent control.Just my experiance and two cents.

SERGIO VENNERI · December 18, 2012, 05:48:00 PM

Play the Wind ! That's it!