Is Scent Lok a gimmick??

[Mike Gerardi]

Gimmick!!

[ishiwannabe]

Whether it works or not, I use it. My wife got me a great set, and I will use it until I need new hunting clothes. I know it is all that Ron Goodrum stated.
I still hunt the wind. I pay attention to the morning and evening wind changes. Every little bit helps, IMHO.
Im kinda surprised by the "it isn't traditional" aspect of the responses I have read. Clothing is clothing. Arrows are arrows. Broadheads are broadheads. If you are shooting a self bow, knap your own heads, make your own shafts and weave your own clothes....maybe then you can decide what is or is not traditional. Otherwise, we are all traditional for shooting stick bows and having fun.  

[Paul WA]

I'm "old school", and dont fall for none of that stuff. I hunt into the wind,Dont own a GPS,Tree stand, any kind of urine. Argue with the ex wife every hunting season, She wants to wash my hunting clothes and I tell her not until I score...PR

[Pinelander]

Originally posted by ishiwannabe:
Im kinda surprised by the "it isn't traditional" aspect of the responses I have read.

The traditional voraciousness for simplicity rears it's head on this subject more than any other.   :rolleyes:

[Dustin Waters]

here is my philosophy.  If it absorbs scents away from  your body what keeps it from absorbing scents from your house when you take it from the dryer and what keeps it from filling up with scent while its inside the bag you keep it in.  What keeps it from absorbing scent and storing it from the spot you get dressed?  Just curious

[OkKeith]

Well... I guess I will throw my opinion in the ring.

Does the Scent Lock and similar products work as advertised? Most likely not, what does? Does it aid in preventing scent detection by game animals, probably so.

Now, I don't own any of the stuff, but not because I don't think it works. I don't own any because of the cost. I simply can not afford it.

Here is my reasoning and evidence for my opinion:
Here at home in Oklahoma our early season is fairly warm. Our middle seasons are much cooler and our late season can be down right frigid. Over the years, I have been winded more frequently in the warmer months than I have in the colder months. During the early season, even though controlling scent is more problematic due to overheating, there is less wind to carry scent, more foliage to block and stop scent movement and quite a few more natural scents present in the woods to mask my own. During these times I tend to wear lighter (in weight), looser and more open weave fabrics of few layers. In the late season scent carries farther on strong winds, there is less foliage to block scent and the air is clean and cold and my scent stands out more. When trying to stay warm is a factor, I wear multiple layers that are heavier. Under-layers tend to be closer fitting.

So what accounts for the disparity in how often I get busted when compared to the ambient conditions? I mean... with more things in my favor shouldn't I get winded less in the warmer months? I believe it is layers of clothing. When I wear my polypro and wool there are more layers that my human scent must penetrate in order to reach a game animal's nose. My tighter fitting undergarments may help hold my scent in. Throw a semi-permeable vapor barrier like a Gore-tex rain suit in and that may even double the effectiveness.

So... in order to wrap this up, use the stuff if you can afford it. It will work as well as some other layers and maybe better than most. I have looked at it often and it seems to be fairly well made hunting clothing that should last at least as long as any other higher quality garment. It will not make you a better hunter, but would help in marginal situations. Myself, I will most likely spend my money elsewhere because I need stuff that works for hunting other types of game, and as I mentioned the cost is prohibitive for me.

As to being traditional or not... my thought is; traditional is as traditional does. I have good friends who hunt with compounds that I think are more traditional than some stickbow shooters I have met. Shooting a longbow or recurve does not make you a better hunter or a more ethical person. Traditional is more about a set of mind and a set of skills. Not about a set of equipment.

Ya'll have fun and hunt safe this year!

OkKeith

[owlbait]

Is it a gimmick for suckers? No more then the magazines and books we buy? Guess it depends on whose making the money and how its being spent.If it was stamped with Bear or Pope maybe we could accept it. Like the CNC designed bows, the Carbon and ceramic fibers in our bows and some arrows.  I have the TRADITIONAL Scentlok, the original. All that new stuff is "Modern" and unacceptable.

[Jon Stewart]

Don't know if it works or not.  Can't afford the stuff.  I do know that they sell a lot of it as one of the owners lives two blocks away from me on 20 acres on Lake Michgian.

I also know I shot a nice 8pt opening morning wearing a 25 year old cammo coat and some BDU's from my marines days which was 40 years ago.

Hunt the wind and you will be OK. Save your money so the grandkids can spend it!!!!

[Randy Morin]

Nah, I did the fart test first thing and my pants failed.  They may work as a windbreaker though which would help keep your scent in.

I think a good wind breaker top and bottom that seals the wrists, neck, ankles and waist is as good or better.  Also, wipe face, hair, hands, neck every few hours with scent elim. spray on rag or something.  Always shower before hunting and store clothes correctly etc., etc. I'm talking about sitting for deer etc.  For Elk I just try and hunt the wind as I stink no matter what after 10 minutes of steep climbing, not to mention camping for several days.

[Indiana Jones]

I think it works to some extent. I do think it probably smells like something.

The bloodhound thing doesn't prove to me that it doesn't work, here's why.

Bloodhounds track things. Even the faintest scent, if it trips their trigger they're on it. Whitetails, on the other hand, have to co-exist with humans. They smell us all the time. Heck, here where I live they can't possibly get more than a half mile away from a human. They have to decide (for lack of better words), when we are threats to them everyday. So all the stuff has to do to "work" is trick the critter into thinking you are farther away than you really are. But that bloodhound, if he can smell you, here he comes.

Is it traditional? Probably not. Neither are my woodsman broadheads, my store bought fletching, my carbon arrows with push in knocks, all the high tech glues and epoxy that holds it all together, my dawg ware quiver, my camo, my rubber boots, what about my head cover, my hang on treestand, is my laminated custom longbow traditional, the Indians didn't have them.

What if I smeared mud all over me from head to toe and found that it worked. Would this be traditional? Heck, I bet some Indian some where tried it. I wonder if he felt bad about tricking his quarrys keenest defense.

I love to shoot my longbow.
I love to hunt big bucks.
I'm content with where I've drawn my lines.
I prefer to be called a traditional "sucker".

[Curveman]

Nicel put IJ!

[Shawn Leonard]

IJ said it very well and I also would like to mention odor eaters, is there a lawsuit against  that company as well. They have been using activated carbon to eat odor for years. i know i use them in my hunting boots and I change them out every two weeks or so, they definitely make a difference that I can even smell. Shawn

[pumatrax]

some of my scent lock wearin' huntin' buddies chew copenhagen or skoal and then spit everywhere they go I can smell em a mile away....doesn't make sense to me !!!

[George D. Stout]

Shawn.....old newspaper will absorb odor out of shoes as well as anything on the market.  It's also a whole lot cheaper than Odor Eaters 8^).

My hunting clothes hang in the cellar or in the garage beside my truck.  I mostly carry a pocket full of allspice or may rub some garlic on my bare skin as well.  The deer is an animal that relies solely on instinct.  It's a measure of our own ability to seek him on his own level without extraneous accouterments.  Makes you wonder who the dumb animal really is.

[30coupe]

The Indians (Native Americans for the politically correct) used animal dung as a cover scent. They were also patient and paid attention to the wind. If I have a chance to step it a pile of cow manure on the way to the stand, I do it. I'm not quite prepared to rub it on my body though.

Add me to those who think it's a gimmick. As IJ stated, where I hunt the deer are pretty accustomed to human scent. Movement is much more critical here than scent. I have had deer wind me, look around, and continue about their business because I stayed still and they couldn't find me. Scent is certainly part of the deer's line of defense, but in populated areas like Iowa, they usually try to confirm what their nose tells them before bolting.

I don't own any scent loc nor do I intend to. I try to carry as many layers as possible to the stand with me, wait until I cool down (I'm a free sweater), then put on the outer layers to stay warm. I'm not overly picky about camo (plaid works too), scent control, and so forth. I try to be comfortable, which keeps movement to a minimum, and pick a stand with cover behind me.

I also think hunting from a tree stand tends to minimize scent or at least disperse it.

[Don Thomas]

IJ--Mud doesn't come in a box. Don

[ishiwannabe]

http://www.deadseaonlinestore.com/puredeadseamud.aspx

Huh, mud for sale in a box.  

[George D. Stout]

And...if some "famous" bowhunter on the outdoor channel endorsed that Dead Sea mud as a scent elimnator, a lot of bowhunters would get out the checkbook without giving it a thought.  Surely there's a shorcut that will work.    

[Paul WA]

I figured out a long time ago that some folks just have to buy everything that is available. Any of you old timers remember when Dept stores were selling "Pet Rocks" and some people actually bought them. I think Bottled water is right there with pet rocks...PR

[Indiana Jones]

Don--see that big list of stuff that I take to the woods when I hunt, in my previous post, (probably the same stuff many here take with them). ALL of it came in a box.

BTW...this stuff is not a slam dunk. Its not like magic. Good grief!