I have a unique advantage. All my clothes have only ever beenn washed with scent free soap. We make it homemade with tallow, lye, and borax . It has no chemicals or commercial additives other than lye and borax. I make sure to wear clean clothes and be careful when showering. I believe you can't be to careful anything can happen on a hunt.
In my opinion if a deer gets down wind your busted no matter what you do or how many gadgets you bring into the woods with you. Not saying that none of this stuff has any value because I'm sure it all helps to a degree but to me its just not worth all the effort. I do my best to make sure deer never get down wind of me and that's about it.
Spot on You will get some flack for a post like this. But you have to realize that most have no clue where the deer are, where the deer are going or how the deer will move. If they did, scent control wouldn't be a factor. Their setup is basically a hail marry they toss up and hope for the best....maybe some random deer will happen by and offer a shot. The strict scent ritual gives them the confidence to climb and set while having no clue what they're actually doing. My hat's off to them...by all means, do whatever it takes to have that type of blind faith.
I hunt squeaky clean. Shower, clothes, towel. No regular soap on non hunting days. Still comes down to wind on mature animals, but it might fool another animal downwind that won’t blow my cover. That is how I think of it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I go nuts trying to be as scent free as possible. I shower with scent free soap. All cloths are washed in Sportswash and then hung outside to dry and then into plastic scent free garbage bags. Rubber knee high boots have never been worn anywhere but on the farm, wristwatch and truck keys go into a zip lock bag. I never wear a belt or cap that I have worn all year. Once in the stand I wipe down with scent free baby wipes. I make my own homemade scent killer which gets sprayed on bow, hands, outer cloths, boots etc. I've had deer walk right in my tracks and never busted.
I'm not a scent control nut by any means. I wash my clothes a couple times throughout the season, take a scent free shower before every hunt and then hunt the best stand based on wind. The land I hunt, you have about a 50/50 shot of a deer blowing when they get downwind of you. This includes mature deer (buck or doe). Some will simply try to figure you out, then give up and move on with their lives. Others will get nervous enough to sneak off in the other direction. I stopped using sprays for the most part. I just don't believe they offer any real advantage. The idea, when I think about it, just doesn't make sense to me. Its basically baking soda and peroxide with a little soap added. We spray it on, it dries. Its supposed to absorb our stink. But we don't wash it off after it does this. So, is it stinky baking soda on our clothing? Ozonics and Scent Crusher... the science and idea of it is sound. I just can't risk destroying a grand worth of Sitka clothing to put my stuff in a scent crusher. I do not believe there is a magic bullet for scent control. We humans simply stink. Do the best you can and hunt stands smartly. Let the chips fall where they may.
Scent control doesn't work. Gri22ly & company are right. If you think your hunting clean and you can beat a deer's nose you are severely underestimating the deer. That being said thermals are your friend if you utilize them correctly. They are consistent even when the prevailing wind is not. My focus is totally on the wind and getting in and setting up accordingly. What most guys don't realize is that the "setting up accordingly" is setting up where the wind is good for the deer but not quite. You will see more good bucks this way. Once in a while they bust you but once in a while it works out. Deer hunting is all about the wind but it is nothing about scent control.
Its negative because if the thermals are rising you typically get a way with it. I killed two deer this year that were directly down wind of me. I smelled like Tide and a McDonalds cheeseburger.
Wear work clothes to the stand and I'm a welder. In back of truck is a metal coffee can and after putting on my kill suit I burn some grass or leaves and stand in the smoke for a few minutes. Then walk 1/2 mile to the stand on public land. See lots of deer and pass many shots. Stand placement and wind plus being very still are key. But if wasting time and money are your thing then go for it as it does not hurt. You do your best and I bet my dog can find you.
I have had some luck with cover scents. Don't get me wrong I know the name is misleading. My smell isn't covered up. It's just that something stronger hits them first that might be distracting. The two that have worked for me is wearing my work clothes hunting so that I carried the smell of cows and hiding in a cedar tree. Sent from my BBB100-3 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
I saw a hunting show recently and one of the host said that one thing that people do as the season wears on is become careless with their scent control. You have your nay sayers that say it doesn't matter about scent control, just hunt the wind. But, when the wind changes direction then what? No you can't be 100% Scent free, but the goal is to minimize the scent you do put off.
I get wanting to be as scent free as possible. I’m not anywhere close to most of you guys. I do store my camo in a tote with a ozone machine and spray down before a hunt but that’s it. One of the biggest things I don’t get is washing your clothes in scent free soap. Unless you have a washer dedicated to hunting clothes then it’s pointless in my eyes. You wash regular clothes with different soap then expect the stuff made for hunting to just get rid of that scent from the precious soap? It’s in the machine. So I just see it as a waste of time and money. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
First I run the washer empty 2-3 times. Then I run the scent free soap through 2-3 times. Then I wash the clothes in the scent free, then dry them either hanging outside and/or with "fresh earth" dryer sheets. They get stored and transported with "fresh earth" dryer sheets. Is it fool-proof? No. But it's better than Tide and Snuggles.
I do almost the same but with a quart of vinegar and baking soda then with ddw soap. I wipe my dryer out first with rubbing alcohol then with ddw field wipes then I throw the ddw dryer sheets in. We never use fabric sheets so the dryer isn’t bad. I don’t wash my camo much anyway so this isn’t that bad to do a couple times a season.
I purify my clothes in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.. I bought a ozone unit that hooks up to the washing machine. We rarely use detergent unless they are my farm clothes. Shower before most every hunt with code blue decode, keep my baselayers in a storage tote with a ozone generator, bury my outer layers under a cedar tree skirt in a cotton linen bag. I feel like I hunt pretty clean but ultimately it comes down to playing the wind.
I keep all my hunting clothes along with underwear and socks in plastic garbage cans along with fresh fallen tree leaf's from year to year. I also keep old pairs of jeans and shirts in a separate container which I wear to the farm. Once there I change into my hunting clothes. Before going I take a shower with a unscented bar soap and unscented deodorant. I never wear my hunting clothes inside my truck, never wear my hunting boots anywhere but on the farm. Before heading to and after getting into the stand I spray down with homemade scent killer. I spray the soles and sides of my boots and I've had deer walk in my same path before and never smell or bust me. Before heading to the stand I put my car keys,wrist watch, and any rings I may be wearing in a ziplock bag. If I do wear a hat its one that has been in with my hunting clothes, never one that's been sweated in all summer! I never wear a leather belt that's been worn and full of scent. When I check my trail cams I spray them with scent killer and wear those really cheap $5 rain suit pants. Usually go through 4-5 pair a year. I can't recall ever being busted but I'm sure I have and just didn't realize it and have gotten one B&C and four P&Y bucks. Sure I hunt the wind but we all know how thermals can change the that in a heartbeat. I know I'm very anal about being scent free but it works for me.
NICE! I've never had a deer smell my ground scent (from boots) since I started wearing rubber boots. They don't get worn anywhere except from after I get out of the truck into the woods. I get out o the truck in my street shoes, go to the back of the truck to grab my stuff and the boots go from the back of the truck and onto my feet. I shouldn't say "never". I do smear a bit of evercalm on them from time to time and they have smelled that but haven't had one spook, or haven't within sight of me anyway.
The "Down south Hunting podcast" did an extremely popular three part series between two very well respected bow hunters on scent control. To be honest I was always a guy who landed somewhere in the middle. I didn't go all out but I showered in dead down wind, used the spray before and after the walk in, and kept all my clothes in an air tight container. After listening to both sides and doing more of my own research I decided the only way to beat their nose was to play the wind. I admire guys like you Sota who are so die hard they are willing to get every little edge they can get, but for me I put more of my energy in to scouting and being at the right spot. If they happen to get down wind of me and bust, that sucks, but hey, missing is half the fun. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
