how many of you guys out there have purchased scent control suits. how often do you clean them if ever. do you guys play the wind on every hunt . do you watch the thermals. when deciding which stand to hunt on those cold crisp mornings. how many of you out there will still get in the stand in a downpour .
I have never bought or used a scentblocker type suit, just not something I've wanted to spend money on. Whether they work or not is a big controversy in itself, from what I read... but I think paying attention to the wind is obviously very important, even if someone was wearing one of those suits. I also really like to be in a stand right when the rain stops. The most deer I've ever seen in my life while hunting was last November during/in between freezing rain downpours. It was a crazy day in the woods to say the least.
This year will be the first year I have baught a Scent Suit and got myself a few of them..Ill wash them the same as any other clothing but will not depend on them 100% I will still play the wind as if I didnt have them
aj , i have done alot of field research on the same situation you just gave. while the rain is falling deer are uneasy in there beds and cant smell or hear approaching predators as well as they would normally. so it makes them antsy and they will stay up on there feet on the move more alert like. also during a rain theres not much chance of wind drift so your scent is knocked right to the ground.
I've experimented with Army issue chemical protective suits, which contain vastly more carbon(60 gm/2.12 oz PSF) than anything on the store shelves, I still got busted when the deer were downwind, and this was despite rigorous attention to scent dispersal from every possible source. The carbon in these suits, unlike the store bought rip offs, isn't bonded to the fabric, so if anything it's vastly greater surface area should have performed much better. It was enough to convince me that carbon based suits are a waste of time and money. The silver based ones are probably no better except for reducing your smell at deer camp.
For many years I was a fanatic. Once I started hunting with some guys who were WAY better hunters than myself, and who weren't sponsored by any scent-elimination type companies - I listened. A whitetails nose can't be beaten. The sooner you realize this, the more you will consider what you do, how you hunt, and how much you hunt certain areas! Anyone who claims to not be getting winded is either lying, to dumb to know they are getting winded, or hunts in areas with no deer. If there was something that would eliminate scent to the point where it made a difference, I'd be using it. I'm going to be trying the Ozonic's unit later this month. A friend swears by it, so I told him I'd give it the pepsi challenge if he will allow me to use it. He claims this thing is the real deal. If he is right, it would change the way I hunt over-night! That would be something!
Never believed they do what they claim so I have not purchased one. But I have never hunted with one either.
I use scent control suits.. and practice the whole gambit of scent control.. to an almost anal point. I also play the wind on every hunt.. the thermals when I can.. I always hear so much negative about scent-control clothing.. and that's fine.. got no beef with what another chooses to believe. I'm also not an idiot.. and understand that a scent-control suit or gum or what-have-you is to help... not to be depended on. But I see hunting like an old polish joke my dad used to say.. it's actually more of a metaphor. It goes.. " How does a polish guy swim across a lake". The answer.. "He swims half-way.. then swims back". There is a lesson in their. I just choose not to swim half way and then swim back. Might as well keep going.
I get it, and I agree :D. As far as scent, wind and thermals go, I control as much as I can and don't worry about what I can't. And I don't mind hunting rain, one bit. But if it's down pouring for hours, I'm headed home. I've rarely seen deer move in nasty rain/storms. But if it's looking like it might clear out, I hold tight as can be. Before and after a good rain is my favorite time to be in stand.
Where I hunt, deer can and do randomly move and come from every direction. The wind is never perfect, nor will it be in the mountains. The wind constantly changes banks and swirls through a day. Light a campfire out here and watch it change every hour. The best place to get a semi-consistent wind is on top of a ridgeline in a saddle but still the thermals move it around after daylight and before dark, often the optimal times to intecept an old buck to and from his bed. With all this being said, I do EVERYTHING I can in reason and in my power to minimize as much scent as I can. Why? Wild animals pick up predator scent all the time, their behavioral reponse in association with the varying stimuli dictates their reaction. If they couldnt differ amongst varying levels of scent molecules they would jump out of their skin every time they got a whiff of a wolf, bear, mountain lion, coyote or even a human, No matter how far away that predator was. Its all based on past associations, scent molecules and molecular density. But jumping out of their skin is not the case on each and every whiff of human odor or predatory odor a deer processes. Instead their reactions are dictated by past associations with danger based on the amount of scent that they take in. EX, Man walking 1 mile away. NO worries. The big buck slinks off or look around versus Man above them in tree sweating like a hog and the scent is strong enough to trigger immediate danger response. BAM they blow out of the immidiate area. Can we as humans come across as being much fruther away. Absolutely. Yet can we totally eliminate all human odor? NO. So for me in fickle wind country I will take my chances in swirling and changing winds trying to minimize as much human odor as possible. I may not dupe all the old bucks but I know I can get away with a lot more than I can by just playing the wind. Because if U just play the wind where I hunt deer, U dont hunt because its NEVER perfect. Especially on a long sit. When I hunted Alberta years ago and North Dakota last year, I absolutey felt like I was in whitetail heaven because in both of those places, I had VERY consistent winds, I saw a ton of deer and still never even got close to busted and that was hunting off the ground for a week in ND!. KIlled a buck in AB and Missed a stud in ND. My fault, I definately had the wind in my face. Places like that I dont think I would worry about scent control as much because the wind is so reliable, or at least is was for me on those hunts. I will be hunting in Iowa this year, I will get to see how private land and big bucks react out there. Should be interesting. I do agree though, a cosistent wind is BY far a bowhunters best friend, always will be. I'd take that over any variable.
I use Scent Blocker. I have coat, pants, jacket, shirt, and base layer. I also spray down every time. I wash the clothes and the rest of my hunting clothes bout once a week. I don't play thermals as much as I do the wind. But I do hunt the wind every time. Gotta say though, last year when I killed my 12pt. the wind had shifted and blowing right towards the deer. In my opinion, if I hadn't had on Scent Blocker the does woulda busted me before he came out. They were 15-20 yrds infront of me for bout 10 minutes before he came out.
I use the Scentlok full season suit, but I'm not sure how great it works. I still just play the wind.
Late last season, I bought Scentlock's Full Season jacket and bibs. I got a great deal on them after Christmas. 50% OFF! I also wear a Scentlock full headnet, gloves, base layers, Redhead scent-free boots and use Scent-A-Way spray and soap. But, I still play the wind. Nothing will stop all human odor. Let's just face it, we STINK. I did have three coyotes dead down wind from me in late January. They either didn't smell me because my scent passed over their heads or they just didn't care. If you do decide to buy some kind of scent control clothing, I recommened waiting until after this season is over. Maybe you can find a good deal too.
This is always a huge debate. I purchased Scent Lok for the first time last season. Prior to that I used Fitzgeralds Deer Dander for a cover scent. Last year though I was my cautious. I showered religiously in Scent Away shower products and always changed at my hunting spot. Stored my clothes in a scent free tote. You know the whole deal. I did not notice any difference except I didnt reak like deer. Its a lot more work to attempt to stay scent free than using cover scents but really as long as you hunt your wind the best you can then you will be ok. Deer will smell you bottom line. Anyone that says they havent spooked deer by them smelling you is full of it. It is impossible to fool a deers nose. They all react different though. Some will still come through and be really cautious others will blow out of the area.
If there is cattle in the area you can create the greatest natural scent clothing, sice I have cattle and hunt just down the road from our farm deer are used to cattle scent. in the past couple years I have found out that hanging up your suit in a barn with cattle for a couple weeks works great especially if you store them in containers with corn stalk leaves and dry cow manure, this makes deer not notice akward smells from it's normal enviroment.
I definitely agree w/Indiana boy....Take every precaution to control your scent ie. scentlock clothing, scentblocker spray, keep your clothes in a plastic bag. But remember you still need to hunt the wind. Always, always hunt the wind. Don't forget to spray down your hat, gloves and bottom of your boots. Those seem to be easy to forget places, but they are super important in regards to scent control.
I began using a carbon suit 5 years ago. Do I believe it HELPS me? Yes Do I believe it is the cure to all? Nope. I still wash and spray down every thing I wear and bring in with me to the field. My towel and wash clothe I use for my scentless shower are scent free, and this year I am going to strictly be playing the wind on all my sits. I use the suits because I think they help me. I don't take any kind of false confidence with having them on, and hunt with them the same way I would without them.
I think they are another tool that helps and it may make that 5-10 yd difference, I do not own one nor do I feel they are cost effective. I play the wind as my #1advisary, sure I get busted occasionally but so does everyone else.
I got an opertunity to hunt hilly country this year for the first time in my life. I will totally agree with what you said. Swirling wind and thermals will drive you crazy! I have come to the conclusion that you MUST go to your area out of season and watch the wind at the time of day you want to hunt it. You almost have to check as many wind directions as you can and watch the effect where you want to set a stand. I got smart in a hurry and spent a lot of time checking wind and trying to figure out thermals. There were days where I climbed a tree with the worst wind poss. because I knew by prime time the thermals would beat the wind and switch around. I even noticed that moving a short distance can make a huge difference. There were places that were impossible to hunt because the wind always swirled there ( It's funny how a big buck decided to use one of these areas as a bedding area ). There were places that the wind was coming from one direction and as soon as you drop down into a drainage the wind was coming from the other direction. Tough hunting for sure! The only advantage you have is once you have it figured out it should be a constant. About the only place I found consistant wind was at the high points in the area.
pretty crazy to put dry cow manure....ill rub some apples all over myself..or the natural ground..plus all my scent free stuff..shower, spray, lotion and deodarant..but thats crazy..haha i would wanna smell like that all day... i think it would be as bad as bugs....smelly ****..
