Last year was my first season hunting. I kept my clothes in a rubbermade container with earth scent wafers in it. I would wash with scent eliminating body wash before going out then i would put on under armor cold gear and dress from the rubbermade container. My boots i kept outside. I am wondering if you all would share your prehunt scent routines so i can get a feel for if i am doing anything wrong or could improve anything.
1. I take a shower before I head out. 2. I always wash my clothes in scent eliminator before I go on a hunt 3. I keep my cloths in a rubber made container inside a scent free bag with fresh earth scent fabric sheets. 4. I spray my cloths down a few days before my hunt 5. I spray down with Tinks Vanish before heading out.
I shower in scent free soap and use arm and hammer unscented deodorant. I brush my teeth with baking soda toothpaste. I usually keep apple juice juice boxes in my pack to sip on the hopefully mask my breath a little, don't know if it works though! I wash my hunting clothes in scent free detergent only after I run a load of my regular every day clothes in the washer also with scent free detergent. I don't know if it does any good, but I'm trying to avoid getting any "smell good" detergent on my clothes. Once the load is done, I immediately pull them out and take them outside to hang up to dry under a covered porch. I sprinkle them with baking soda before hanging. They may hang out there for 2-3 days or just until dry. If I don't have time to let them air dry, I'll throw them in the dryer with earth sheets, but that's as a last resort. When it's time to hunt I throw my clothes in a scent free tote, layering them with baking soda again. I always wash towels with my hunting clothes, and when it's time to drive out to the property, I'll lay down those scent washed towels on my driver's seat. Once to the property I get all my gear out, get the tote out, get dressed, and head out. I'll usually spray some unscented scent killer on my boots and then walk through the horse poo on the way back, lol. The deer always mingle through the horse pasture, so I figure they're used to that scent. I also wear Under Armour Capture and some Scent Blocker, again, don't know if either of these really work much.
Wash clothes in scent free stuff or baking soda. Hang them up outside to air dry. Put them in a plastic container. Dress in the field if possible. That is it. No cover scent, no attractants, nothing.
Unlike you guys I don't air dry my clothes after washing. I simply toss them in the dryer with a scent-free dryer sheet and then toss them in my scent-free bag. Seems to work okay for me. The biggest thing I started doing a few years back was showering all the time with a scent-free soap during hunting season - not just on weekends or days I was going hunting. The perfumes from normal soaps and shampoos can impregnate your skin and stay there for weeks. So from mid-September until I'm done hunting I only use scent-free soaps/shampoos and deodorants as well. Other than that - keep my gear as scent free as possible, spray down before heading to the stand and watch the wind.
Good points Justin. This year was the first year I showered all season with scent free Dove soap. I used it every day, not just on hunting days. It didn't dry my skin out like that old green soap I used to use and it worked great.
I also shower with scent free soap all deer season long. I started doing it about a month into last season. I too dry my cloths with dryer sheets. I stated that I started spraying my cloths down with scent killer a couple days before my hunt. I read that if you spray down a couple coats on your cloths it pretty much creates another shield of scent protection. I don't know if it work but, it makes me feel better when I go out to the stand.
I also shower with a scent free soap. I spray all my cloths with scent killer then put them all in a plastic bag then when i get in the field i spray myself with scent killer again.
I also use scent free Dove soap it doesnt dry me out and if you wanna get tricky with it mix up some baking soda in it , for deodorant i use unscented Arrid XX by far the best i have ever used for $2.00 a stick and over any so called hunting deodorant . I as well use the Dove unscented body wash soap even when not hunting during the season because as mentioned the perfumes in regular scented soaps will stay with you for days mabe weeks . I like to wash my clothes in Tinks Vanish laundry detergent , Tinks has been a long time Pro Staff of mine and i tested the Vanish line for sometime before it hit the market and it has proved its self to me to be one of the best scent prevention products on the market if not the best . I like to air dry my clothes and i leeve my clothes outside spraying them with scent eliminator till i use them , my clothes never see the inside of my house or my truck seats only when needed to be washed including my underware which i do was a few sets , long johns and socks everything stays hanging outside under my back porch roof , when traveling my clothes go in acouple carbon bags and i get dressed when at my hunting location . I spray myself and each layer with Vanish and the new Vanish aerosol which you all will get to use this year as well , if i have a long walk and its not to cold i leave some layers off while walking to keep from sweating and i then put them on when i get to my stand after i spray back down again especially my hair / head that usually gets sweaty and then i also like to just rub in some Vanish Odorless Hand Sanitizer Foam. You will never completly eliminate your odor but using your head and the right products you will cut that percentage to a big fraction , playing the wind is the major key of all scent eliminators none will never ever completely make you scent free . http://www.tinks.com/shopping/Departments/Odor-Eliminators.aspx
I'm the same as most of you but I also like to cut a few branches off some of the tree's where I'm hunting and stick them in the scent bag with my cloths. Makes them smell like fresh pine and woods.
I am a single guy. I only use scent free detergent during hunting season. That way, I can use any clothes I wash, when storing it in a scent free bag. I bought a huge body bag type thing from sportsmansguide.com. It was made in case of a gas/chemical attack, so it is carbon infused. It was $10 and I had my grandmother cut it up and sew it into a bag. I have enough material for two bags. Make sure you wash your towels with scent-free detergent. What's the sense of taking a scent-free shower and then drying off with a nice smelling towel. After my shower I wear scent-free clothes to my hunting spot, remove them, and put on hunting gear stored in a scent-lok bag. Spray down, then eat an apple on the way to my stand. Wear rubber boots. Step in a cow pie if you've got a chance, or walk through some water. Be careful of mud...seems to be noisy dropping from treestand.
Same here and I also dont start putting my Hunting cloths on while sitting on the tailgate of a truck. I also shave my pits yeah you heard it I do this every season. I do not shave the stache off though as its been this way since I had my mullet back in the late 80' s....lol
We as a family wash all of our clothes year around in scent free, dye free soaps. Arm and Hammer brand. My skin has never agree'd with perfumes or dyes since I was a toddler. So, this definately helps imo like Justin was talking about with perfumes and dyes. My wife is pretty cool about hunting season, she even lays off of wearing perfumes throughout the Sept-Dec seasons. We use baking soda based deoderants as well, year around. I wash all my hunting clothing in baking soda/scent free soaps from scent killer. I air dry all of my hunting clothing daily on my front porch or in my wood storage area when its raining hard. The wood area is concrete and firewood thats it. I always dress outside. I never wear my hunting clothing too a hunt in my truck. I always spray down with Vanishing Hunter. Multiple times if its hot out. When its below 10 degrees I cut back and usually on spray down once. I shower before all my hunts and I like spray down right out of the shower after towel drying. I like to spray my boots before hiking in. I use Vanishing Hunter as a mouth wash too. It works great for that. No crappy taste whatsoever. I store all my clothing to and from hunts in big air tight bins. Then Air them outside once I get home.
I try not to shower between 9/25 and Christmas. I also eat a lot of onions and let my chest hair grow in really thick. IMO, if you can raise your overall swaggometer to maximum levels, your man musk will be so potent that any deer downwind will get a whiff, realize that he has made a fatal error, and die in fear. You won't even need to draw your bow.
Be proud Peakrut. Shaving your pits show commitment and dedication. I shave my pits too. Nothing wrong with that. The reason for doing this is, hair provides a warm, moist environment, for the bacteria that causes body odor. Warning: you will have itchy pits for a few days...but it's worth it.
- shower with scent soap in the morning - use scent eliminating deordorant - shower again before i leave work - take clothes out of scent bag - spray colthes, bow, back pack etc. i wash my colthes about once a week (2-3 hunts inbetween) and dry in dryer with scent sheets
Question for you Shed - Do you think the Arm & Hammer brand scent/dye free detergent is good enough for your hunting clothes? Why do you use scent killer brand detergent for your hunting clothes? I only use scent killer in my washer during the season, but wonder why I couldn't just use something like Arm & Hammer. What about dryer sheets? Thanks
