Scent Control Advice
General Topic
Good Afternoon Ya'll,
So I need advice. I'm going on my first bow hunt ever in 20 days. I've got my location scouted, I have pictures and videos of bucks and does in the area. I have the majority of my equipment already staged and ready to go. One thing I'm not to sure about is scent control. How important is it for whitetail and how do I accomplish it? I see all these products in the stores with laundry detergents, carbon bags, shampoos, body washes, soaps and even sent free anti-presperint. What works and how does it work? Do I even need it? I'm used to being able to hunt from 150-200 yards away with a rifle so it never really crossed my mind. Any advice helps. Thank you
Scent control is very important.
Always hunt down or cross wind from the deer.
If from a treestand or ground blind, come in from the back side, downwind, away from there your believe the deer will show up.
Do not walk on nearby deer trails and if you have to , jump over them.
Do not walk out in front of your blind.
Stay as "fresh" as you can with body and scent free washes.
If your best blind has the wrong wind, find another place to hunt.
You can never fool a wild animals nose.
Just hunt where the wind will not carry your scent to were you expect deer to be. All the scent free products are a waste of your money.
What Paul said. The best deer hunter I ever met told me one time "The best scents to use is between your ears" Don't over hunt a stand and the best time to hunt that stand is the first time and not more than once a week is what the deer taught me.
Pick up an ozonics unit. It will be the best $400 you ever spent.
lol low budget hunter here $400 is a bit out of my price range for that.
Paul what sort of washes do you recommend? which ones work which ones are a waste?
All you need to do is keep the wind in your face period!!!!! It's that simple and it's free.
your rifle success will go up exponentially if you heed the wind at all times... Guarantee you are spooking deer especially mature ones, that you never see if you ignore the wind... I respectfully disagree "that with rifle its not important since you are hundreds of yards away".
What about nose jammer a guy I work with swears by it to me it smells like candy or perfume.
My scent regiment is as follows....
1. All my hunting outerwear is worn ONLY for hunting and I don't even put my outerwear on until I get out of my truck, boots too. I put it back in the tub when I leave. I store it all in a rubbermaid tub in which I keep cachet bags of crushed hardwood leaves so that when you open it it smells like a fall woods.
2. I shower with unscented soap and make it a point to always wash my head/hair if I go back to camp and cook something as cooking odors tend to really stick to hair.
3. I start taking chlorophyll tablets about 2 weeks before the season starts and then throughout the season. I don't know for sure how much it helps but at $20.00 for an enntire season's worth it a heck of a lot cheaper than Scent-Lok clothing that doesn't work that costs hundered of $$$.
4. I ground hunt and I always carry a puff bottle and have dental floss tied to both ends of my bow so I can constantly check the wind.
5. I plan ALL my hunts on what the weather/wind conditions are and because I stalk/stillhunt I can be extremely fluid and frequently move or change specific locations when the wind does. When I scout my areas I use colored smoke bombs to study how various wind conditions affect where I hunt. I've actually learned quite a bit by doing this and I thought I had my area pegged...not so!
Good advice right the Bear Track....
It's isually overthinking that can burn you too!
Scent control is paramount!!!!scent free detergents, soap , deodorant , even toothpaste is a smart idea, especially being its not very costly. If you can't afford cover scents and any of the scent killing clothing( verdict is still out that it even works although I do wear the under armour scent control pretty much exclusively) keep your clothes in a scent free container and if you wish take a couple small branches or leaves from that area and stuff them in your container. If you go out wearing old spice and just bathed in Irish spring your hunts over before it even began. Unless of course the winds completely in your favor and stays that way. Good luck and welcome to world of bowhunting
When you wash your hunting clothes do you uses the secnt killer detergents and then put it right back in the box?
Yes in any type of scent free container used only for your gear. Not sure where or how you hunt but if you have a camp that's away from fires, vehicles, etc hang your clothes outside the night before
My biased opinion from over 45 years of timber hunting deer is take reasonable, non expensive measures to control scent. Shower daily, wear clean clothes washed without scented soap etc. Then do not hunt downwind of deer. Hunt crosswind. That is the area of chief vulnerability.
Any "extreme" measures are a bit of a waste of money and effort. How do the guys keep scent from the washer from getting onto clothes. What does the inside of the plastic bag smell like to a deer? The plastic container? What about your breath. Guarantee that scent free products are not scent free to a deer.
Long to short is they are kidding themselves. Scent blocker was proven to be ineffective. Deer attractants could just as easily be deer repellent. How do you know what is in the bottle? What about body sweat, bow lubes and bow string wax?
Take reasonable measures and hunt across the wind.
As an aside, I have seldom seen mature, hard hunted bucks walk into the perfect set up. They know a perfect set up when they see one. My greatest hunts have been when the wind is as bad as it can be and still have a possibility of working. Suggest using floaters to help you "see" the wind.
"Best $400 you ever spent" LOLOLOLOL. Might as well light $400 on fire and watch it burn
Overall I agree with Mr. Hale, especially about hunting the crosswind.
You will NEVER eliminate human scent to a deer. At best all we can do is try to minimize it via some of the measures I and others have mentioned. What this MAY do is if a deer winds you is maybe make it think that you are 200 yards away instead of 40. Where I hunt in midwest farm woodlots deer are smelling humans all the time and if they ran everytime they winded us they'd run themselves to death in short order. Yes, it puts them on alert but they will still be in the area.
But priority #1 is HUNT THE WIND. That's the main thing. All the other stuff may do is buy you some time or a second chance.
I'm with R. Hale as well. I used to be scent control crazy
Finally gave it up. Was using it as a crutch to hunt the wrong winds
I wash my clothes in a non-scented detergent. I think it was Gain that I found un-scented
I don't even wear rubber boots anymore
That's it. And now I'm insanely crazy about entrances to stands, and the wind while on stand
Bake
I really appreciate the advice, before i went out and wasted money. Cross wind or down wind it is then, hopefully where my stand is now will be good. I never thought about my enterance and exiting into the stand and will deffinatley need to pick a new route into mine now
Took less than 30 seconds for a dog to find the hidden man using scent control clothing in the Field & Stream tests. Dogs cannot smell as well as deer
Just remember this about keeping the wind in your face; and yes that is what you should strive for all of the time but wind direction changes and the deer don't always follow the script, so having the wind 100% in your favor all of the time might not be possible. That's where your personal hygiene and how you take care of your hunting clothes comes into play...Also remember that there are days when deer can smell you better than others due to atmospheric variables like thermals and humidity/dew point levels...good luck and pay attention so that your learning curve levels out sooner!!
The dogs trained to do that the deer are not and deer dont track like a dog..silly test IMO.......you cant beat a deer/Elks nose but you can fool it by making him think your alot farther away then you really are, you cant alimanate all human scent but you can alimanate alot of it...I play with elk year round and have proven it to myself and others.. with no scent control closest I could stock them with the wind at my back was 300 yrds and it was heads up and looking my way,, two weeks later same heard full blown scent control clothes, sprays, shampoo, deodorant all of it! wind at my back.. I was about 80 yrds when the first cow picked up her head and looked my way, a minute later she was back to grazing because she couldnt see me and she didnt get a full nose of human Im a firm beleiver in scent control .....deer elk whatever get a nose full of human molecules they bolt because your close! with scent control you elimante alot of them molecules and the animal thinks your farther away and not such a threat...you cant always hunt with the wind in your face,so why not do everything you can to reduce human scent so when it does shift you still have half a chance of seeing animals and not just the back side of one`s leaving .dont get me wrong I still play the wind,but I always use scent control and I start using the deodorant,shampoos and soaps about two weeks before the season starts
MikeC.. 18 days until AK
Fully agree. If we sat out every time the wind was not perfect, we would not be hunting much. I have had hunters ask "What should I do if the wind changes?" I tell them "look the other way." :)
There are days when the deer don't even care about the wind. My biggest buck was a 164" and stood 40 yards downwind with 2 smaller bucks and a young doe when I shot him on public land. I will add I was not wearing camo, had hunted all day, I was sweaty and dirty as was by brother-in-law who was standing next tom me, and we were on the ground.
Spray your boots with nose jammer before you go in, it smells just like vanilla. Ive had deer walk right over where I walk in and stop right at my scent and follow it in to my tree.
I agree about the wind but dang near every hunt the wind switches all over the compass on me!!!!
I agree about the wind but dang near every hunt the wind switches all over the compass on me!!!!
longbeard: "...Also remember that there are days when deer can smell you better than others due to atmospheric variables like thermals and humidity/dew point levels..."
EXACTLY!!! I did a lot of hunting and training with bird dogs, and the above has a BIG impact on how well a dog will do finding game on a given day.
Based on the above quote regarding thermals and humidity levels, I also have a theory about treestand hunting and how one's scent can "pool" on the ground even though it may have been hours since you walked in.
I've pretty much been a ground hunter (stillhunt mostly) for the past decade after 35 years of hunting from trees, and when I first started doing that I was concerned that I'd be blowing deer out with my scent on a regular basis but it hasn't happened...quite the opposite in fact. The only thing I can attribute this to is my constant awareness of the wind and other local conditions, plus an intimate knowledge of my hunting area.
I'm a scent control freak too but I think 80% of your scent is from your head if sweating and you're mouth if you're breathing. I brush my teeth w/ baking soda and drink Baking soda water in the am before I get in a tree. (among a bunch of other stuff).
Mr. C- "deer don't track like a dog" The whole point is, the deer smell better than a dog. If a dog can smell you in your $400 suit, then a deer smelled you before that. And to counter your statement. I had 2 different young bucks one evening feed by my stand, smell where I urinated, and follow the smell to my tree. Then then both looked up and saw me, snorted, and trotted out into the beans to join the rest of the bachelor herd.
It has been said deer can smell better than a dog, and dog can smell a cancer cell inside your body boy a deer must really be grossed out when they smell us. Just food for thought before wasting your money on the magic scent products.
Try hunting areas that will funnel scent away from you. For example narrow gulleys, or a streambed. I hunt close to creeks and small trout streams, 10-15 yards from the edge. The wind comes up the stream drags the scent away no matter what direction it is going everyplace else. The difference is how I approach that area on a given wind direction. Also agree with above posts about bagging clothing with vegetation from the area and staying clean, really big woods and a hot spot. Not knowing what direction they come from you set up and stay quiet. Take notes there may be a prevalent direction they come from morning, evening, etc. but not always. You will know when they bust you and the snorting starts, but if they come from all four directions only 1 chance in 4 that will happen.
thornton! you musta pissed on your boots hahahaha... MikeC .I used to piss over my boots,Now I piss "all" over my boots LOL
common sense rules Nothing is 100%
Ive heard good things about standing in wood smoke prior to the hunt.
Im going to try it this year
But wind direction is key. Had deer so close I couldnt draw my bow.
Mr. C- I peed while I was in the tree
Scent control = stay downwind.
Done.
Mr.Thornton I get it now! I thought you got down pee`d then walked back to the stand hahaha.. dont you use a bottle or something to relieve your self, so the area doesn`t get P stinky especially in a tree stand or blind.I just built a box blind on the property I hunt elk, Dads 77 and can`t run the fields and forest anymore,Now he has a nice place to sit and wait,hes gonna pee in a gallon jug
MikeC.. you can`t control the wind, but you can control your smell
