The scent reduction clothing is another farce although the ScentLok and other similar stuff is very well made. And yes, I own lots of it and know it was a farce but it looks good and lasts.
Happy, I too have a couple of those Ozone units. Maybe you are doing it wrong. I got rid of some very strong odors using them. I do admit though not every odor can be killed with them. I bought a pair of boots from Scent Lok once, supposedly scent elimination type. The glues and plastics they used to make them was very strong when I opended the box. It took too long to reduce the odor and when it did the ozone did a number on the rubber.
I don't think total elimination is possible but I can reduce it a lot so it helps. It is not always possible to play the wind.
Bottom line, you can't fool a mature Deers nose. PEROID. If you hunt rubber heads and small bucks they can be fooled. About 60% of the time. Big bucks, about 2 % .
I walked in to one of my stands (clean as I possibly can), through the freshest manure (including liquid manure) during several hunts during my extensive "rut" vacation last year. Several times I had deer cut my track waking in (field of cow shit), and they would alert to my line of travel. I believe our feet are the biggest giveaway. My feet and hands sweat....plain and simple. That is likely where most of my spore is coming from. Of course hunting the rut will allow us to take advantage of the deer's desire to breed, and ocasionally we get lucky. It still pays dividends to be conscious of being clean. In my opinion, soap of any kind is harmless, unless a deer attributes that particular perfume to danger. Best put, I'd rather smell foreign to a deer and have him on edge, than smell human, and have him on high alert! That's not to say that some deer won't grow accustomed to our presence as long as they feel you are not a threat. I know some mommas real well that parade their fawns right past me, because I'm not even the least bit interested in harming them. I do believe a doe has a far superior nose to a buck....call it motherly instinct, but they seem to have a better nose in my opinion?
What a surprise, happy talking/thinking/remembering/reminiscing about Ron again. rotflmao
Other than avoiding really strong odors such as gasoline/etc just prior to the hunt, I use no scent control and just try to play the wind.
I am also very aware to not touch any brush or branch while walking through the woods. Many years ago I watched a doe go to a branch that I remembered grabbing to move away from face, and after carefully smelling it, she backed away in the same direction she came in from.
I agree with everyone in regard to staying clean and hunting the wind. Everything else is "probably" superfluous although is seems over 90% of us hunters buy into it in some form or another. I am guilty as charged. It kills me how successful my friend's dad is basically doing nothing other than showering before each hunt. Maybe that proves the rest is unnecessary?
I never walk into or out of the woods without gloves on, and even then try not to touch any vegetation.
My boots ONLY get worn in the woods for hunting. Not in the truck on the way there. Not scouting, not for doing yard work or even work on the property.
I never hunt a bad wind for any given stand. I may hunt an almost bad wind, which I believe is better than a perfect wind for me.
Last year I started using a bee smoker/fogger and hardwood chips to "smoke up" before every hunt. It really helps. I was against it at first, but every where I hunt in the fall, the smell of woodsmoke is heavy in the air. I also descent then smoke up all of my equipment.
Not a scientist and don't play one on TV, but I believe that everyone is different when it comes to human scent.
I believe some folks emit more scent than others based on body chemistry alone.
Most of us know someone who hardly ever gets winded and then there is the guy that he hardly finishes slamming the car door to hunt and he's scented.
I have a buddy...his nickname is "Stinky Jim". He's a good bow hunter but he stinks as far as the deer are concerned it seems. In fact it happens so often he's developed the nickname based solely on deer winding him.
It's not that he a bad hunter, very dedicated to the sport, but somehow he stinks more than anyone else I've encountered according to the deer at least.
So body chemistry in my mind is a major factor.
My scent eliminator...Marlboro. And yes I know..I gotta quit!
Funny, when I began hunting we used leather boots and tried to think what the wind was doing. It worked most of the time but if a deer crossed your path the got the foot scent and reacted.
If a product gives you confidence you will stay there longer even if it is false confidence. Either way hunting is fun and playing with some things is a part of it. Don't get stressed but also think "Can I afford it?"
I USE SCENT KILLER BODY WASH OR A NON SCENTED BAR SOAP IN THE SHOWER.
THE PROOF IS IN MY BASEMENT AS TO HOW WELL IT WORKS. IT IS PRETTY MUCH THE CHEAPEST WAY TO BE SCENT FREE.
Sigh, like I said Preacher I'm not Ron. The sooner you admit that Ron is really not here bantering back and forth with you and it's just something you want so bad you're inventing in your own head, the sooner you can get help and cure yourself from this unhealthy man-crush obsession you have.
As far as those ozone thingies go, I personally have no experience with them. Pressed for my opinion, I'd venture a guess that they aren't all they're cracked up to be. But again, I have no clue never having tried them. Like I posted earlier in this thread, I tend to worry more about the wind than what I smell like. Always have and always will.
I do use scent eliminating spray. At the END of my hunt, so that things are dry before the next use.
Sometimes, when I know I will be seen, I to my best to look like a civilian. A dog walker, someone going for a walk in the woods, a hiker, a bumbling fool (who is as far from a potential predictor as possible). Many deer I see while doing this just stand and watch me. I believe that means that likely the deer I don't see, also just watch and essentially blow me off as no danger.
Now none of this is based on science, unless 36 years of field study counts? This is just what I feel to be the case. My conclusion is, we are not as low impact as we would like to be. We stink to high heaven. Manufacturers sell camouflage to please our eyes not the deer's. Being as "clean" as possible helps, along with more ass-time in the woods. As humans, one of our biggest flaws might be this: we like immediate satisfaction, and often set too lofty of goals.
Like others, I use red fox urine on my boots and ONLY hunt a stand if the wind is right. Some stands I don't visit until the first rut sit. I have stands that are doe only or bucks I wouldn't kill. It is the stands where I know bigger buck travel that I want pristine, so favorable wind or not, they are not hunted until rut.
It's all a game. Deer have 300 million olfactory scent receptors located in their rostrum. Nothing gets by a deer. It's up to the deer whether they lay caution to the wind. Big bucks get big for a reason. There is a reason also why people don't see big bucks...the bucks winded them 300 yards away and effectively been taught a lesson. If you hunt in an area where other hunters go, those big bucks have PhD in survival due to rookie hunters.
