OCD Scent Control ?
Massachusetts
Contributors to this thread:
So I am washing up my hunting clothes with some hunter detergent no scent product. I am hanging out upstairs and the munching on a chicken wing from the Chinese place in town. I figure it is time to go downstairs and move the load along and realize I have this Chinese food place smell all over my fingers,.. I say oh crap and head over to the sink,. wash up with the Dawn which cuts through the grease really well,.. done,..
I smell my fingers now and realize they are the orange Dawn smell the lady likes that,.. Oh crap tries to rub it off with the rag on the stove,.. wait that has all sorts of bad smells,..
I head downstairs and use the scent killer spay on my hands before I handle my fresh clothing in the dryer,.. which is due to land in a giant Bin with baking soda in the bottom
I look at myself in the mirror and say,.. are ya letting this go too far buddy?
I was curious how far you folks take scent control,.. when I hunted 25 years ago I did not even pay attention to scent, so this is a first for me.
Practicing good scent control is important, but paying attention to where the wind is gonna carry your scent is way more important.
You can use all the fancy shmancy scent control products you want, if you are upwind of the deer there's a fair to good chance you'll get busted.
Also depends on where you're hunting. If it's more of a suburban spot, where they smell humans all the time, I don't worry about scent control as much. Hunting a real rural spot with really big woods scent control is much more important. Bottom line it can't hurt to do as much as possible to stay scent free.
What Bruce said. I have a buddy of mine that smokes cigarettes in his stand!! When he was younger he would shoot very nice size deer. Has a few nice mounts on his walls. As he got older he got lazy and started smoking from his stand. Granted he still shoots deer, but only when the wind is right. you can use all the scent control in the world and it isn't going to matter that deer will pick you off at just the right time. Hang your clothes out side and they will be fine. Don't worry about chicken wing smell a month from the season opener your clothes have plenty of time to air out. Now if you got Pu-Pu platter on it that's another story!!
you couldn't pay me to put my hunting cloths in the washing machine or dryer they smell way more then my clothes ever did. until I get rich and buy a designated hunting clothes washer and dryer( I can see my wife's face already ) I will continue to wash my hunting clothes in the big plastic bin that I keep them in. I then hang them out side. once dry I put them back in the plastic bin and fill it with dry leaves. oh and x2 on the above answers.
I use the machine but I am having second thoughts now . Thanks still .
Seriously , I run a few loads of street clothing through with scent free detergent ,hot. Then the hunting stuff , then rinse again and air dry as well. But I used to have well water. Now I am not sure if I should use the town water. Either way ,Bag and tote with some nature in the bottom also. Theoretically, one can clean clothing in the wake of a boat but I haven't tried it. Rinsing with local water is not a bad idea. maybe boil first ?
I make a tea from leaves and dirt . Good cover spray . I think clean is as much for the walk in and out as for hunting itself.
Now for my big secrets. I never exhale when I hunt. I Walk on water as much as I can . I Float when I must and it helps that I am invisible... Be clean, hunt smart, enjoy luck ...
Comical account BB. I could see the whole thing.
Wash in machine line dry. Been working for me thirty years. Play the wind like above. You guys are worrying to much. Nothing holds scent like hair. Your hair, beard and breath are what gives you away more than anything., IMO.
Just like ever body else stated, WIND..... Another piece of item that gets over looked is your Release. You shoot with it all year it stays Sweated up, Spray the inside where the Cloth is. BB you like that Chinese place in Town? Don't you wonder why there are no Squirrels in the Center of Belchertown. lol
Ha,..
Well I do know why there are fewer chipmunks! My Lady is from down south and has actually tried squirrel,.. she says it is like chicken.
Nice Handle BJ
OK wind focus on the wind at all costs,.. got it guys Thank You!
I smoked for years and had no problem with deer coming in to the stand. I even had to put cigs out to take the shot. Last year I quit smoking and did not see a single deer in stand. Well work got me stressed and I started smoking again this year. Last Saturday I was bear hunting and had a cigarette. I hear snap and look at my 4 o'clock position to see a nice buck walking by at 50 yards and I was sitting on my 3 legged stool on the ground. I've had more luck smoking then not. Back in the day in my teens I was anal about scent control but still got snorted at. So now I don't waste money on that stuff and just play the wind. Now I just gotta stop wasting money on other things.
I don't get dressed into my scent free camo on the side of the road because im OCD, I do it for the looks on peoples faces as they drive by
I hunt the wind, but I go stupid scent control too. And I have had deer standing under my tree with my milkweed blowing into their faces and they don't seem to notice me. I know I am not going to be scent free, but I believe that the less intense your scent is, the more accepting of it the deer will be.
As for cover scents, rub some leaf litter from your hunting spot on your boots and pants on the way in. If you play with doe pee or estrous, don't get it on you. Smart deer freak out when it smells like a cougar has a doe up in a tree ...
Exception to the rule. Being The gambler :
You may find that some spots are almost impossible to hunt from a good or preferred entry direction or that the wind will never really be in your favor "predictably" but instead , only hopefully. But It is still a good spot and worth hunting.
I have such a spot that is impossible to enter from the down wind side and the deer are often there on that side ,even if I did . It is a half mile walk and in a nice corner with natural boundaries that require the deer movement to circle into this spot . I found that there is a sweet spot in the middle of this circle but I must get in there and that requires a quick cut across and down wind Eastward . Can't be avoided . But when in there the movement is now from the flanks and I am behind the predicted travel / trails. There is a field behind me but I expect them to enter the woods on either side to return to or from cover . So I must toss one of the "rules" out if I want to be there at all. It's Not the first time this has happened and still there is success to be had.
One further complication is a body of water that sometimes reverses the thermals back on itself like hunting the drag on a down wind mountain side (reverse wind direction over the top of the ridge ) .
What to do ? Just get in there and hunt it. Go a little higher and hope the warm morning lifts the scent upward and the swirling that is so common there works in my favor that day. No other choice except to not hunt it . And that is not going to produce.
Some spots are like that . Walk down wind and turn around , hope the deer are off to the sides when you do ... or don't hunt it . In this type of spot it is best to wait till the action gets going and deer are being pushed and chased a bit. It's a gamble .
with rain in the forecast I've kind of got a dilemma. my rain gear is supposed to be hung dry only. I washed it and hung it in the basement due to the rain and when I put it on, well, it smelled like basement. It's not Goretex but I do wear a boonie hat that is Goretex and I know that the more I wash it the less it'll be rainproof. problem is I only wear this hat in warm weather hunting, and rain gear should be washed after it gets soaked, right? any thoughts / recommendations?
Re -wash and dry by Putting a fan on them so they dry quickly, dry them in an upper room because the cellar has the mold that you are smelling . (Not likely a dangerous mold ) but maybe consider a dehumidifier for that issue. White vinegar is good for killing mold .
Like PI said rewash and hang upstairs in a bedroom or something (away from the kitchen cooking). When it dries get it outside for a day or two of fresh air and it should be fine.
As Pro said , not in the kitchen ... But some say a camp fire is not a problem . A little Smoke smell is not alarming as many smokers testify to that. Old timers have been known to flavor their hunting cloths with smoke , Farm / barn smells , natural stuff like Rabbit tobacco , pine stuff etc. I bet mold smell is not even a problem for the deer but I don't like it.
OK after I have read about all of your all crazy scent stuff,.. I decided I am not OCD,..
Do you folks own mirrors?
I am just kidding you all,.. great ideals
Oh sure you are ... just not as bad as the borderline personality disorder that grips the rest of us. Hardy har har.
Now what is it that we can make out of mirrors ? Lets see... On a serious fantasy note , mirrors in the tree like a ghost blind but attached to a stand ... Hmmm ?
I've had deer walk within feet of me while turkey hunting and I took no precautions for scent to control, before or during the hunt. Wind direction is far more important and then movement when trying to get close to deer. A deer can smell you no matter how good you think you did with scent control, IF the wind is right. I've done the special laundry soap, hang them in a tree for a month before the season, put dirt in the scent bag, change in the woods, spray down with scent control, etc and still have had scent me 50 yards away when they hit my downwind. I'm not saying you shouldn't try, but new hunters need to know the wind and your movement will give you away more times than not.
Big buck Bob nailed it in my opinion! No matter how much you do you will always have some contamination. As soon as you sit in your vehicle you are contaminated,walk to your stand you sweat, climb your stand you sweat,on and on. If the wind is in your favor it doesn't matter what you smell like. Play the wind to the best you can and you should do well.
tks guys, yeah I rewashed today and hanging w/ a fan outside in the garage w/ open doors. my upstairs sucks in the kitchen and we cook every night so outside is the way to go. we don't park in the garage so it is a 2 bay 'shed' / wood shop. ditto on the vinegar too, one wash vinegar, 2nd wash baking soda. it takes almost any smell out of the clothes. yes, wind is the key, but you also gotta take care of your scent as well. never gonna eliminate it 100%, I think that's a given, but minimize it and play the wind it the key.
I say it often enough , being clean is good for the hunting but even more-so for the walk in and out. Less stink is better and not leaving a trail is best . The wind will do the rest...
Scent control is a joke.
Deer have a superior sense of smell. Focus your efforts on getting to your stand from a favorable direction, hunt a favorable direction, and things will work out.
Does anyone think they could hide from a k9 with scent control or ozone? Do you think you can fool a deer?
Hi Ged , Some of our spots are not accessible from the down wind side . You know how it is here . It ain't open farm country. Limited Parking spots ,private land, Natural barriers , You name it... Next best thing is to be as clean as you can and hustle down wind and turn back to the action. It works when teleporting is not an option.
No, we can not fool a deer's nose, not a dogs either ... but I am sure I can climb a tree and kill either one .
GED right on the money brother!! There is always a way into a stand. It's just sometimes it is a path less traveled. No one wants to take a 3/4 mile hike when it is a 200 yd direct shot to the stand. When I was younger I would take the less traveled route if that is what it took. I would spend countless hours planning and hiking for what? A deer that might show up, these were times before trail cameras gave you instant satisfaction and gratification. Remember the cuddeback with the 35 mm camera inside. Those were cutting edge at the time. Or how about the clicker you would set up on a tree with a string attached. When the string broke it would let you know what time it was, then it's up to you to figure out what direction the deer were coming from. Now it is , here is a picture or video telling what direction and where the deer is coming from. What moon phase and when sunset and moon rise are during the day. As hunters some people have become too dependent on trail cameras to do the work for them and knowing where the deer are coming from changes things. It lets us know if we walk just this far we can skirt the edges of the deers teritory and we should be alright. I hunt some pretty tight spots that can have multiple paths in. I can tell you that when I am rearing to go I take the long safe way in. Later in the season or if I am running late I will take the dumb way in. It's a matter of choice and most of the time with all the other things we have to do in life...... we take the easy way in. Just my 2 cents. I know I am guilty of it also. More than need be
Your #1 tool is confidence. If you believe in what you are doing than do it.
I kill deer in office work shoes with wool socks under them. When I pick clothes for hunting this is what matters to me:
1) warm 2)dry 3)quiet
If I do these 3 things I will stay out and kill deer.
Silk is a great base layer, followed by wool. You would not be surprised to learn that I rarely use camo, and only if it satisfies 1,2 & 3.