School me on scent control?

[jmiller676]

Originally Posted by rhart

Remind me that after dragging one out and butchering it will ya.

LOL I mean the actual hunt...we all know after the arrow is released and gun is fired is when all HELL breaks loose. Especially early season when its 80 degrees and you're trying to get it butchered before it turns.

[yotewacker]

Scent control is optional. I can confirm it does not work. Heck , most people think most of there scent comes from underarms. They do not even think of behind the ear lobes scent glands or the other 5 that humans have.
Story,,
Out with DNR tracking a guy through the woods. Dog catches him and ends chase. Bad guy says, how did you find me? We told him we didn't, the dog did. Bad guys says that is impossible, I have me scent block camo on. well, a dog tracked him for about a mile and ran right to him.

Bottom line. Is watch the wind. The wind will stop most scents if your paying attention to its direction.

If you do not pay attention to the wind, the animals are paying attention to you.

[jmiller676]

Originally Posted by yotewacker

Scent control is optional. I can confirm it does not work. Heck , most people think most of there scent comes from underarms. They do not even think of behind the ear lobes scent glands or the other 5 that humans have.
Story,,
Out with DNR tracking a guy through the woods. Dog catches him and ends chase. Bad guy says, how did you find me? We told him we didn't, the dog did. Bad guys says that is impossible, I have me scent block camo on. well, a dog tracked him for about a mile and ran right to him.

Bottom line. Is watch the wind. The wind will stop most scents if your paying attention to its direction.

If you do not pay attention to the wind, the animals are paying attention to you.

Outta rep. People spend way to much money and effort on scent "control" just be smart in the woods and all is good. In the 35 years my dad has been hunting he has taken at least one deer for every year he has been hunting and that is with maybe going out 2 times a week.

[Bradsknives]

I may be one of the more anal guys as far as scent control goes. I was anal about scent control before any of these products (soap, scent remover, non scent deodorant***etc.) were available. I used to wash my hunting clothes in baking soda and take showers using baking soda. Most of the scent control philosophy has been cover in this thread, but here are a few things that I do that have not been mention.

1. The clothes that I wear before changing into my hunting clothes are washed using camo (non scent) soap. If I'm at my hunting camp, the clothes I wear while at camp are washed using camo soap.

2. The pillow case and bed sheets that I sleep on/with during hunting season are washed in camo soap and they get sprayed down once in a while between washes. This applies if I'm hunting from home. If I'm at my hunting cabin, my sleeping bag gets washed using camo soap.

3. I have been using the camouflage gum while hunting for the last 3 years. I read that your bad breath will get you busted by a deer before your body odor will. I have had no bad experience with it, but really can't tell if it is helping.

4. The towel that you use to dry off with after taking a non scent shower/bath should be washed in camp soap.

Some of this my not apply if you are taking a shower in the morning before going out. In my case when I'm at my hunting cabin, there is no shower or bath and I have to use non scent body wipes before dressing to go out.

[hammer24]

Here is my routine and philosophy,
1. Play the wind
2. Wash clothing in scent free soap then put in big storage tub with fresh earth wafer.
3. Shower with scent away and use Arm & Hammer scent free deoderant.
4. I always use a light silver infused base layer under my clothes.( I was skeptical about this, but got them on clearance. I've used them for three years now, and let me tell the silver base layer works! I've worn them all day during times they should have absolutely reaked and no funky BO smell at all!)
5. Spray down with silver XP
I throw my clothes on when I get ready to leave, don't wait till I get to the stand. I put in a dip of mint snuff and hit the stand. I spit on the ground around my stand, I let fly when I need to take a leak. Do I kill deer? Yep, I can't tell you how many I pass every year. It's been a few years since I've knowingly been winded, and believe it or not I kill about 50% of my deer on my downwind side. Last year all three that I took came from my downwind side.

[clfergus]

Originally Posted by jmiller676

Outta rep. People spend way to much money and effort on scent "control" just be smart in the woods and all is good. In the 35 years my dad has been hunting he has taken at least one deer for every year he has been hunting and that is with maybe going out 2 times a week.

It has to work at least as well as using nothing...based on this article is does someting and something is better than nothing in my book.

The Best Way to Inhibit Your Scent | Deer & Deer Hunting | Whitetail Deer Advice and Instruction

[jmiller676]

I am old school when it comes to that. Which is why I never got into compunds or crossbows. There have been many deer shot without the use of all the gadgets and scent covers and I have shot deer without that stuff. To me hunting is my relaxation time. If I am spending money on that stuf it stops being my relaxation time. I have found that the more people spend on using scents and all the other crap the less they actually know about hunting and the specifics of the game they are after.

[finity]

The only things I do are wash my clothes in Sportwash every couple of times out & shower with scent free soap/shampoo. That's it. I tried the scent killer sprays a couple of times but gave up on them pretty quickly just because.

I don't play the wind...at all. I smoke in the stand. I whiz from the stand. I don't keep my clothes in a bin. I wear my clothes while eating. I wear my boots into the gas station in the morning.

I may have been winded a couple of times but I've been fairly successful, nonetheless. I've killed at least one deer every year but the first one since I started hunting 6 years ago. The second year I killed one. Every other year I've gotten more than one. The year before last I shot five deer. Not too shabby. I've also had several deer walk right under my stand & they had no idea I was there.

Not that it can't happen & not that it hasn't happened but I think the scent control/camo/they can hear a pin drop at 100 yards/they can see your eyes blink at 1000 yards/etc stuff is way over-hyped.

People have been killing deer for thousands of years without all of that stuff.

[bwframe]

Originally Posted by HICKMAN

I know guys who have to put down a smoke to shoot deer. Scent control is about common sense, but learn the wind first.

I remember well when camo first started having name brands. A buddy of mine that had walls full of mounts and hundreds of freezer dear to his credit. After a particular dry spell, he said he had taken way more dear wearing old, smoked in, gray coveralls.

[KEHO]

Originally Posted by finity

People have been killing deer for thousands of years without all of that stuff.

This is absolutely true. However, modern hunters have to deal with a whole range of modern scents/odors that didn't even exist thousands or hundreds or even (in some cases) a few decades ago.

Can you kill deer without any thought to scent control? Absolutely! Will paying attention to wind and scent control help a hunter be able to get within bow range of an old, crafty deer? Probably. Is it worth the time/effort/money? Up to each individual to decide.