This one has came up a few times, most recently over in the whitetail forum, so I figured I'd post my theories on scent control products for predator hunters.
Here's a link to the 10pg (as of today) thread in the whitetail forum. The "cliff's notes" version is that most guys suggest you save your money and hunt the wind...
Scent Lok Thread in HNI Whitetails Forum
Any hunter worth his salt will attest that controlling your scent is one of the most important components of successful hunting. Without trying to spark a debate about the science or chemistry behind different scent control products on the market, I think the difference of opinion between big game hunters and predator hunters says a lot about the value of these products as a whole.
I know there’s dissention even among big game hunters, but in general, the majority of big game and deer hunters will recommend the use one form or another of scent controlling products. Whether a given hunter is in the minimalist “just the spray” camp, or their system involves hermetically sealed plastic containers, specialized clothing, and brushing their teeth with baking soda, that’s a different conversation. All in all, it has been my experience that most big gamers recommend new hunters use “something to control their scent”.
On the other hand, none of the veteran coyote hunters I know use any scent control product at all.
Coyote hunters use the wind. Simply put, if you never give a coyote a chance to catch your scent, then you’ll never have to worry what you smell like. Many coyote hunters (myself included) will pose the question: If there were a product that could actually successfully fool a canine nose, wouldn’t drug runners be using it to sneak past Canine Drug Units? Fancy scent control clothing and endless supplies of sprays and washes will not make up for poor set design that doesn’t utilize the wind. If you design your set so a coyote has access to your downwind, sure, you might get lucky and not get busted a few times, but in the long run, that set just isn’t going to be as productive as a better design.
One big hurdle that I see for predator hunters, compared to big game hunters is how we hunt coyotes. The nature of coyote hunting nullifies the effectiveness of most of these so-called scent control products. Say a product actually does neutralize human odor, so you drive naked to your deerstand, unseal your clothes, spray down as you get dressed, now you’re all set for a full day of hunting. Coyote hunting doesn’t work like that. You’ll be in and out of your truck a few times an hour, so there’s just no way to keep from transferring human scent from your truck to your clothes.
I won’t say any of these products will DECREASE your odds at getting coyotes to come to the gun, and I’m sure that when coupled with a proper set design, SOME scent control products might help reduce some exposure. But for what it’s worth, I’ve been down the (very expensive) road of buying all of these scent control products, and I’ve never seen that they were successful at even beating a whitetail deer’s sniffer, let alone that of a coyote. For what it’s worth to me, my money is better spent on ammo and fuel for the hunting truck than on scent control products.
To spin Scent Blocker's old slogan (maybe current still?) "Forget the products, Just Hunt!"