Moose hunting, using a scent diffuser looking for power source
 

Hi everyone,

I have a pretty specific question and was hoping you guys could help me.

Next week I will be heading out on a 3 week trip to hunt moose.
I bought a new gadget this year that is called a scent diffuser. Basically it's the same thing as a regular oil diffuser for your home but has been retrofited to be powered by a 12v power source and is ultrasonic so it doesn't warm the liquid(doesn't modify the scent profile).

I am planning to put some Cow urine with mixed in pheromones and have it diffuse all day long, then charge whatever power source I use at night back at the cottage.

The problem I have is choosing the power source. I have to buy what is readily available here since I am leaving in a couple of days so it basically limits me to what can be found at a local hardware store.

The source needs to be 12 v and at least provide 1A of power.
I have been looking at Noco Genius Boosters since they can provide a 12 V output and at 16 000 Joules it would run my machine for 20 hours before needing a recharge(16000joules/12Watts*60seconds)... but they are crazy expensive, we are talking about 300$ here.

The reason I wanted a lithium Ion solution is that they do not vent during discharge. I am scared that if the moose smells the battery gasses/fumes it will get spooked. I want this contraption to attract them in the area but if they smell lead battery gases and get spooked it kind of defeats the purpose.

Someone I know suggested a gel battery but even those have venting.
Lead acid batterie would be great cause it could power the device all day long with ease and I could put a portable solar panel on it to keep it charged up and ready for the next day. Do you think venting would scare of game, or does it not bother them?

What do you guys think/generally use?

It's been my experience that non familiar scents will SOMETIMES put Moose on alert and sometimes even spook them but not generally. It's the familiar predatory scents that will spook them out of the area. Moose, unlike deer, aren't overly concerned given they are so big. Especially Bull Moose. Cows are much more wary. I've had more Moose in knife range than I care to think about and I know for a fact they scented me. They just didn't care. Now, having said all that, all the Moose in my experiences are pretty much animals with absolutely NO human contact experience in deep Alaska. I don't know where you are going to be hunting but if you are going to be hunting in an area where they have associated human caused scents, such as chemical as well as human scent itself, with danger then your experience will vary from mine.

I was thinking pretty much the same as Super Hunt when you first brought up a covering scent for Moose. Grant you I'm not real experienced, only been on three Moose hunts.

The first one I saw a few Cows with younuns, they seemed shy and would move off at a good distance.

The Bull I shot was in a stand of fallen timber, looked like a wind blow, pick up sticks, trees laying every which direction. He didn't seem inclined to run, looked like he wanted to fight. I was thankful there were a bunch of logs between me and him.

The other two hunts were in Norway and Sweden, so many Moose around I worried more about walking up on one and getting trampled, than worrying about my scent. I almost ran over a few on the drive, they aren't much afraid of trucks either and seem prone to want to argue the right of way.

But heck if you are going someplace where they have been extensively hunted and are really people shy, it might be a good idea.

If you (of course) are hunting into the wind, that is the last thing you will need. I am guessing after the first day lugging it you will realize it yourself.

I would go on the hunt and enjoy it for what it is. All the gadget shortcuts are designed to shortcut you out of your money. Get back to basics...stealth, scent control using the wind and hunt.