Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

How frustrating. I get up early, shower in scent free soap, dress in specially washed cloths that are stored in scent proof bags, walk to my stand and by the time I get 1/2 way up the tree, I am completely soaked in sweat. To the point of dripping sweat on the ground. I don't see the point of any type of scent control for those of us who live in the warmest climates (florida in my case). Bow season has been open for two weeks and i have not gotten in a stand w/o being soaked. I mostly try to play the wind, though it is frustrating given the amt of swirling that occurs. The wind seems to have a predominent direction, but certainly switches around frequently.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

From my experience..and the way I see things...scent control isn't as important to folks like myself that hunt within a couple hundred yards of houses/farms. These deer are used to seeing humans..smelling them..etc. If I were to go hunting in upstate Wisconsin..or Canada..where deer rarely see humans...I'm sure scent control is very important.

I shower with my regular soap and shampoo..my Axe deoderant [8D]..and do nothing but spray my clothes down with Earth Scent when I arrive at my hunting land. RARELY a day goes by that at least onedeer does not pass within shooting distance of me.

Just my $0.02

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

I AGREE COMPLETELY! HERE IN FLA. AVG TEMP FOR ARCHERY SEASON IS 90DEG. SO UNLESS YOU DRIVE UP TO THE STAND IN THE A/C OF A VEHICLE YOUR GOING TO SWEAT. I DON'T PAY IT MUCH MIND I CARRY A BOTTLE OF SCENT KILLER AND SPRAY THE INSIDE OF MY HAT AND ARMPITS ONCE I'VE SETTLED AND COOLED A BIT. I HAVE NEVER TO MY KNOWLEDGE HAD A DEER BUST ME BY SCENT. FORGET SCENT JUST HUNT!!!![8D]

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

well, i wish i could go so far as to say i have not been busted. unfortunately, i get busted all the time and it drives me nuts.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

Yea the best you boy's can do is use alot of cover scent. When you get to your stand load on the fox pea, hogg piss, or what ever is native to your area. Maybe that will help.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

I hunt in NC and VA and the early bowseason temps can reach the 90's as well. I hunt in and around a lot of pine thickets and I use just a dab of pure gum turpentine on the bottom of my pants. I dip a q-tip in it and rub it on my pant legs near the bottom and it seems to work very well. Just don't use too much or put it too high on your body....you may fall out of the stand;).

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

Ever think of layering? Maybe if you just wait till you get to the stand to put all of you camo on you'd be a little cooler. Try it out, see what happens, if it doesn't work I'd say just do the best you can by showering in scent free stuff, and doing the best you can.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

Beat me to it. I would think those Treklite (sp?) pants that zip off into shorts would be quite useful in your area. You could throw the leggings intoa backpack and zip them on upon reaching your stand. Just a thought.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

On those really hot days, I will go to my stand in shorts and a t-shirt.
Usally still get sweaty but, I take off the t-shirt once in stand and put it in a plastic bag inside my backpack. I then spray with Scent away and put on the scent-lok or blocker over top of my shorts. Doesn't take to long to get cooled down when your standing in a stand in just your shorts especially after you spray yourself. Just my $.02.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

other than feeding the mosquittos and horse flies, the shorts isn't a bad idea, though i can tell you, i wear very light, thin long sleeve tee shirts and pants that are not too thick. i'm not sure there are a lot of options when it is 90+ degrees. Using a leaner or something less demanding than a climbing stand helps, since they are easier to asend, but that doesn't always work.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

I use real thin camo pants and shirt,then spray myslef wet with sent-a-way spray.I also use bay leaves cooked and bottled for cover sent.I will take a dog fennel and beat it against my shoes and pant legs.I have very few deer smell me.
I also live in Fla. where it is in the high 80's and 90's durning bow season.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

Are you wearing ScenLok or another brand of carbon suit , by any chance ? If so , you're wearing a hevily insulated suit .

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

First of all I don't believe that the scent lok products work. I think they might be effective in year one but I think you can't heat the clothing up high enough to reactivate the carbon. With that said, I own an entire suit and was busted for the first time this past weekend. My suit is3 years old. Secondly Ibelieve that if you look up the info on the scent lok stuff you are supposed to put in on just before you get into your stand.

The other issue that a lot of hunters don't know is that a very high percentage of your scent is released from your head. Covering your head with a scent protector will eliminate almost half of you scent signature.

Tom

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

I would move North. There is no way I would enjoy hunting in the heat. To me, freezing your keester off is what makes it fun. If it hits 70 degrees I go home for the day.

Like others said...if hunting near developments the deer are accustomed to human scent and only react if they hit a really concentrated whiff. I would hunt closer to houses and backyards. Try getting in much earlier so as to give more time for a very slow trek to your stand to keep from getting sweated up.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

I wear my bug suit on hot days with just my boxers underneath, works well for me and is very cool.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

Sweat in itself is NOT stinky. It takes some time for bacteria to grow and make it stinky. So, you may be perspiring, but it's not as stinky as if you carried it on your body for a couple days. Washing etc kills and removesbacteria growing on your body. This is the bacteria that makes stuff turn stinky. Yes it regenerates and comes back, but the closer you are from the shower the better it is. Take a bath, it won't hurt.:D;)

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

Even with today's technicalogical advances[&:], becoming totally scent free is likely not going to happen. I still think it's in my best interest to be as scent free as possible. Most whitetails will tolerate some human scent or they'd be killing themselves trying to run all directions at the same time. Not doing any scent control will maximize how much scent you give off AND leave behind when you leave. A deer that would blow and flee at 40 yards might because your full blown stinky from no scent control might not flee if you've minimized your scent and fooled the deer's nose enough that he doesn't feel the threat of close contact...in other words, you appear farther away than you really are. Yes, he might become alert but not turn inside out to leave and again, your not leaving as much scent behind once your gone....scent that can utilize a stand inoperable....

You can't eliminate your scent but you can fool the deers nose to some extent. I'm not a fan of cover scents as the guy next property over could use the same cover and blow all the deer out of the area cause he filled up with gas, cooked bacon, hadn't showered in days or what not and an animal associates that cover scent with danger be it fox, raccoon or skunk scents or whatever.

Layering is a great idea in warm and cold climates alike, the less you sweat going to your stand is not only best for scent control but also for regulating your bodies heat for warmth on cold days. Perhaps you may even need to change out of the cloths you walk in with and use a scent proof bag once close to the stand....take scent killer sprays along or even the scent wipes that are on the market....all these can help your situation when sweating on the way to the stand.

Yes, you can kill deer without scenting down....using regular pefumed soaps and shampoos and axe deorderant[&:] but what about the animals down wind you've never seen or will never see that leave the area because you did just that.....there's always going to be a deer that happens to walk by, upwind....but what if?

If you don't have the wind, your probably not going to have the shot but.....what if and I've been on the good side of what if many times...

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

Ditto i wear my Bass Pro3d bug suit(29 bucks) anda pair of underarmour shorts and maybe a cut off tee shirt and im always comfortable.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

It must be very frustrating to go to all those pains and have to deal with that kind of heat!You have my sympathy.I would still do everything I could to minimize my body odor or any other unnatural odors on my clothing or equipment.I am continually amazed at how close I get to deer and how relaxed they are around me.I know it is because of my scent control regimen.You don't always have the wind in your favor.The wind does switch.Deer don't always come from the direction that you expect them to come.Yes of course work the wind,but there is no down side to being as odor free as possible,yea it takes a little time but I have seen time and time again where it is time well spent.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

i agree with davidmil....also, i live in hunt in florida and never go into the woods withoutmy treklites...i do all the no scent stuff and usually am sweatin' like a pig by the time i get to my stand but i always bring an extra shirt with me so i can change once i get up in my stand...then wait a lil while and spray down with no scent.

RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

I hunt in NY and sometimes it'svery cold and I too sweat walking to my stands. On cold days I have to bundle up in many layers(Can't carry all of them)and walk carrying daypack, treestand, and bow. Half the time I am drenched in sweat, then settle in and start to freeze to the point of hypothermia! I guess the grass always looks greener on the other side.
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RE: Scent control is a waste of time in my opinion
 

How fast do you walk to your stand? I know, 90 degrees is very hot and you'll still work up a sweat but maybe if you slow your speed down going to the stand you might not work up as great of a sweat. Kind of depends on how far you walk to your stand too and how early of a start you get in the mornings. This past weekend here in Illinois it was around 86 degrees and I hunted behind my house....only about 150 yds. and I worked up one helluva sweat....and I was taking my time.