WV Hunter

Scent Control seems to be a hot bed of discussion these days. With all the marketing going on surrounding this, I was wondering how folks here treat their own personal scent control? How important is it to you? What measures do you go to to be scent free? How big of a role do you feel it plays in your level of success? ...or do you even care?

I personally am not a scent control " freak" as some would claim to be. However, I do try my best to keep my scent to a minimum. I use the laundry detergents, the body soaps, etc. I also try and keep my clothes in containers with baking soda to cut down on the scents they pick up around the house. The other thing I do is when possible, I like to hang my clothes outside and let them air out, and if anything absorb the outside smells. I also love SCENT KILLER....I think that stuff works great, and always have it with me!

When out in the field...I usually wear my rubber boots, and try and hunt stands when the wind is right...or at least mostly right. One big problem I have where I hunt is the mountians(or knobs, as we call them) jut up pretty tall, and the wind can be very different when you get up high, compared to down low. Another thing common to where I hunt is the wind seems to change often. I don' t know exactly why, but it' s a pain it the rear sometimes. Last year I was set up along a bedding area where we had seen a decent buck...the wind was perfect for that stand (out of the west). Within an hour after daylight, it did a 180 and came out of the east...right into the beds [:' (] I' m not sure why it does that, but it seems to happen alot.[:@] Maybe it' s the terrain??? Who knows, but it' s something we have to deal with. Sometimes it will change 2 or more times during one sit. I usually try and hunt high (20' +) to help keep my scent up off the ground as best possible. Does this happen to anyone else?

The other problem I run into alot is sweating after the long walk in. I usually wear as little as possible on the walk in, carry my clothes in and put them on when I get there. I hate sweating, but there' s hardly any way around it many of the places where I hunt. Like I said...I use alot of Scent Killer.

As far as scent control clothing...I don' t have any. Although I will admit, over the last few years with all the hype, I' ve been curious about it. After researching it(and reading alot of info posted here), I don' t see any reason for me to spend the money on it. One thing I will say....I can' t tell you how many deer have been directly downwind from me and never busted me(without scent control clothing). Yes I have been busted...no doubt, but I' ve killed my fair share of deer that have been directly downwind. Did they smell me and not care? Did they not smell me? Who knows for sure. I will admit though, the majority of these were not mature bucks. I' m not so sure how much immature deer worry about or fear human scent.

I try my best to hunt with the wind in my favor, and stay as scent free as possible...but it doesn' t always happen.

What do you do as far as scent control? Do you have any hard and fast do' s or don' ts that you go by? Any tips or pointers?

And a question for those of you that hunt for mature bucks only....what can be done to put the advantge in the hunters favor? (other than what I stated above)

Thanks in advance

benhuntin

I do practice a consistant scent reduction regime but I dont believe im obsessive about it like alot of people. And Yes I do believe from over 23 years of hunting and getting snorted at that it definatley plays a vital role in my success.
I wash my clothes in scent free detergent. I shower before the hunt in EARTH scent
body wash/shampoo, (my wife says I smell like mold). I wear rubber boots. (AND rubber gloves that I remove after climbing into my stand). I use pine, persimmon, or acorn cover scents,(make my own), and occassionally scent eliminator spray. I do my best to stay downwind of where the deer will appear.
I store my hunting clothes in a bag with pine needles. The big doe I shot last year was standing directly downwind about 20 yards from me. She would feed then raise her head and smell then go back to feeding. I knew she could smell me but not enough to make her nervous. Had I not taken the scent precautions that I did I know, from past experience that this deer would have been gone before I could shoot.

CBM SC

My scent control worries are diminishing more and more each year and my success keeps going up every year. I haven' t abandoned scent control , but it may not be that far off. First of all I have learned to pattern the deer and hunt the wind accordingly ......and not just go sit in the stand because it looks like a good day to hunt it. If the wind is not right.......I hunt elsewhere !!

Scent Control = Currently I use regular unscented laundry detergent (in an unscientific testing in my local grocery store I decided Purex free and clear was by far the lowest oder= too me way less than H.S.Specialties even does)

I use regular unscented soap and deoderant from the grocery store......which is much cheaper than Specialty products. I put all my clothes in a big bag when washed and I usually put my outer layer of clothing on after I' m out of my truck and on the way to the stand.

I really feal like I could skip even these basic steps if I only hunted the wind.......but for some reason just doing these few things gives me more confidence !! Good Luck and we' ll wait to see what the die hard fanatics have to say........several months ago I got hit with this by someone worried about U.V.brighteners !! [:-]

Oh and I do believe in Rubber boots !!

Tazman

CBM SC you said a mouthful there, I practice scent control, but I refuse to waste my money on all the fancy smancy suits and sprays, I have hunted for 39 years, we had no idea about all the CONTROL steps, but we knew that we had to hunt the wind or all was lost.

30 years ago I had 3 doe spend over an hour feeding within 20 foot of me and I was on the ground! How did I do this? Scent control? Nope, hunting the wind!

Once you have patterned the deer and done your scouting you should be able to come up with 2 stands per place you wish to hunt that day and hunt the one that puts the wind in your favor. If it is an area that only allows you to have one stand then only hunt it on days the wind favors you.

I am not saying that scent control will not increase your chances, it will, but I do not care how much scent control you practice, if the wind is not in your favor, you are one of 2 things, real lucky or BUSTED!!!!!

parker1

I do use the scent control sprays, clothes wash and soaps. I also keep my clothes sealed in containers to keep some scent out. I refuse to go crazy with it and I do not believe what so ever in those scent control suits. I have seen as many if not more deer than others I hunt with who wasted their money on it. I do try to hunt the wind but in my area the wind changes so often during a hunt its next to impossible to do. I rely on good scouting and alot of luck. To each his own I guess...

Rack-attack

I put a good deal of effort into lessening my scent when I hunt. I don' t rely on crazy technology - just sound clean practice - rubber boots - rubber gloves - and the general practices. I never wear my boots on the road or in the truck - and I change when I get to my spot.

Nothing magic and many do the same things.

The only major difference in the way I go about scent control - over what others I know do - is that I always think of how my presence will impact my next hunt - not just the on I am on. It’s a long season, and it doesn' t take much to lock up mature buck movement - if they feel something is intruding their living room. Thats why exit routes to afternoon stands are so important ond often overlooked. Sure that days hunt is over and you can' t ruin it - but the season aint over - and you will be back and wondering where did all the dang deer go

Sure you can shoot a booner stinking to heck, you can piss, smoke, chew, dump, trample through the woods in leather boots fresh from the gas station and still shoot a good buck. But what if you don' t shoot one that day??. What happens that night when they get wind of all the stink you have left behind?? What happens 4 days later when you decide to hunt the stand or area again or 4 weeks later??

I prefer to leave as little trace of myself behind - not only for the hunt I am on, but for others I will be on.

But sure, I get busted when on stand, partly because the way I like to play the wind but also because.....well, that’s bowhunting. The ones that I know busted me don' t scare me as much as the ones I don' t know busted me and those are the numbers I try to keep down.

I also combat the effects that I have on deer patterns by setting up many stands in as many good locations as I possibly can. This affords me the luxury of taking some risks and getting busted - without it adversely effecting my season - that hunt yes - but not the season.

cdnarcher

I think that we all need to remember that these companies that claim to have the latest, greatest scent control devices and potions are not in the business to make you a better hunter. They are in business to make money. Bottom Line. As long as one is careful about being clean, not using scented products, and hunting the wind, you will be just as successful as if you were useing all of these gadgets and potions. Just my $0.02.

WV Hunter

Thanks for the replies. I agree...alot of the stuff out there today is more for the hunter than the hunting. " Forget the wind....just hunt!" ...yeah right!! LOL...nice marketing. That might work for those fenced in, pet a pet farms...but not in the real world.
I agree, if you do your best to keep your scent under control the best you can, and hunt with the wind in your favor, you' ll probably be in good shape more times than not.

One thing I wonder though....regarding the common point:

I have alot of spots that I can hunt on our 1000 acres...and I take the wind into consideration every time I go out. BUT.... I know that I can' t possibly be the only one out there that has trouble with the wind. Somedays it will be steady and stay the same. Other days it changes many times each sit. Heck, if I had to abide by that rule 100% of the time, I' d probably hardly get to hunt. Yes....I will only go to a stand with the wind in my favor...or at least mostly in my favor. But I can almost guarantee it will change at some point during my sit. It happens probably 50-60% of the time where I am. This is one reason I' ve ended up going higher in my stands as a rule than I used to years ago. I feel that if and when the wind does change....it may help somewhat. I guess the verdict is still out on that.

For those folks that run into this as well....what do you do? Just curious. Thanks.

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CBM SC

WV...... I was just making a general statement. I will not hunt a stand knowing the wind is wrong. Where as ,in earlier days I would have went just cause conditions " looked right" . My hunting is more like you describe and I just use my best judgement when there are wind shifts. Sometimes I get busted and know it.....others like Rack said......it just makes you wonder and loose sleep at night !!