Diet as a means of scent control
 

I've become somewhat fascinated with scent control lately. Not so much about while on stand, but more along the lines of never letting the bucks know they're being hunted. Just playing the wind does little in the sense of making your entry and exit totally invisible.
I've had mature bucks hit my entry trail several hours later and they quickly turn and leave the area and I use rubber boots and always spray with scent killer.

I've often read about how indians would fast for days before a big hunt and would not eat red meat in particular. Has anyone ever altered their diet and what were the results.

At what point does scent control follow the laws of diminishing returns? By that I mean when is enough just enough? At what point have you done all that is possible?

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

Well I would recommend staying away from spicy foods anyway..........oh and refried beans. [:o]:D
There may be something to it, people say that they can smell alcohol "Oozing" from your pores....well not my pores but you get the idea.

Oral hygiene is probably way more important than actual diet. Flossing,brushing,mouthwash, and a fat juicy apple on the way to stand is a pretty good plan.

I also tend to like Non-threatening cover scents used lightly on clean boots.....racoon,or gray squirrel depending upon area I hunt. Rubber boots, don't touch a thing, scent free shower and stay off the trails. I have a few new locations I want to hang stands, and next week I am going to be hitting them with the pruners to make my own little sneaky scent free approach to my stands since I hunt some really thick areas it's all to easy to get lazy and use the deer trails for getting to stand.

We do what we can but I think we forget sometimes that we are dealing with a sense of smell that we really can't comprehend. You hear numbers like, "A deer has a sense of smell that is "X" times better than a human's" I don't think we probably realize what sort of ability that really translates to.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

While I have never tried it myself cause I love meat too much and don't like vegetables enough. I have heard of folks going vegetarion for a month or so before and during hunting season. They claim that the prey animals do not spook at a vegetarians scent.

It sounds pretty reasonable to me. After all you are what you eat and deer don't eat meat.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

I think you are right, the way we enter and exit is not emphazised enough. I have not altered my diet before hunts, although it might help. I haven't entered a teepee and done the big sweat thing either.[8D] Keeping clean and using the wind is what I try. I have watched coyotes stop dead in their tracks and change direction upon coming to where I have stepped, and I had worn rubber boots. I bet we might be surprised on the deer we don't see because of being scented.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

Exactly Cougar, thats what scares me. I read some interesting stuff in TR's forum about dead skin cells. I'm wondering if diet would control the smell of these skin cells that mark our routes.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

All this scent stuff is non-sense i think. I'll give you 2 examples. 1. My dad smokes. Well 2 years ago we had to put out a cigarette to shoot a nice 8 point buck that came by his stand, he shot it with the bow by the way. Anyway he shot that buck twice. After the 1st shot the buck only acted like he hiccupped my dad said so he shot him again just to make sure.
2. I chew. Always while hunting. I don't know how many deer I've killed while I have had a chew in. I don't use any of the scent things on the market and I still have good success. I don't know just my opinion, and you know what opinions are like;)

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

Timberjack, it doesn't come as a surprise to me that deer didn't/don't react to your dad's cigarette or your chew. Deer fear human skin scent, not unfamiliar scents like cigarette smoke or chewing tobacco, unless they learn to connect those smells with a dangerous encounter with a person. Are deer smart enough to make those connections? Maybe so if they're exposed to it enough.
I don't think that human urine spooks deer either. It's our body smell that they don't particularly care for! LOL They get one whiff of that and they'll head outta dodge for sure...

Now back to the question about abstaining from eating red meat for a period before hunting. That is an interesting concept. Could this be the reason that those veggie-eating PETA heads detest hunting? If PETA members are all vegetarians, the deer probably eat right out of their hands when they enter the woods, so those knuckleheads don't think there IS such a thing as a wild deer! [:o] Just a thought... LOL

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

I will leave it at this.

One of my buddies I hunt with is a vegitarian except for the fish. He has more monster bucks in front of him then me and our other freind we hunt with.

Call it what you want but it makes us think to change diets two months prior to the rut.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

Overkill! Just keep your body and clothes clean, and play the wind. You will drive yourself nuts trying to become scent-invisible to a deer. It cannot be done.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

Question for those of you that say it is impossible.

Have you tried it?
If not, from where does your knowledge come from?

It would be very interesting if there could be an actual scientific test done concerning this.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

That is my point exactly!

What about the human body odor that might create this? I wash everything except my outer clothes everyhunt (hunt = Morning stand/Evening stand) I wash my camo on average every other stand. This is no different then my buddies rotation. I will also add I do hunt where many people walk around.

His percentage is so much higher. Then again for those who play the card game "uker", why with only 24 cards, you can't get a good hand all night?

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

I have read but can't remember where that there are certain food to definately avoid before hunts. Specifically garlic and onion as their sents will linger the longest. If you've ever chopped onions or garlic you probably know what I mean. It dosn't seem to matter what you wash your hands with the scent it there.

I've personally never altered my diet before a hunt. I just don't think I can give up steaks. MMMMMGood!

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

I have some expierence with this. As a former Special Forces soldier, I would often spend several weeks in the field at a time. Our clothes would get quite ripe but due to sensory adaption, you wouldn't notice the stench (until you were able to shower and change clothes, then your old clothes were very noticeable). On the other hand, after being in the field for a week or so and some one would come to visit, fresh from the barricks, I could smell the deterget on their cloths and the clean soap smell from their skin...this is from 5 + yards away. I can't smell as good as a deer can.

I also know from travelling all over the world where diets change, that humans smell different due to their diet. One thing SF learned in Vietnam, is to eat what the locals eat, and we did just that in Afghanistan (I don't think it really matter much, because we were always at ranges greater than 100 meters from AQ, where as in Vietnam, SF could end up quite close to the VC)

Last year on the bow hunt, I was inside of 10 yards on two does. I was on the ground and did not have blind. I just remained still, they never saw me, just kept grazing...oh and there was no wind and I was not using cover sent.

I also know that k-9's can pick up your sent from dead skin particles that are falling off of you all the time, but the k-9 has been trained to search for that sent. Like it was said above, I think it comes down to wether or not the deer recognize your sent as a threat.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

Become a vegitarian, bath only in lake water without soap, wear clothes made out of deer hide...and finally, do like the American Indians did in the old days. Smear deer dung all over your body before going hunting.

Its the only "True" means of scent control.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

Some thoughts as I read the posts. I never really paid much attention to scent control until 7 or 8 years ago. Here's what I do now. I wash my clothing in scent removing detergent after every use. Budgeting doesn't allow for scent shield clothing or a good pair of rubber boots (though I'm probably just cheaping out on the rubber boot part but a good comfortable rubber boot w/insulation and allowing for walking a good distance is hard to come by). I do put doe urine on scent pads every trip to my stand. I hang cotton pads (that I steal from my wife's cosmetic supplies) N,S, E, W of my stand where I can shoot if a deer comes over and smells them. I also hang one from my shooting rail, occassionally spray some on my hat. I usually spray myself down with scent control spray at the truck as well. After washing my clothes I store them in a big plastic box with fir branches on the bottom. I've had deer stand under and around my stand, also small bucks feeding around me for a long time without scenting me, with wind blowing hard, soft, not at all, towards and away from them. Also done the same thing and have had deer wind me right away. I do hide my presence from many more deer than I used to. Last year I tried the smoke stick attractants. While I don't think they scared any deer from coming in, I did have some deer walk through the waifing smoke continue feeding unconcerned, but also uninterested. I'll try them some more this upcoming year though. Scent candles I saw at the sportmans show over winter intrigued me as well.
I do believe diet could have positive effects, but studies have been done showing deer visiting scrapes made with human urine as frequently as those made with doe/buck urine. Certainly urine from predators has some tell tale signature to it.
Dead skin cells- now you'll have me using an exfoliating sponge to scrub off the dead skin cells. Can't hurt, but don't think I'll be putting the effort into it.
Oh yeah, if I have time I also shower just before dressing to hunt with scent away soap. I usually buy whatever brand I see on sale of the soap, detergent, and I also use the scent away deodorant if i have it. i usually stock up on this stuff after season at Walmart when it's all on sale. I think the UV blocker portion of the laundry soap is as important as the scent control.
As for time put into all this- it's actually quite minimal. The scent away spray is already in the truck. I get out at my parking area, pull back the seat and spray. Returning it there for the next time. Laundering is not time consuming because you can do something else while it's being done and my plastic storage box is right by the dryer to go into when done. Urine comes out of the freezer into the fridge and then stays in the fridge until the bottles out. Just transfer it to and from my pack when putting my snacks in the pack. Probably not the best methods folks ever heard of, but I keep my cost down, time down, and get some positive results. Juniorpc.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

I know that dead and falling skin cells are the main source of human scent, so... lotion obviously slows that process down. But is there such thing as an unscented lotion, this could be helpful.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

I wash all my clothes in scent-free/killer soap and hang them outside when not in use. I also shower in scent killer soap. I usually start using the soap everyday no less than three days before a hunt. I wear rubber boots and a good cover scent like "Essence of Fall", "Fall Blend" or "Deer Dander" which smells just like a deer(Kind of like the wet deer fur smell with a mild deer uring scent mixed in) To me it smells exactly like a deer. Like when your still hunting through the woods and you actually smell the deer before you see it. Some of you out there might know what I'm talking about. I also like to use a deer piss gel on my boots. I put some on about a hundred yards away from the stand and walk in. Ive had big bucks follow my tracks right in. I have mixed feelings about taking a leak while in the stand. I use a bottle most of time, but on one occasion I was hunting a fresh scrape. On the way in I crossed an old scrape and I pissed on it. I sat in the stand for six hours until dark. On the way out I jumped the buck out of the scrape I pissed on. Go figure. He must of thought I was an intruder buck.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

Lots of red meat, hot italian sausage, chili, baked beans and at least a 12 pack of beer a day.
Works like a charm.

p.s. - buy extra underwear

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

Have any of you heard of these fart proof underwear?
http://www.under-tec.com/work.php

Stump Shooter- You'd have to get a pair with a diet like that! lol

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

98% percent of the dust in your home is dead skin!

A rescue dog can smell a victim under 20' of snow.

A blood hound can track you up a river to the point where you entered.

Eating beans before you go out doesn't make a hill;) of a difference.

RE: Diet as a means of scent control
 

if i am not mastaken H.S scents makes a lotion that is unsented, I do pretty much what every one else does, But I belive at some point enough is enough you will never be totaly sent free>>>> IMO