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-   -   Scent Suppressors Do Expire (https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/whitetail-deer-hunting/419187-scent-suppressors-do-expire.html)

MikesCustomLures 09-25-2018 03:09 PM

Scent Suppressors Do Expire
 
Hey guys,
Just wanted to share a little info with you all, because I've read plenty of opinions on the subject, but nothing conclusive. To start it off right, this isn't meant to be a heated debate whether scent control works or not. I know some people don't "believe" in it. But for those of us that don't have the luxury of playing the wind (small, narrow hunting property with one point of access), and those of us who remember what it was like before no-scent sprays were around, we know that scent control works from experience and we have to use it.

That being said, I wanted to warn everyone not to try to save a dollar and buy in bulk like I've done in the past. I bought several bottles of DDW last year mid-season and used it with success. This year I cracked one of those bottles open for opening weekend. I got busted in my stand two times in a row, which is unusual for me in my area, I'm very careful with scent and have hunted this property since 1996. I got busted in my ground blind, and again in a different stand, all in the same weekend, all with similar wind and weather. The next weekend, with similar wind and weather again, I used a new bottle of scent suppressor that I just grabbed when I was in the store that week. Not one deer busted me, directly down wind. Two groups were the same ones that had busted me previously.

So after a few times of using old and new, I figured out it was definitely the old stuff giving me away. I contacted DDW, along with several other "scent killing" spray companies, and got some interesting answers. I'm told that all scent suppressor sprays have an expiration date, ranging from 12 to 30 months from the time they are manufactured. So if they sit in a warehouse for a couple months, then sit in a store for a couple months, it may only have 6 months of life left in it. And the little packs that you mix yourself are only good for roughly two weeks. For lack of a better term, they ferment. The only one that claims it doesn't expire is Vanishing Hunter by Buck Fever. Haven't experimented with it.

Just thought I'd share my findings from the actual manufacturers, scent killing sprays do expire. I was told to buy from high-volume stores to ensure you get the freshest batches that will last the longest on your shelf. Good luck everybody!

Oldtimr 09-25-2018 03:34 PM

Unless you have found a way to stop breathing out, scent suppressors are worthless, except for luring hunters out of their money.

MikesCustomLures 09-25-2018 04:05 PM

Dead Down Wind toothpaste and mouth spray, carbon-lined head cover Oldtimr. But like I said in the beginning, that's not what this thread is about. Every thread becomes hunters putting hunters down, and I don't think that was the intention of this website.

elkman30 09-25-2018 04:43 PM

Regardless of one's individual belief in the efficacy of the product, the idea of a shelf like does make sense.

Berserker 09-26-2018 10:17 AM


Originally Posted by Oldtimr (Post 4342594)
Unless you have found a way to stop breathing out, scent suppressors are worthless, except for luring hunters out of their money.

so do you just wear your dirty clothes ?

I try playing wind but I keep my clothes seperated. The deodorant does work I know that.

I sharpie date on bottle.

I sprayed some in bucket that had maggots and fish after I dumped. Granted fish were gone it made a difference.

I don't buy much, so I can live with $10 a year.

yes I know Indians were killing buffalo years ago. Yes I have killed plenty without.

rogerstv 09-26-2018 12:45 PM

If the deer or any game animal is close enough to smell your breath, you are about to take a bite out of them ! Or, you have chronic halitosis.

Oldtimr 09-26-2018 01:31 PM

Wrong again, ever hear of the breeze or wind? If you do not think your breath carries on the wind, the same as the odors from your clothes of firearm or bow, you don't know much.

mrbb 09-26-2018 02:18 PM

well my 2 cents and not looking for a debate, scent control products can HELP , they will never fully eliminate human scent ,
as humans are always making ,making more
the carbon suits are designed to be re activated, and ALL things have an expration date on them
that is also why so called scents in bottles are dated!
shampoo and deodorant and what ever else will GO bad in time as well NOTHING is made to last forever!
BUT a LOT of things do last a LONG time if you DON"T break the seal on them all things spoil faster after opening than left sealed, as many things are added with chemicals that help preserve them but once air is added to the, they start to age faster!
I personally think the best best is to do what you can to make the least about of scent,
good shower with non scented cleaning products and some good old baking soda to help suck up some scent, and NOT breaking a sweat while walking in, NOT wearing cloths that are worn all over, MY hunting cloths always get put on before walking into stand and taken off when I get back to vehicle, and that's IT< never worn any where else
I have hunted this way for 20+ yrs and have had deer close enough to touch them countless times(many times they have actually touched me with there noses to see what I was) and in ALL wind directions
I won't say I am perfect with scent control as again we humans make scent , and most all animals find we STINK to them, and they can pin point us pretty good,
BUT you can do a LOT to limit the scent we give off! and help you get a slight edge! all the more so if you play the wind to your advantage too!

Berserker 09-26-2018 05:14 PM


Originally Posted by Oldtimr (Post 4342672)
Wrong again, ever hear of the breeze or wind? .

Ya I wrote it.

I still think it is poor idea to wear stinky clothes.

I am hunting ground blinds at 15 yards. Deer don't always follow the assigned route.

MudderChuck 09-26-2018 05:17 PM

IMO people may think a little wrongly about scent and Deer. Deer are smelling a million scents all at once, the ones that spook them are the ones they associate with danger and maybe new unfamiliar scents to a degree.

A large portion of their brain is dedicated to smell. Most all of us have seen a Deer bypass nearby forage to eat something seemingly at random and without reason. The reason is they smell needed nutrients at a molecular level and zero in on the forage that satisfies deficiencies. Much of what a Deer smells with humans is the byproducts of bacteria feeding on your body, average is about four pounds (guesstimate as it varies) of your body weight is bacteria. IMO you are never going to be scent free.

I associate a Deer nose to that of a Bloodhounds. And as one trainer of Bloodhounds said to me; that kind of put the whole thing into perspective, was that a Bloodhound can smell a single turd in a cesspool. I believe him, I've seen his dogs follow a single trail half a day after it was laid.

Cover scents can work, I've used them. Usually something that overpowers my scent. But you have to ask yourself if the new scent might not spook them or if they won't eventually make the association between the new scent and danger? I doubt if anything is going to stop your body from producing the byproducts of Bacteria feeding on it and your body killing off the bacteria.


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