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!

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Berserker, you must have a bad reading comprehension problem or you just cannot read. Nowhere in my post did I say a thing about stinky clothes.

Ya I can read.


I also cut spruce branches or small trees and put them by me. Will put them I blind week before. Maybe cut some during the season.

Working the wind works when deer travel where they are told to. Good to have multiple spots. Not always easy. I do. But still not every deer enters at the correct degree angle from the wind, with respect to your plan.

So after reading this entire topic, my take away is that some people spray stuff on their clothes to block their scent, some eat breath mints to sneak up on deer and others are willing to take longer shots? :D

I've stopped using scentscent entirely and still kill deer every year.

But I'm not after big bucks.

-Jake

As I said you don't need it. But as I also tell the old duffs when they balk at GPS, you can have more then one tool in your tool box.

I hang clothes outside. Wash clothes start of season. Store in totes with cedar. Try to play the wind , but that is not guaranteed.

if I spend $10 a year, I can live with it. I

Well put Berserker. The turn this thread took is exactly why I typed that whole first paragraph. It's clear that some people didn't read it, they just saw the title and had to give their opinion. I too have killed deer with street clothes on, there's a myriad of "techniques" available to all of us. Regardless of how each of us chooses to hunt, one fact remains the same: I was merely sharing what the manufacturers shared with me.

Interesting topic. One would think that if there was a shelf life for all these scent elimination sprays that the manufactures would be all over that to get hunters to replenish their supply. But I see no expiration date on any of these products.

And, you know it all. Are you a mouth breather out there huffing and puffing?

That's exactly what I thought! I looked at the bottles I had before throwing them away, 3 or 4 manufacturers, and none of them had expiration dates. Some have the batch numbers to tell when they were made but that's it.

DDW did make a point to tell me that their sprays were the only thing that had a shelf life. They said their soap, shampoo, etc wouldn't expire.

I've worn the deodorant in august dug a bait hole, wet with sweat, and I couldn't smell me. While I realize deer got a better nose ,it's still got to help.

I wash my clothes too. Though giving a 2nd rinse and hanging on line for a week is probably same. I don't wash my wool unless it was being used for other stuff and bad.

I use scent killing products and never new they expired although it crossed my mind. I will have to go check my bottles tonight after work to look for a date. Man that will suck cause I stocked up with the end of season sales :bash:

That's what I did too. My local Academy Sports had DDW on clearance at the end of the season for $2 a bottle. Couldn't pass that up, I bought like eight or nine. Keep in mind, I'll say "most" of the bottles don't have expiration dates on them. None of the several brands I've checked do, but I'm sure there's a company or two that does print it on them.

Those are good sales. They will give you little bit off around here. But they keep hunting stuff on shelf year round.