Stupid Question? Scent Control

[b.glass]

If the animal is gonna smell you when they get down wind of you, know matter how much of a stickler you are about scent control, why go to all the bother?

[Horne Shooter]

In my opionion and experience, you are correct, if the wind is blowing consistantly and the animal gets down wind, you are usually done.  The scent control comes in when the wind swirls and they get a "hint" of your smell. If you have followed a scent control regime you are much less likely to loose your chance in those particular situations.  Just my .02

[non-typical]

It's the level of ppm (parts per million) of your stink that drifts downwind to them that pushes their senses to the curious or flight level. If they don't get that overwhelming dose that tells them you are within a dangerous distance from them then they are more likely to stay within a shooting distance.

[sweet old bill]

seems strage we do go to all the effort to become scent free. I wash the hunting togs in spoecial soap, air dry and then pack in a plastic tote. I will wear a outfit such as coveralls for about 3 days and then will change to another set. But it sure seems no matter what effort you have made, being in a ground blind and if the game gets down wind they sure may pick your scent up.

 Now compare your efforts to some of the local dairy farmers in my area, they even store there hunting togs in the cow barn.

Now they seem to get deer each fall, why, I sure think they are working on the fields all the time, see deer and find the deer bedding and travel routes. Better knowledge of the hunting area and not of scent control.

[non-typical]

either that or the deer in your area aren't offended by a lot of bull in the wind....

[Whip]

Not a stupid question at all - it's one we discuss often around camp.  My own opinion is like Horne Shooter and non typical.  Scent control comes into play when a deer just gets a slight whiff as the winds swirls, which it constantly does in the woods.  

You can't eliminate odor completely, but I do believe that things you do to minimize odor can help.  The more careful you are, the better your chance of remaining undetected.  But no matter what you do there is still a chance they will catch you anyway.  Playing the wind is still far and away the most important piece of the puzzle.  Ignore wind direction and all the scent control steps in the world won't help you.

From there it becomes a matter of just how much effort you want to put into scent control.  Showering before hunting with unscented soaps and wearing clean clothes are pretty easy and the most effective steps.  On the other end of the spectrum are those who go on a vegitarian diet or go on a vegitarian diet during hunting season.  Those might be effective, but a little too much for me personally.  I keep it fairly basic.

[seanF]

As hard as I try to wrap my small mind around the concept, I can't seem to understand how scent free clothes, or carbon , a clean shower or cover scents can hide or even diminish a 150lb-250lb human scent factory from a whitetails nose. I guess I give the whitetail too much credit. Wish there was a way to know for sure.

[ClayCoArcher]

Anybody tried Elimitrax?....those over boots that are supposed to be worn to and from your stand....they go over you boot and up past you mid thigh and are made of some kind of special plastic that leaves absolutely no scent, or so the company claims....

[George D. Stout]

The wind will give you away no matter what, and sometimes the deer act like they can't smell you anyway.  I think most everything we do to eliminate scent is largely an effort in futility.
I think your total presence in the woods is what needs worked on; noise, odor, attitude, etc.

I think we need to work on that sixth sense that we don't understand.  They always said animals can smell fear....which I take to mean animals can detect changes in our intent...perhaps through personal pheramones that we emit when in the predator mode.  It could be why a person who doesn't hunt tends to see  a lot of deer when just hiking through the woods.  Science has trouble, however, dealing with intangible things and hasn't figured them out yet so it's unlikely one can come up with anything but conjecture; which is what most "odor" conclusions are based on.

I have a friend whose wife bowhunts.  Of course she hunts like she shops...bath before hunting, cologne and makeup, et al.  She always has deer around here stand.  Probably because she doesn't smell like the average human being.  Emory Loiselle, who did a lot of archery tests for Archery World or Bow and Arrow magazines, wrote of his wife doing the same thing; she prepared for hunting like she did for going out, and she always had deer around her as well.

My own experience seems to lend  creedence to that thought.  How do you measure intent?       Frankly I will wear what is most comfortable in the woods and not waste my money on lures or scents and try to think I'm looking for stumps rather than critters.  It's worked so far.    

[Shawn Leonard]

I have to agree with HS, I had a buck at 8 yrads last night and he was down wind. I am a scent control freak, shower in green soap and spray down with scent killer and also wash my clothes in scent killer soap and store my clothes in plastic bags than in a tupperware container. This buck new something was up and no doubt smelled me, but not enough for him to take flight. I bet 7 or 8 guys out of ten he would of blown out of there. This by the way was a 3.5 year old buck no little guy. Shawn

[vermonster13]

Sometimes scent control is about the deer we don't see. Keeping your odor at a minimum helps you leave less of a scent trail into the stand. Pressured deer won't even show up to give you a peek if they've crossed your trail in a place where they aren't used to smelling human and leave without your ever even knowing they were there.

Playing the wind is the most important factor always, but the little details can make big differences even if we don't see them every time we're in the woods.

[swampbuck]

Down wind they got ya...I've not been as anal as normal this figuring if im gonna get busted im gonna get busted.Sure I spray down with the stuff thats supposed to work yea I wash my cloths in scent free soap and store them in bags but in the end I,m convinced it's more the wind

AND...

each individual animal.

Those that have had dogs awhile know that one dogs nose is better than anothers sometimes alot...I gotta figure it's the same with deer

I was in stink mode last weekend standing in a big bed and had a 4yr old come up within 10yrds at eye level...problem was EYE's not his nose

[Ybuck]

I thought you could just wear a certain line of clothing and "forget the wind, just hunt"

All joking aside, taking scent control measures, for sure will help, not hurt. jmo

[b.glass]

"Forget the wind"? Yea, and these guys also promote hunting 40 ft. in the air!

I have had deer walk exactly where I had walked into my blind and act like they smelt nothing. I owe that to being especially careful with my boots. They sit out on the porch between hunts. Not in a bag. Woren for hunting only.

Thanks for your responses. I know most of what you all had to say but learned some too. I ask myself this question occasional when not seeing deer or after having them lower the boom on me a time or two.

[Sam McMichael]

I think the highest percentage is to hunt the wind.  I just don't have confidence in cover scents and scent suppression. The best thing is to locate a good stand, point your nose into the wind, sit still, and be quiet.

[30coupe]

I think a lot has to do with the amount of human contact deer have. Iowa is mostly small plots surrounded by humans. Deer come up and eat birdseed from my uncle's feeder in his front yard...in town. Do you think there is any human scent around that?

In deep, wild timber, the deer are bound to be spookier about human scent or any strange scent. Around here they tend to use scent to confirm what they see and hear. If you can sit still and be quiet, scent is less of a factor. Move and you are busted!

[draco]

An old, very successful, bowhunter I knew, smoked in his stand. I asked if he thought that was very smart. He said he thought it was as it showed him where not to look. I think he played the wind well.

[bowless]

When I think of scent control I just think about what a good bird dog can do.  Deer can smell what, ten times more than a dog.  Gotta play the wind.

[Brian Krebs]

deer can smell you over 500 yards away; and scent clothing does not normally contain your breath. I love to watch guys on tv put on their scent control clothing; and then pop a tattered old stinky hat on their head..

 I do know that I have used baking soda on stand - pouring it over my head and down my neck; and over my clothing...and it did fool a bear that walked down wind...

 We are skunk apes though; kinda like gramma tooting at thanksgiving dinner; the turkey smells great and all the other food too; but over it all - everyone looks at gramma.

[b.glass]

I play the wind the best I can and I guess that's the best anyone can do. But do you notice just because you saw deer go a certain way one time doesn't mean they're going to do that the next time?

I just sit where I think the wind is in my favor and roll the dice.