scent-loc

[stevewills]

i was told you have to heat the carbon too something like 1200 degrees for it reactivate..dont think too many garments will hold up to that

[John Scifres]

It can't really hurt, except your wallet.  I bought some used off craigslist last year just because it was $25 for the whole set.  Wonder if I can get in on a class action suit     Kidding of course.

[Blaino]

this topic makes me chuckle every time!

if i had a dollar for every time i heard "i had my sent stuff on! i don't know what happened?" i'd still be working but i might be able to buy some nice footed wood shafts... i always ask "what direction was the wind?"  more then 99% of the time i get the "oh, i don't know. it dosn't matter i had my sent stuff on" then i just chuckle and think to myself it matters to the deer.  

[Stick n' String]

ABSOLUTE FACT: You can smoke a cigar, spill beer on your coveralls and have terrible gas from last night's meal and a deer will not smell you if the wind is blowing your scent in the opposite direction.

There is no substitute for playing the wind. Period. Granted, the wind often swirls and deer do not always act in the way your scouting and experience indicates they will. You will get busted. It is part of the hunting experience, and no gimmick is ever going to change that fact.

[Pope Co.]

I purchased a scent loc suit several years ago. The first year about 80% of the deer that passed down wind did not appear to scent me. The second year, about 50% of the deer that passed down wind did not appear to scent me. Third year, about 25% of the deer that passed down wind did not appear to scent me. I was just about what you might expect if you exercise good hygene practises after only three years. I was confused about scent lok's promises so I started doing some research. This carbon is small, but if you look at it under a powerful microscope it would resemble a sponge. Lots of surface area for scent molecules to get stuck in. SteveWills said it already. The dryer will not get hot enough to regenerate the carbon. So after a couple of years your suit is filled up. What I found in the research mirrored my own experience.

I won't buy any new scent lok because it does not live up to its claim.

Hunt the wind and utilize the best practices in hygene that you've probably already read about on some of these threads. What does your scent stream look like. It is probably very narrow where your at and gets wider as it moves downwind. The center of that area has the most of you in it, or a more concentrated dose, or more parts per million. The outer area has the least concentration. If you were at deer camp all week and you could analize your scent stream in parts per millioin, it might be 500ppm down the center, and out on the edge it might be 10ppm. I think if your really clean your scent stream might be 200ppm down the center and 10ppm on the edges. But in the first case your scent stream might be 50 feet wide by the time it got a hundred yards down field. In the clean case it may only be 30 feet wide when it got a hundred yards down stream. These numbers are just a way to try to express my thoughts. Not claiming they are accurate.

Everyone says hunt the wind and I agree with that. But I think you can improve your chances on those days that the wind is slighty variable.

[Mint]

A friend gave me asuit many years ago for doing some free accounting work for him. I was skeptical so I let my pitbull outside and wrapped a biscuit up in the suit and hid the suit. I let her inside and told her to find the biscuit, she put her head up and started sniffing and went right to wear the suit was. And this isa pitbulls nose not a deers.

[JimB]

Actually,they lost in court but got it reversed on appeal.All was largely about how advertizing was worded.

I've read some thoughtful articles from people who work with carbon technology and seen videos of dogs and the suits and have become convinced they can't possibly do much.The carbon experts say a dryer isn't hot enough to activate it and that a lot of pores are clogged in the bonding process etc.They say the heat that could activate charcoal would burn up the suit.

I've had a couple deer down wind of me when I had it on but I also know unless you are constantly using some sort of wind floater,not just dust,you have no idea what wind currents are really doing.When you pay $300 for a suit,you want to believe.

I saw a hunting show with the Scent Blocker guy hunting with all his stuff on and a doe approached his tree and turned inside out when it got to where he walked.He said the deer reacted to "disturbance" but hadn't smelled anything.I smelled something!

Anyway,I had to defer to the carbon experts and dog guys on this one and when the court case started,I put all 3 suits up for auction.I decided I'd take $20 over tossing them in the trash.I was shocked,those guys fought over that stuff and I recovered more than half my money.I made no claims but you would think they would wonder why I was getting rid of it.

Great story Mint.

[Rob W.]

Anybody that swears by it can spend a night with me in a canvas tent after a week of a all ham and bean diet. I will wear as much scent loc as you like.    


Rob

[Terry Green]

Chlorophyll will do more for you than a suit....I'm a believer in that.  Chlorophyll is even good for you as a detox and parasite killer.

It seems to make the deer think you are 100 yards away instead of 20....and when they smell your track its not as bad...IF, you de-scent the INSIDE of your boots as well as the outside.

AND, a tip from Smokey seems to work for me as well...female coon piss.  If a female coon is not worried about your sent, the deer will continue on.

[Jon Stewart]

Holy Crap Terry nice buck,  That deer must have had a cold, nose was plugged up and thats why he got so close the day before, LOL

Again they moved their production out of a very depressed state, Michigan, and down to Mexico.

Not sure what cammo is made in the United States but thats the cammo I would buy if I needed some.

[bowtough]

Only thing that works is getting the wind right! He can't smell you if he is up wind. And that advice is free.  

[Nattybumppo]

Originally posted by Jon Stewart:
They moved their production operation down to Mexico a few years ago from Michigan. Make your own call on this one.

Won't buy it because of that myself.

[Groundpounder]

personally i think deer are curious animals. and sometimes theyll even come into check out a strange scent.even if they wind you it seems like theyll get more alert but not until they actually spot you do they snort jump and run off.but like most others i try to play the wind.

[Groundpounder]

just curious to all who posted that they stay downwind of the animal and not worry about how they smell.how many of you spend money on deer scented attractants,if you place the scent at your stand isnt your scent blowing in the wrong direction if your expecting the deer to come from upwind?   :confused:

[stujay]

Good post with lots of info.