Old School Scent Control

[Bayou Buck]

The only trick I know to minimize my scent is to put my hunting clothes in a trash bag full of leaves for a week or two before the season. I usually make sure there's some hickory and cedar in there, as it's so strong. Then I put my hunting clothes back in the bag after each hunt until they stink. Then wash and repeat.

I'm curious if any of y'all use tricks like this to get rid of your scent. I never got into the chemicals or charcoal-filtered scent control clothes, as this seems to work well enough for me.

Cheers.

[MnFn]

I used pine branches, for awhile. If the animal gets downwind of you ,I don't know if it helps that much. Can't hurt.

[rolltidehunter]

I try not to smell like gas or stinky gas stations. Keep the wind in your face and go hunt.

[Amberjack]

Our mountain is covered in sage.  Works great and smells great too!

AJ

[AZ_Longbow]

Stand down wind of a camp fire, or get a little bee hive smoker and smoke yourself.
works really good here in AZ.

[OregonTom]

I'm out in sagebrush country.   Native Americans have smudged their gear in sage smoke since time immemorial.  I think it works well.

[stagetek]

I wash my hunting clothes (inside out) often. Keep them in scent free bags. Wash myself as well. Play the wind. Works pretty well...until the wind changes !

[Whitetail Addict]

Originally posted by rolltidehunter:
I try not to smell like gas or stinky gas stations. Keep the wind in your face and go hunt.

+1  

Bob

[kwc]

use fresh earth sent waifers in a plastic container, wash cloths with dead down wind deteragent

[buckeye_hunter]

Campfire smoke or bee smoker x2. I've had many deer downwind and not spook after smoking up myself and my gear. Even when sitting on the ground.

The deer clearly smell something when downwind, but never seem to spook after smoking my stuff. I don't know why, but it works.

[killinstuff]

Why do guys think gas,  deodorant, laundry detergent, new rubber boots or other stuff humans can smell spooks game?  Never could understand that thought process.  Must be a mental thing, "if I can smell it the critters surely smell it".  

Animals smell all that stuff but its the  human stink that puts them in high alert.  They have no clue what Speed Stick For Men smells like but they sure know what a human smells like.

[Red Beastmaster]

I hunt critters that are upwind of me. It's saved me a ton of money and extra effort for something that is not 100% anyways.

[elknut1]

Hunt with the wind in your favor at all times or back out. There are no substitutes or controlling ones scent to the point critters will not wind you if given the chance.

  ElkNut1

[Robertfishes]

We get alot of wind changes here making it difficult to hunt at times.. I take liquid chlorophyll pills daily starting 2 weeks before deer hunting season. I dont have a real problem with body odors but i sweat a lot.. The chlorophyll pills seems to really reduce my body odors to a lower level. I wash my clothes in non scent detergent year round and use the No UV non scent added soap for my hunting clothes. I wash my hair and body with the green liquid hunting soap from Walmart.. I do try to hunt using the wind.
 We have a guy at work whose body odor was off the chart, even at 0700 at start of the work day..I got him on the chlorophyll pills 7 years ago and it worked for him..he didn't take them for a week once and we quickly asked him to buy and take them..

[Bldtrailer]

lots of BAKING SODA

[Whitetail Addict]

Originally posted by killinstuff:
Why do guys think gas,  deodorant, laundry detergent, new rubber boots or other stuff humans can smell spooks game?  Never could understand that thought process.  Must be a mental thing, "if I can smell it the critters surely smell it".  

Animals smell all that stuff but its the  human stink that puts them in high alert.  They have no clue what Speed Stick For Men smells like but they sure know what a human smells like.

I agree with you about human stink putting animals on high alert, no doubt about it.

I can't speak for the others here, but IMHO I've always felt that any unnatural odor in the woods will to the same thing. Probably not to the same degree as getting a snootfull of me, but I want a deer as relaxed as a whitetail ever gets when I shoot at them , not one that knows something isn't right and is already spooky before I try to draw and shoot.

I do agree that hunting the wind is number one, and that's all I've ever done as far as scent control goes, but I wouldn't want to hunt soaked in gas just the same.

Again, It's just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions.    

Bob

[maineac]

I try to shower in unscented soap before hunts, store clothes in Fir boughs, and hunt the wind as much as possible.  It is pretty rare to ever have wind that does not swirl around here. I have had deer downwind of me and not smell me. Though I can't say how many I never saw because they smelled me.  I just do my best to control my scent, and hope for wind and deer that cooperate.

[Blackhawk]

I've seen deer spook at decoys, so if they are wary enough at the sight of "strange" deer in their area then they have to be alert to unnatural odors as well.

Controlling body odor, especially your breath, is important...but hunting into the wind is paramount.

It's almost impossible to fool a deer's nose, but why be in the woods at all if you don't care how stinky you really are?

[Coach Jones]

Hunt the wind and keep your body clean.   While on stand, if a deer gets down wind of you its over.   We can't really do anything about that.   But the reason some hunters spook deer and send them nocturnal is their approach to their stand and lack of scent control for the approach.   9 times out of 10 that big deer is coming by your stand when its dark and any hint of human scent you leave behind wrecks you opportunity and sends him nocturnal.  

Part of my scent control is having multiple stands for every possible wind direction.   Some areas I just can't hunt but a couple times year due to wind direction.    I have a sse ese se e ene nne stand you get the picture.   Generally for a 1 mile square section I may have 20 or more possible stand sites.   And never overhunt a stand.    Having multiple stand sit ups, carefully planning your approach, and limited the time you hunt each stand is much more important than all the gimmicks.  

As far as washing your clothes, your just adding UV rays.   When I started hunting 40 years ago I thought you had to wash your clothes for every hunt.   Now I never wash my outer wear.  I just don't sweat in it and store it in scent free containers and always dress in the field.   However I do wash my base layers and only wear base layers with scent containment and always spray down.    Shower before every hunt and never touch anything with your bare hands.

[Coach Jones]

Hunt the wind and keep your body clean.   While on stand, if a deer gets down wind of you its over.   We can't really do anything about that.   But the reason some hunters spook deer and send them nocturnal is their approach to their stand and lack of scent control for the approach.   9 times out of 10 that big deer is coming by your stand when its dark and any hint of human scent you leave behind wrecks you opportunity and sends him nocturnal.  

Part of my scent control is having multiple stands for every possible wind direction.   Some areas I just can't hunt but a couple times year due to wind direction.    I have a sse ese se e ene nne stand you get the picture.   Generally for a 1 mile square section I may have 20 or more possible stand sites.   And never overhunt a stand.    Having multiple stand sit ups, carefully planning your approach, and limited the time you hunt each stand is much more important than all the gimmicks.  

As far as washing your clothes, your just adding UV rays.   When I started hunting 40 years ago I thought you had to wash your clothes for every hunt.   Now I never wash my outer wear.  I just don't sweat in it and store it in scent free containers and always dress in the field.   However I do wash my base layers and only wear base layers with scent containment and always spray down.    Shower before every hunt and never touch anything with your bare hands.