Anyone ever worry about scent control on guns?

bclark1 · July 20, 2005, 08:10 AM

So all I've done in years past is bird hunting, turkey and upland, but this year will mark my first stab at deer. Obviously a different game. Now I haven't invested much money in scent control, and ideally I'll have prevailing winds on my side and not even need to worry about it if I'm properly positioned, but here's something I've wondered about - With all the focus on de-scenting oneself, I've never really heard about how to reduce the smell of a gun. I have to think to an animal with sensetive senses of the olfactory would pick this up perhaps even faster than a person, as bits of solvents, oils and ammunition should certainly have a rather distinct chemical smell. Has anyone ever looked into this?

mete · July 20, 2005, 10:33 AM

It's been asked before . There are so many smells coming from you that some gun oil won't matter.

kingudaroad · July 20, 2005, 11:02 AM

I'm with the opinion that deer are always smellimg for something unfamiliar and will always avoid unfamiliar smells. If your wife cant stand the smell of your gun cleaner Your deer will probably avoid it too.I used to use a lot of hoppes # 9.....smells awful! I now use " M PRO-7".It works way better and is practically odorless. If you don't want to take chances with your own odor why take a chance with your cleaners?

Trxxx · July 20, 2005, 12:15 PM

I wouldn't worry about it. If they smell you they are likely to be gone anyway, regardless of the particular mix of human/gun oil scent. I don't think that any factor is more critical to success in deer hunting than approaching from downwind.

Deer will generally run from any scent they associate with danger, and unless they are habituated to humans and human disturbance human scent will scare them off at a range longer than you would believe. In the absence of human scent, I don't think gun oil would particularly scare them. Machinery and vehicles give off various oily smells and don't seem to unduly alarm deer.

And in practice, you can't ever fully mask human scent - deer's olfactory sense is many thousand times more sensitive than ours and will pick up a miniscule concentration of scent particles.

Bottom line - wipe off the excess gun oil, and approach them from downwind. You should do fine.

Mannlicher · July 20, 2005, 05:54 PM

nope, never did

siotwo · July 20, 2005, 06:31 PM

One year we used some odd-ball rem spray lube on our shotguns (not rem oil). The next weekend, duckhunting, all we could smell was coconut all day from the oil on the guns.

If you worry about scent in the first place, then you can not ignore the smell of your gun.

butch50 · July 20, 2005, 07:35 PM

Depends on where you hunt and what style of hunting you do.

If you are goint to wear one of those charcoal suits and eat chlorophyl tablets, and pack your boots in a bag of pine needles, then it doesn't make sense to carry a gun that you didn't de-smell the same way.

But if you are not going to be doing that, then taking some normal precautions to clean you rifle with the least smelly stuff available and wiping it down thoroughly makes sense. You wouldn't pour gasoline on your boots so why carry a gun that reeks?

buzz meeks · July 20, 2005, 11:10 PM

Keep the wind in your face and it won't matter.

JohnO · July 21, 2005, 12:52 PM

"Keep the wind in your face and it won't matter."

Good, solid, inexpensive advice...

butch50 · July 21, 2005, 07:31 PM

Keep the wind in your face is good advice, but not always optimal. Sometimes the wind is shifty and will swirl around on you, and sometimes you can't get downwind due to terrain factors or distance. And sometimes there isn't any appreciable wind from any direction.

chadwimc · July 21, 2005, 07:39 PM

I always try to play the wind. But, during Ohio's gun season, I wipe my shotgun or muzzle loader down from end to end, inside and out. I use those little square alcohol swabs, It cuts the solvent and oil but evaporates quickly.

sm · July 21, 2005, 07:49 PM

Hunting is a LOT like fishing - many fishing lures are made to catch wallets - not fish.

I figure the ATF I use for a lube blends in with the smells of farm/ ranch vehicles leaking ATF anyway. Then again I do NOT own any camo, I smoke, I drink coffee, eat donuts, and beef jerkey while deer hunting. Usually stalking, or I might sit on a stump...

I "might" take along a old 'tater sack made of burlap, to break my outline, then again keeps the damn squirrels from dropping acorns, bark and whatever ontop of me.

My fault tho' - rubbed two quarters together brought the squirrels around.

Blue Jeans, Kahki shirt, Green wax cotton coat, LLBean rubber soled/leather upper boots.

Then again gray casual slacks, blue oxford shirt, blue sport blazer, red/blue/ green striped tie, cordovan penny loafers works with a 1911 CCW too. Hey, the farm hand had a bummed leg, needed venison, he got venison. 4 point won't fit in a Mustang GT...had to go borrow his truck....and one of his kids...

Everyone likes a sharp dressed man... ZZTop

July 20, 2005, 08:10 AM	#1
bclark1 Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,531	Anyone ever worry about scent control on guns? So all I've done in years past is bird hunting, turkey and upland, but this year will mark my first stab at deer. Obviously a different game. Now I haven't invested much money in scent control, and ideally I'll have prevailing winds on my side and not even need to worry about it if I'm properly positioned, but here's something I've wondered about - With all the focus on de-scenting oneself, I've never really heard about how to reduce the smell of a gun. I have to think to an animal with sensetive senses of the olfactory would pick this up perhaps even faster than a person, as bits of solvents, oils and ammunition should certainly have a rather distinct chemical smell. Has anyone ever looked into this?

July 20, 2005, 05:54 PM	#5
Mannlicher Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2001 Location: North Central Florida & Miami Posts: 3,208	nope, never did __________________ Nemo Me Impune Lacesset "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.".........Ronald Reagan

July 20, 2005, 07:35 PM	#7
butch50 Senior Member Join Date: April 15, 2005 Location: Republic of Texas Posts: 1,403	Depends on where you hunt and what style of hunting you do. If you are goint to wear one of those charcoal suits and eat chlorophyl tablets, and pack your boots in a bag of pine needles, then it doesn't make sense to carry a gun that you didn't de-smell the same way. But if you are not going to be doing that, then taking some normal precautions to clean you rifle with the least smelly stuff available and wiping it down thoroughly makes sense. You wouldn't pour gasoline on your boots so why carry a gun that reeks? __________________ ‘‘Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest.’’ ~ Mahatma Ghandi, "Gandhi, An Autobiography", page 446 ‘‘The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun.’’ ~ Patrick Henry

July 21, 2005, 07:31 PM	#10
butch50 Senior Member Join Date: April 15, 2005 Location: Republic of Texas Posts: 1,403	Keep the wind in your face is good advice, but not always optimal. Sometimes the wind is shifty and will swirl around on you, and sometimes you can't get downwind due to terrain factors or distance. And sometimes there isn't any appreciable wind from any direction. __________________ ‘‘Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest.’’ ~ Mahatma Ghandi, "Gandhi, An Autobiography", page 446 ‘‘The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun.’’ ~ Patrick Henry

July 21, 2005, 07:49 PM	#12
sm Senior Member Join Date: February 5, 2002 Posts: 1,819	Hunting is a LOT like fishing - many fishing lures are made to catch wallets - not fish. I figure the ATF I use for a lube blends in with the smells of farm/ ranch vehicles leaking ATF anyway. Then again I do NOT own any camo, I smoke, I drink coffee, eat donuts, and beef jerkey while deer hunting. Usually stalking, or I might sit on a stump... I "might" take along a old 'tater sack made of burlap, to break my outline, then again keeps the damn squirrels from dropping acorns, bark and whatever ontop of me. My fault tho' - rubbed two quarters together brought the squirrels around. Blue Jeans, Kahki shirt, Green wax cotton coat, LLBean rubber soled/leather upper boots. Then again gray casual slacks, blue oxford shirt, blue sport blazer, red/blue/ green striped tie, cordovan penny loafers works with a 1911 CCW too. Hey, the farm hand had a bummed leg, needed venison, he got venison. 4 point won't fit in a Mustang GT...had to go borrow his truck....and one of his kids... Everyone likes a sharp dressed man... ZZTop __________________ Use Enough Gun TFL Alumni

July 20, 2005, 10:33 AM	#2
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	It's been asked before . There are so many smells coming from you that some gun oil won't matter.

July 20, 2005, 11:02 AM	#3
kingudaroad Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2005 Location: austin Posts: 735	I'm with the opinion that deer are always smellimg for something unfamiliar and will always avoid unfamiliar smells. If your wife cant stand the smell of your gun cleaner Your deer will probably avoid it too.I used to use a lot of hoppes # 9.....smells awful! I now use " M PRO-7".It works way better and is practically odorless. If you don't want to take chances with your own odor why take a chance with your cleaners?

July 20, 2005, 12:15 PM	#4
Trxxx Member Join Date: May 8, 2005 Location: UK Posts: 47	I wouldn't worry about it. If they smell you they are likely to be gone anyway, regardless of the particular mix of human/gun oil scent. I don't think that any factor is more critical to success in deer hunting than approaching from downwind. Deer will generally run from any scent they associate with danger, and unless they are habituated to humans and human disturbance human scent will scare them off at a range longer than you would believe. In the absence of human scent, I don't think gun oil would particularly scare them. Machinery and vehicles give off various oily smells and don't seem to unduly alarm deer. And in practice, you can't ever fully mask human scent - deer's olfactory sense is many thousand times more sensitive than ours and will pick up a miniscule concentration of scent particles. Bottom line - wipe off the excess gun oil, and approach them from downwind. You should do fine.

July 20, 2005, 06:31 PM	#6
siotwo Senior Member Join Date: February 6, 2005 Location: The Woodlands, TX Posts: 217	One year we used some odd-ball rem spray lube on our shotguns (not rem oil). The next weekend, duckhunting, all we could smell was coconut all day from the oil on the guns. If you worry about scent in the first place, then you can not ignore the smell of your gun.

July 20, 2005, 11:10 PM	#8
buzz meeks Member Join Date: September 22, 2004 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 42	Keep the wind in your face and it won't matter.

July 21, 2005, 12:52 PM	#9
JohnO Senior Member Join Date: October 3, 2000 Posts: 502	"Keep the wind in your face and it won't matter." Good, solid, inexpensive advice...

July 21, 2005, 07:39 PM	#11
chadwimc Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2005 Posts: 155	I always try to play the wind. But, during Ohio's gun season, I wipe my shotgun or muzzle loader down from end to end, inside and out. I use those little square alcohol swabs, It cuts the solvent and oil but evaporates quickly.

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