Scent control by diet

BrianBM · July 30, 2006, 03:11 PM

There have been mentions, once or twice, of changing one's diet before hunting season to avoid offending a whitetail's sensitive nose. What kind of diet changes do hunters practice? Go vegetarian for a few weeks? Besides meat and tobacco, what else do guys do to affect their scent?

FirstFreedom · July 30, 2006, 03:28 PM

I often wonder about that too. I take supplements of garlic, ginseng, ginger root, and a few other things, and the combination (not sure which) keeps the horseflies and mosquitoes off of me very very well (while they're eating my buds alive), but I can't help from wonder if I'm gonna stick out like a sore thumb, smell-wise, to the deer. I'm not knowledgeable in this area, but my guess would be yes, eat grains, cereals, fruits, vegetables - minimize the meat & fish and dairy products. I know that high salt items can make you give off a smell, too - like soy sauce.

If you eat a big bowl of chili before hunting, might want to throw on a pair of these:

http://www.flat-d.com/charcoal-underwear.html

swampdog · July 30, 2006, 06:05 PM

I've often wondered about "carnivore" breath. I imagine that cup of 7-11 coffee on the way can kind of smell strong, too. I do usually brush with baking soda and water before hunting but I do that frequently when it's not hunting season too.

There is absolutely no chance of me going veg for hunting season, or giving up my morning coffee, so I quit worrying about it. I usually take some trail mix or cashews or peanuts when hunting but I've been known to have some deer or beef jerky in my pack, sealed up, of course. I've never been one to take a thermos in the woods, but I will take a Mountain Dew in a plastic bottle.

Face it, you are human, to animals you stink. Most Americans are meat eaters. I understand that to people from more vegetarian cultures, we really stink. I hunt to have fun. If I had to give up meat and coffee to get a deer, that would really lower the fun factor. I try to take reasonable precautions, but I decided long ago to worry more about how I hunt than how I smell. I don't care what you eat, how you dress, what you wash your clothes in, what you bought at walmart, or what kind of high tech underwear you spent $130 on, if a deer gets directly downwind from you, up close, you're busted. None of the above hurt, though, and I've tried it all. I draw the line at going veg, though. I'd rather wear skunk scent.

Art Eatman · July 30, 2006, 06:46 PM

I guess I got into my own hunting before such things were worried about. I've just taken it for granted that to Bambi, I have Bad B.O., and hunt into the wind.

, Art

Wild Bill Bucks · July 31, 2006, 09:35 AM

Generally I try to shoot mine BEFORE I kiss them.

jhgreasemonkey · July 31, 2006, 01:49 PM

If anyone has seen the Ted Nugent wack em and stack em videos he claims that he drinks nothing but apple juice for 2 weeks before he goes hunting and when he pisses off of his tree stand it smells like apples. I never tried it. Kind of funny though.

BrianBM · July 31, 2006, 05:38 PM

Somehow, from Ted, that's not surprising ....

BrianBM · July 31, 2006, 05:39 PM

Wild Bill, no wonder you have a tough time getting a second date.

FirstFreedom · July 31, 2006, 06:08 PM

Ha! Yeah, what kind of funky beastiali-necrophelia is going on 'round Pitt county, anyhow?!? And does your wife know?

JK

jhgreasemonkey · July 31, 2006, 06:47 PM

I'd also make sure its dead before hand so you dont get your face barked off.

Art Eatman · July 31, 2006, 11:05 PM

Body scent was a survival issue for guys on patrol in Vietnam. Maybe one of them would have some notion about how long it takes for a change in diet to make a change in one's distinctive type of body odor.

Might be a good question for the General forum.

Art

FirstFreedom · August 1, 2006, 02:03 PM

Art, do you mean that it's a matter of survival, by the GIs smelling the enemy first (and hoping that they don't change their high-fish & soy diet as a result of this advantage)? Or, do you mean a matter of survival in that our boys changed their OWN diets to be more like that of the enemy so that we would not smell different to them? Or both? Thanks.

UltimaThule · August 1, 2006, 05:29 PM

Ask a politician.

To paraphrase my grammaw, they belong to a class of people "who think their s*** smells like roses".

Art Eatman · August 1, 2006, 05:40 PM

FF, I guess it was both, really. But, if our guys' BO was different from that of the VC, bivouacs and ambushes could be located by that different smell. It worked both ways, from what I've read. Purely from reading; no first-hand knowledge...

Art

BrianBM · August 1, 2006, 06:25 PM

I remember one Green Beret's memoir - the name isn't currently coming to mind - who mentioned that he stuck religiously to a Vietnamese diet, nuoc mam and all, precisely so that he'd smell like them. Fortunately, all I have to be concerned with is not spooking game.

castnblast · August 3, 2006, 11:53 AM

I haven't got all caught up w/ all the "scent gadgets" out on the market, but I am a huge fan of scent free deoderant & soap by dead downwind. soap yourself up one day after working in the yard and you literally do not smell anything on you. I even stuck my nose under my arm and could smell nothing.

No, I can't reach my a$$, but I'm assuming it has the same effect there!

No joke!

mtnbkr · August 3, 2006, 12:16 PM

I hunt with a bunch of hard drinking, hard smoking, meat eating rednecks on public land in the mountains. Nobody who makes an effort has a problem getting a deer. The consensus is movement is a bigger problem than scent or appropriate cammo, which is a problem for me since I smell nice but can't sit still.

Chris

Wild Bill Bucks · August 3, 2006, 02:08 PM

Unless your going to be hunting in outer space, you are going to be out there at around the same time as about a zillion other hunters, so a deer trying to avoid the human scent is going to have a hard time. I think playing the wind, and staying as still as possible, will pay off far better than worrying about how your breath smells.

The mosquitos here, are to thick, to hunt with my mouth open anyway.

rangermonroe · August 3, 2006, 03:35 PM

I have tried the following diet for years. It seems to work.

Booze at night (to hydrate), Captain Krunch with sardines and boisenberries, in the AM. (and some asprin to counteract the booze smell), Coffee with sacharine and creamer, and a half pack of "lite" cigarettes to counteract any remaining liquor smell.

Couple of cigars and diet cokes...or root beer...in the stand, until lunch time...(usually about 45 minutes), and then...

Two burritos, a pack of spicy peanuts...quick trip to the "big tree" /w wad of Denny's napkins.... mug of cold coffee, can ofwarm diet coke, 'nuther cig.

Ready for the afternoon hunt, completely scent free!

BrianBM · August 3, 2006, 06:56 PM

Now THERE'S a man who has given this topic some serious thought ...

FirstFreedom · August 3, 2006, 10:31 PM

Quote:

I have tried the following diet for years. It seems to work.

Booze at night (to hydrate), Captain Krunch with sardines and boisenberries, in the AM. (and some asprin to counteract the booze smell), Coffee with sacharine and creamer, and a half pack of "lite" cigarettes to counteract any remaining liquor smell.

Couple of cigars and diet cokes...or root beer...in the stand, until lunch time...(usually about 45 minutes), and then...

Two burritos, a pack of spicy peanuts...quick trip to the "big tree" /w wad of Denny's napkins.... mug of cold coffee, can ofwarm diet coke, 'nuther cig.

Ready for the afternoon hunt, completely scent free!

LMAO - good stuff.

Works for you.

I think it would HAVE to be a matter of life or death (as it was for our boys in Vietnam) for me to eat nouc mam on a regular basis.

samsmix · August 3, 2006, 11:15 PM

Beans!

castnblast · August 4, 2006, 04:02 PM

I prefer breakfast of the champions for my early 4:00am rise. Beer and twinkies, followed by a thermos of coffee w/ a couple shots of Jack Daniels. The deer may not like the smell, but the hogs sure do...I'm not sure if that is something to brag about or not...

The Texican. · August 4, 2006, 08:57 PM

each night before bed and before you go huniting the next day, make certain that you eat at least two full plates worth of beans and fried cabbage. Put on plenty of cologne and perfume the morning of the hunt, not the night before to keep down amrous visitors especially if you've been on the lease for two three or four days or longer. and always remember the TP.

Scent does not matter if you hunt in an elevated stand or down wind of your feeder or deer route.

Noise has caused more spooked deer and missed shoots than scent ever has.

You can stink and still bag a good one, Do not noisely pass gas, smack gum, talk, snore, crack your knuckles, sit still, keep your mouth shut and your ears and eyes open.

NRA4life · August 7, 2006, 12:26 PM

I don't generally eat sauerkraut and fried onions the night before. That offends even me.

July 30, 2006, 03:11 PM	#1
BrianBM Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2006 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 273	Scent control by diet There have been mentions, once or twice, of changing one's diet before hunting season to avoid offending a whitetail's sensitive nose. What kind of diet changes do hunters practice? Go vegetarian for a few weeks? Besides meat and tobacco, what else do guys do to affect their scent?

August 3, 2006, 11:53 AM	#16
castnblast Senior Member Join Date: July 2, 2006 Location: Corpus Christi TX Posts: 1,148	I haven't got all caught up w/ all the "scent gadgets" out on the market, but I am a huge fan of scent free deoderant & soap by dead downwind. soap yourself up one day after working in the yard and you literally do not smell anything on you. I even stuck my nose under my arm and could smell nothing. No, I can't reach my a$$, but I'm assuming it has the same effect there! No joke! __________________ VEGETARIAN...old indian word for bad hunter

August 3, 2006, 03:35 PM	#19
rangermonroe Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2005 Location: savannah Posts: 758	Stench and diet... I have tried the following diet for years. It seems to work. Booze at night (to hydrate), Captain Krunch with sardines and boisenberries, in the AM. (and some asprin to counteract the booze smell), Coffee with sacharine and creamer, and a half pack of "lite" cigarettes to counteract any remaining liquor smell. Couple of cigars and diet cokes...or root beer...in the stand, until lunch time...(usually about 45 minutes), and then... Two burritos, a pack of spicy peanuts...quick trip to the "big tree" /w wad of Denny's napkins.... mug of cold coffee, can ofwarm diet coke, 'nuther cig. Ready for the afternoon hunt, completely scent free!

August 3, 2006, 11:15 PM	#22
samsmix Senior Member Join Date: June 29, 2006 Location: Montana (Montucky?) Posts: 1,273	Stay the heck outta the: Beans! __________________ You'll probably never NEED a gun. I hope you never do. But IF you do, you will need it worse than anything you've ever needed in your life. IF we're not supposed to eat animals, howcome God made 'em outta meat?

August 4, 2006, 04:02 PM	#23
castnblast Senior Member Join Date: July 2, 2006 Location: Corpus Christi TX Posts: 1,148	I prefer breakfast of the champions for my early 4:00am rise. Beer and twinkies, followed by a thermos of coffee w/ a couple shots of Jack Daniels. The deer may not like the smell, but the hogs sure do...I'm not sure if that is something to brag about or not... __________________ VEGETARIAN...old indian word for bad hunter

July 30, 2006, 03:28 PM	#2
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	I often wonder about that too. I take supplements of garlic, ginseng, ginger root, and a few other things, and the combination (not sure which) keeps the horseflies and mosquitoes off of me very very well (while they're eating my buds alive), but I can't help from wonder if I'm gonna stick out like a sore thumb, smell-wise, to the deer. I'm not knowledgeable in this area, but my guess would be yes, eat grains, cereals, fruits, vegetables - minimize the meat & fish and dairy products. I know that high salt items can make you give off a smell, too - like soy sauce. If you eat a big bowl of chili before hunting, might want to throw on a pair of these: http://www.flat-d.com/charcoal-underwear.html

July 30, 2006, 06:05 PM	#3
swampdog Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2006 Location: Dismal Swamp, NC Posts: 338	I've often wondered about "carnivore" breath. I imagine that cup of 7-11 coffee on the way can kind of smell strong, too. I do usually brush with baking soda and water before hunting but I do that frequently when it's not hunting season too. There is absolutely no chance of me going veg for hunting season, or giving up my morning coffee, so I quit worrying about it. I usually take some trail mix or cashews or peanuts when hunting but I've been known to have some deer or beef jerky in my pack, sealed up, of course. I've never been one to take a thermos in the woods, but I will take a Mountain Dew in a plastic bottle. Face it, you are human, to animals you stink. Most Americans are meat eaters. I understand that to people from more vegetarian cultures, we really stink. I hunt to have fun. If I had to give up meat and coffee to get a deer, that would really lower the fun factor. I try to take reasonable precautions, but I decided long ago to worry more about how I hunt than how I smell. I don't care what you eat, how you dress, what you wash your clothes in, what you bought at walmart, or what kind of high tech underwear you spent $130 on, if a deer gets directly downwind from you, up close, you're busted. None of the above hurt, though, and I've tried it all. I draw the line at going veg, though. I'd rather wear skunk scent.

July 30, 2006, 06:46 PM	#4
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	I guess I got into my own hunting before such things were worried about. I've just taken it for granted that to Bambi, I have Bad B.O., and hunt into the wind. , Art

July 31, 2006, 09:35 AM	#5
Wild Bill Bucks Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2005 Location: Southeastern Oklahoma, Next door to Sasquatch Posts: 1,266	Generally I try to shoot mine BEFORE I kiss them.

July 31, 2006, 01:49 PM	#6
jhgreasemonkey Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2006 Location: Pacific Northwest Posts: 2,238	If anyone has seen the Ted Nugent wack em and stack em videos he claims that he drinks nothing but apple juice for 2 weeks before he goes hunting and when he pisses off of his tree stand it smells like apples. I never tried it. Kind of funny though.

July 31, 2006, 05:38 PM	#7
BrianBM Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2006 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 273	Somehow, from Ted, that's not surprising ....

July 31, 2006, 05:39 PM	#8
BrianBM Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2006 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 273	Wild Bill, no wonder you have a tough time getting a second date.

July 31, 2006, 06:08 PM	#9
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	Ha! Yeah, what kind of funky beastiali-necrophelia is going on 'round Pitt county, anyhow?!? And does your wife know? JK

July 31, 2006, 06:47 PM	#10
jhgreasemonkey Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2006 Location: Pacific Northwest Posts: 2,238	I'd also make sure its dead before hand so you dont get your face barked off.

July 31, 2006, 11:05 PM	#11
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Body scent was a survival issue for guys on patrol in Vietnam. Maybe one of them would have some notion about how long it takes for a change in diet to make a change in one's distinctive type of body odor. Might be a good question for the General forum. Art

August 1, 2006, 02:03 PM	#12
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	Art, do you mean that it's a matter of survival, by the GIs smelling the enemy first (and hoping that they don't change their high-fish & soy diet as a result of this advantage)? Or, do you mean a matter of survival in that our boys changed their OWN diets to be more like that of the enemy so that we would not smell different to them? Or both? Thanks.

August 1, 2006, 05:29 PM	#13
UltimaThule Senior Member Join Date: September 16, 2001 Location: Norway Posts: 458	Ask a politician. To paraphrase my grammaw, they belong to a class of people "who think their s*** smells like roses".

August 1, 2006, 05:40 PM	#14
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	FF, I guess it was both, really. But, if our guys' BO was different from that of the VC, bivouacs and ambushes could be located by that different smell. It worked both ways, from what I've read. Purely from reading; no first-hand knowledge... Art

August 1, 2006, 06:25 PM	#15
BrianBM Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2006 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 273	I remember one Green Beret's memoir - the name isn't currently coming to mind - who mentioned that he stuck religiously to a Vietnamese diet, nuoc mam and all, precisely so that he'd smell like them. Fortunately, all I have to be concerned with is not spooking game.

August 3, 2006, 12:16 PM	#17
mtnbkr Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2000 Location: Manassas, Virginia Posts: 914	I hunt with a bunch of hard drinking, hard smoking, meat eating rednecks on public land in the mountains. Nobody who makes an effort has a problem getting a deer. The consensus is movement is a bigger problem than scent or appropriate cammo, which is a problem for me since I smell nice but can't sit still. Chris

August 3, 2006, 02:08 PM	#18
Wild Bill Bucks Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2005 Location: Southeastern Oklahoma, Next door to Sasquatch Posts: 1,266	Unless your going to be hunting in outer space, you are going to be out there at around the same time as about a zillion other hunters, so a deer trying to avoid the human scent is going to have a hard time. I think playing the wind, and staying as still as possible, will pay off far better than worrying about how your breath smells. The mosquitos here, are to thick, to hunt with my mouth open anyway.

August 3, 2006, 06:56 PM	#20
BrianBM Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2006 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 273	Now THERE'S a man who has given this topic some serious thought ...

August 4, 2006, 08:57 PM	#24
The Texican. Junior Member Join Date: August 3, 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 7	each night before bed and before you go huniting the next day, make certain that you eat at least two full plates worth of beans and fried cabbage. Put on plenty of cologne and perfume the morning of the hunt, not the night before to keep down amrous visitors especially if you've been on the lease for two three or four days or longer. and always remember the TP. Scent does not matter if you hunt in an elevated stand or down wind of your feeder or deer route. Noise has caused more spooked deer and missed shoots than scent ever has. You can stink and still bag a good one, Do not noisely pass gas, smack gum, talk, snore, crack your knuckles, sit still, keep your mouth shut and your ears and eyes open.

August 7, 2006, 12:26 PM	#25
NRA4life Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2001 Location: WA Posts: 183	I don't generally eat sauerkraut and fried onions the night before. That offends even me.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search