Scent elimination

[Delynn]

Can anyone give me any real advice on how to elimanate human odor. The deer in my area are hunted very hard and at the slightest change of the wind they leave the country. I just got back for a Texas trip and those deer are dump as rocks. I saw 40 to 50 bucks and they never smelled me once. 86 degrees and sweating the whole trip. My Alabama hunting seems to be the same. The deer just don't pay any attention to me. Here it is a whole different story. I have tried most products with very little success. Scent Lok clothes, lotions, sprays, etc. I bet I have spent several thousand dollars playing this game and can not seem to win. I do my best to take care of my scent but it doesn't seem to matter here. Shower, rubber boots, descented clothes, sprays, etc. I could go on and on. Any advice. Is there really anything that well work most of the time. I have researched different sprays and clothes and some are nothing more than a gimmick PERIOD. I am running out of money tring new stuff. Scent Lok suits have worked the best for me but don't seem to work for long. Wear them a few times and wash them a few times and they are done. That gets pricey. Is there any help? Thanks in advance

[Wild Bill Bucks]

Delynn.

I feel your pain. I to, have spent countless dollars on products that don't really work as advertised. Here in Oklahoma, playing the wind is probably THE most important part, of scent removal. This can't always be accomplished because of the change in direction every other hour.

I have settled on two things, that seem to work for me. Distance, and Height. If I want to hunt an area, I try to get as far from the area as I can, and still be able to get a good shot on the animal. If I can't get any distance between the animal and where I want to set up, I try to get higher. There is a BIG difference (from a scent stand point), in being 10 ft. off of the ground and being 20 ft. off of the ground. I don't like stands that high, but if I have a really spooky Buck, it sometimes helps. I personally think that your scent falls to the ground,(on still days) and the further up you are, tends to let your scent dissipate more, before it hits the ground. On windy days, I think the higher up you are, the less your scent hurts you out to 100 yards or so.

Nothing else I have tried seems to be worth much, and I'm like you are,I'm tired of spending money.

[whiskey]

I use homemade scent killer spray and I use the wind. I am careful not to keep my hunting clothes and boots in a plastic bag with pine branches. the homemade spray is cheap and it helps but is not a cure all. Scent control is a routine not just one thing that cures all problems. The wind can always swirl so you want to decrease your scent as much as possible. Nothing works everytime except the deer's nose.

One thing that has impressed me is the silver-treated/thread underlayers. They just simply kill odor germs before they can stink. I hunt with a guy that sweats like a mule and stinks like hell when the sweat dries. The silver treated underlayer is the only thing that he can wear and we can stand to be around him. NO KIDDING he can wear this stuff for 3 days in a row in FL and it stil will not stink.

[Trapp]

Well, How about leaving them (the clothes) in the backyard. They will take on the smell of the outdoors. Another thing that I have heard of, but never tried, is to use materials from your hunting area (acorns, leaves, pine needles etc..) to make a cover scents. It would seem the pine needles would work the best (off the trees not the brown on thr ground ones!)
Eliminating your human scent I don't know. The "Scent-Away" seems to work for me.
I did a small experement where I took a sweaty doo-rag and had my wife smell it before and after. Very obvious difference. It may not go away completely, but it does reduce it.
Another note on that. I was told that in order for all of the smell to go away you must get your clothes damp with it, and they must dry completely.

[UH1-D Rotorhead]

....but I used to fly with a good 'ol boy from the deep south who lived to hunt deer....he said that he sprayed himself with extract of buck "juice", if you know what I mean....I didn't ask, nor do I want to know how he obtained this "juice"...is this true, or was he pulling my city slicker leg?

[Desertfox]

I harvest deer every year with a bow. I usually get shots within 15 yards. Down wind or up wind, scent elimination is a key factor. I use the body soap and laundry soap. I get dressed in the field not before I drive out there. I use the spray on everything as I leave the truck.

Footwear and breath are the biggest mistakes. Don't wear your boots in the truck or anywhere else. Keep them for hunting. If your breath stinks, you stink.

I usually put a little vanilla around my hunting area every fall. Once or twice a week around my stand area, I sprinkle a little vanilla extract on some leaves.
When I am bowhunting in that area, I rinse a little vanilla extract in my mouth and I blend in.

Like my buddy says, when all else fails, chew on some pine tar.
Please don't follow those directions! Just a joke.

Breath is the tough part because you gotta breathe and it is warm and moist and full of odor. There are some nice scentblocker head covers that have the charcoal mouth cover. Vanilla a couple times a week around the stand and then a little in the mouth when you hunt and you will be surprised.

[Delynn]

Thanks for all the advice. I will have to try the vanilla. I have not used anything for my breathe yet. That was my next experiment. I do everything else thou. Yes, play the wind is the only thing that really works for me. All the things I do seem to help a little but playing the wind is by far the best. I brush my teeth, then shower with some kind of scent elimanantor soap, towel and clothes have also been treated, I get my clothes from one of the cedar or pine trees from around my house( they stay there all hunting season) I also have 5 or 6 different sets so the are there for a few weeks between wearings, I dress once I get out of my truck, rubber boots are a must for me. I hunt the spots where the wind will be in my face, (Dang that swirling wind) I get 30 to 50 feet up in a pine tree. My rope for my rifle is 50 feet long and most times it is maxed out when I stop climbing. Deer (never ever) see me. Sometimes I get away with them down wind, but 90% of the time it is game over. Any more advice. I like the vanilla idea. I will try it.

[hilblly]

Well I don't know if this helps. I also archery hunt and usually get within 25 yards. Start with one of the clothing washes and wash everything you are going to wear, including underwear, hat and gloves( I wear thin gloves even when is hot. Be sure the wash has no UV brightners. Then I spray all of those clothes with Hunters Specialties scent elemination spray and let it dry outdoors. When you get to where you are going to hunt spray your boots and all your outerwear. Now that being said I still try to work the wind. I had a cow elk pass within 10 yards downwind of me and she never spooked. Works with deer also. You are probably doing all of those things also. Maybe some cover scent would help. I haven't found it necessary. Hope that helps.
Good Luck

[Trapp]

Sportsman's guide has "Artic somethingorather" silver lined shirts for $20. Go to the "Amazing deals part of the page (a link at the top)...I might pick one up for myself.

[Huntergirl]

The one product that I have used is awsome stuff. H.S Scents "Scent-A-Way Plus Fresh Earth", smells like dirt. Haven't been able to find it this year on the shelves. Wore this stuff when a cow elk came up to within 3 ft of me. A similar experience with a whitetail doe. Also watched a bull elk try to mate a cow who had a calf at side, within 10yds of me. Another time, I was sitting on the edge of a scree slope overlooking a creek at dawn. I caught something in my peripheral vision coming down to my right side. It was a bobcat, just pitter patting silent as can be down the rocks to the creek. He was all of 3 ft from me, never gave a hint that he knew I was there! I firmly believe this scent-a way stuff really works.

[sparkysteve]

I usually use scent free soap, shampoo, deoderant, etc. I keep my clothes in a sealed Rubbermaid container and air them out regularly. I wash hunting clothes in the washer with a little baking soda. I use scent-killer on my boots before walking into the woods. I haven't bought any scentlock or similar clothes. I'm not sure they do enough. I still believe no matter how hard you try, you can't beat a deer's nose. If they're downwind and close, your screwed. I just try to keep scent to a minimum to avoid spooking the deer to another county.