Scent Control

I want to learn more about how some of you guys control your scent. I want to hear how you control your scent of your clothes and how you cover it while walking in the woods and hunting. I’m obviously doing something wrong. I thought I have been covering myself good and doing preventive things to my clothes but it ain’t working.

Today I walked in water and mud almost the whole way to my stand and thought I’d be good. Doe comes out and walks towards my tree then stops, bobs her head stomps and she gone. Very frustrating. I know she didn’t see me because I could barely see her so she caught my scent somehow.

Thanks for any input.

I wash my clothes in UV / scent free detergent. I store them in airtight containers. I bath in either Ivory, Hunter Specialties or Dead Downwind soap. I don’t put my hunting boots on til I walk in. They come off as soon as I come out. When walking in, I try to avoid touching anything with my hands or any exposed skin. Doing all this I still get winded from time to time. You’re not going to fool their noses 100%. Best bet is to hunt the wind as much as you can. Even that can be difficult as much as it swirls around these parts.

Deer can smell half a mile...thats hard to overcome, I hunt ridges with a good steady wind during bowseason. It makes me mad when I think I'm good, then my big ass great Pyrenees follows me to my location 5-800 yards down the mountain. I have killed a deer with him once tho after he sit down I just happened to see the deer before he did

She winded where I walked. I use dead down wind. Wash the clothes and use the spray. I spray my boots heavily and even smear some ever calm on them a little. I think if the wind would’ve kept blowing a little I might have got a shot because it was just a breeze and it was in my face. But as it got dark the wind just stopped and I think that made it worse. She walked right up to my path and that was it.

Did you make the drive to your property with your hunting boots on? Hell, the Ever Calm could have spooked her.

Was clothes in scent free soap, wash my tail with scent free soap I use earth cover scent and try and keep my wind right I pack my clothes in those vaccum bags

One thing I can pass along is to pay attention to your "gear" as much as your clothing/body when it comes to scent control. For example, do you wear a watch, or glasses? What about your bow release? Etc., etc. Deer doesn't care what it smells to bust you. Get it? You can wipe those items down with hydrogen peroxide. Even your bow grip and bow itself. Like Shaw said, you'll never beat a deer's nose, but position yourself down wind and practice scent control to fool the deer long enough to make a shot. Good luck!

I always hunt the wind. I have places set up for almost any wind direction so I can move around. I haven’t wiped down gear. I do spray down my pack and hat but haven’t sprayed my release. I guess the spray and the ever calm could’ve been too much. They did ride in the truck on the way there but I don’t wear any of my outer layers until I’m out of the truck. I will see if I can find some bags for those outer layers. I’m going to spend more time on scent from now on. I’m obviously not spending enough on it.

You will never beat a deer or really another animals nose
And some folks go way over board with scent control and camo too watch the hunting beast i ain't real sure Dan infault owns very much camo and it is questionable as to how often he takes a bath but he continues to kill big deer
All you can really do is minimize scent as much as you can stay still and quiet in a stand and work the terrain, location and wind to your advantage

I think its just bad luck to be honest...if u hunt the wind and do more than what your doin now your still gonna get busted sometimes..ive done all that and got busted I've also went smelling like a redneck that hasn't bathed in a week and killed em

I’ve definitely had my share of bad luck with bow hunting. I need to quit thinking about it so much too and just hunt.

Yes and a lot of deer helps...im going in the am smelling horrible..just not in big buck territory, I save those places for later season like January with rifle 🤣 if u want tips on killing big bucks with bow don't listen to me

ALL free and clear detergent, Dove unscented soap, Arm&Hammer unscented antiperspirant, and I store my clothes in a tote with baking soda freezer packs. But it still wont do a bit of good if the wind aint right. dont use cover scents it may be me but I think ive been busted more times because of cover scents than not.

I do everything that’s in my power to control my scent, bath, neutral clothes wash, spray myself and my equipment with scent cover/eliminator, etc. I’ve had my dog track me right to my stand. You will NEVER beat a whitetail’s nose, it’s his number one line of defense. Do all that you can BUT you MUST hunt the wind.

The secret is not to hide your scent, but get them used it. Live where you hunt, hunt where you live, stay in the woods all the time.
I can walk within 20 yards of the deer around here because they are used to me. They see me every day. We're neighbors.

This was one of the aspects of hunting that really started to irk me. Like taking the fun out of it. I still make a halfway effort by washing my stuff and myself in unscented detergent/soap and hang my hunting clothes outside 24/7, but other than that I let it ride. I put my clothes on before I get in the truck, I wear leather boots that don't make my feet sweat unless it's super muddy, I don't worry if the underwear or socks I am wearing may have come from my house clothes.

Fact is all stuff has a smell. Grab a handful of your hunting clothing and bury your nose in it, it smells like something. Wool, polyester, cotton, etc. You can clean it a million and a half times and it will still smell. It may not STINK like a human, but you aren't going to make wool not smell like wool, or polyester insulation not smell like polyester insulation, etc. Hell, even the unscented soaps I use smell like something. It smells like soap without any scent.

Things that I have begun to pay more attention to : hunting the wind. Which means to me not only having the wind in my face and expecting deer to come from that direction, but also considering ingress/egress. I won't hunt an area where my scent has blown in front of me.

Using thermals properly. In hill country this is super important. I struggle to put together good evening hunts bow hunting because of the falling thermals, I much prefer to hunt high up on a ridge in the morning so my scent gets launched upwards and out of the valleys with the thermals. That doe caught your scent because of the falling thermals.

I assume wherever I walk in deer are going to smell me if they walk the same trail and bust out. I don't set up expecting a shot over my walk-in trail.

I do most of the above, washing clothes with baking soda and bagging them. Washing my body especially my hairy parts with Dead Down Wind. Wipe my boots with baking soda inside and out and sprinkle a bit inside my boots. I use natural cover scents.whatever cover scent you use they will smell.Deer are curious and will look for the source. I have had success with crushed pine and cedar needles but my favorite is wax myrtle. I crush the leaves and rub them on my clothes and put them in my jacket or shirt pocket and spread them around my stand. I obviously work the wind but I’m very conscious of thermals as they change morning to evening. I also gargle and swish with a baking soda solution. Ive been told it doesn’t hurt to occasionally toss out a hand full of corn meal into the breeze if you are in a stationary stand. Hanging the stained hocks of a buck will get everybody’s attention especially if you can hunt a scrape.

Ozonics

I pretty much go through the same process as Shaw and I know for a fact the Ever Calm will get their attention and spook them at times. I watched a doe a few days ago that was winding the EC on my boots from where I walked in. She was a little spooky but browsed for 30 mins

Learning to hunt the wind and thermals is your best option other than maybe climbing 30ft. I use unscented detergent, soap, and deodorant but even that has a smell to it.

Could have heard you then came to investigate then smelled you or if it was a pm stand the deer could be headed to the food and you could have been on her trail coming from the bedding area. May wait a week or so and set up quietly on the trail where you think it came into your trail, but far away enough from bedding area where it does not here you when the wind is not blowing toward the deer's area. Don't expect a smart deer that is hunted hard to come from downwind no matter what type scent control you have unless it is a dumb deer which is usually a dead deer. People say they can fool a deer's nose a lot of deer in some areas just don't associate human odor as a threat as much as in other areas. If you hunt in an area where they don't consider yourself lucky.

I love to hear that "hunt the wind" advice. Some of y'all need to get out the house more.
When you figure out how to hunt the wind that changes direction every 2 minutes, please write us a book.

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HUNTING THE WIND

Written by Lonster

Dedicated to Out Back

Well there is this modern technology called a computer, smart phone or television, where one can look at the local weather and see the wind direction. Yes I know that there will be swirls, thermals, etc. and the wind usually changes directions several different times during a sit, however, for the most part, the wind will be blowing in the direction that the local weather models predicted. When I “hunt the wind” I hunt according to the predicted wind direction for that part of that day and that’s all that I can do.

The end.

I dont do anything, I shower with soap, put deodorant on daily, wash clothes in heavy duty Tide etc.. I dont even wear boots most days, I walk in with the wind in my face and only hunt with a favorable wind if the wind is not favorable for any stand I want to hunt I stay home or just work around the camp house. I drive fairly close to where I hunt and always drive in to put corn or check cameras.

This ^^^^ also days with calm winds I dont go unless I can sit a long ways from where deer will be. I love days with 10-20 mph winds as they are always from a constant direction

Thank you sir.
Although I am a crusty old curmudgeon, I am actually aware of the latest weather tech gadgetry.
And I also employ the very same wind strategy. Unfortunately we live here at the gates of hell, where the temperatures changes 40 to 60 degrees between daylight and dark. The wind shifts directions throughout the day and I swear at times it blows four different directions simultaneously. It's during those shifts when Murphy brings his law into effect and that one buck you've been hunting for two years happens to be downwind.

Me and Gkelly are humming the same tune. I do everything you do except I use small fresh pine needles and twigs in my tote for a pine cover scent.

I think a lot of scent control has to do with how pressured deer are. I think deer that don’t get messed with daily aren’t as spooky in general so you can get away with more. On the other hand like Outback said if they get used to you being around they’re more tolerant too. But I do believe there’s a difference between being “neighbors” with your deer and somebody beating around on a hunting club that doesn’t see or get much pressure from March to September. Superspike if your in a club with a bunch of people. More than likely your deer have PhDs in avoiding people.

I wash my clothes and the towels I use when I shower before a hunt in Dead Down Wind Detergent. When I say clothes I mean anything I wear into the woods like socks, underwear, hats, gloves, clothes, t-shirts, thermals, daypack etc. Prior to hunt I use Dead Down Wind Body Wash and dry off with towels I washed in DDW. Then nothing touches my body that hasn’t been washed in DDW. I dress in my base layers, pants and a t-shirt or thermal shirt and that’s what I wear to the stand. It’s got to be something cool enough that I don’t sweat. I spray all of the layers I’m going to wear the next day with DDW field spray the night before and store them in a Tinks Carbon Lined garment bag. I spray the inside of my boots as soon as I take them off and I don’t put them on until I get out of my truck and get ready to go in the woods. I spray them down when I put them on even though they are rubber. I also have an OZONE Generator in my truck and it stays clean and I spray the drivers seat with DDW. I also spray myself down head to toe. Once I get up in the stand I put on my top layer shirt/jacket and spray down. I also wipe any exposed body parts like hands, face, neck and head with DDW Field Wipes to get rid of any sweat. I also wipe down my bow and tree stand the night before with DDW Field Wipes. Even though I do all of this I have no illusions that it makes me scent free so a deer won’t smell me. I do believe it helps and it may make a deer not sure about what he’s smelling, but I always hunt the wind. I just want to minimize my scent foot print a little. Now I’ve killed plenty of deer down wind of me, but I think that has a little to do with scent control, a little to do with getting up high in a tree and a little to do with it not being the smartest deer in the gene pool. Plus it gives me confidence and that can help you a lot in the woods. Good luck and happy hunting.

I got anxiety just reading that.

Ya..... I’ll pass on all that 😀

I’m guessing you don’t go in the gas station and get you a biscuit and a coffee before you head to the woods either.

I’d buy a copy! Yesterday evening it was calling for a north wind and at times it did blow from that direction but it also blew outta every other direction too! Unless it’s just howling there’s no telling which way the wind will blow in Alabama

Almost make you mad such a pretty day and the wind is blowing crazy directions right!

Bingo. Now you’re getting it. I used to be super anal about scent control back in the days when all I did was bow hunt the whole season. I was in a bow only club in Pickens County and all of the members with the exception of my cousin and I were trad guys. We had one guy named Buzz that is probably the best woodsman I’ve ever met. He asked my cousin and I one day if we knew what the best cover scent for early bow season was. My cousin and I eagerly ask him what it was and he said “Off”. I told him he was crazy. He said if the deer gets air in it’s nose that contacted you, you were busted, no matter what you did to minimize it. If you’re sitting up in a stand swatting mosquitoes, the deer is going to see you from every direction. From that moment on, I quit being so anal about scent control. The scent control I practice is to minimize me leaving scent on the ground or underbrush as I walk in. Spraying your release and bow down is taking it too far and totally unnecessary in my opinion. One thing that always cracks me up is the guys that say they won’t use a thermacell because the deer can smell it. If the deer smells the thermacell, it’s already smelled you.

Worked for me on Cahaba yesterday with this guy. Must be doing something right.

NICE BUCK!!!....

Nice buck USMC. Twaldrop had a point about non pressured deer being spooky too about new smells. I think this may have been an issue yesterday. I did what I thought was everything right and she busted me. I know for a fact nobody has hunted this spot nor anywhere near it. I think she wiffed something new and got jumpy. I appreciate all of the tips. I learned a few new things. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that just because i get busted doesn’t necessarily mean I did something wrong. Lots of variables out there and I started this thread while I was frustrated yesterday. I’ll be back at it tmrw afternoon.

I do a little but none of it makes a difference. If a deer is downwind it’s still gonna wind you.

Thanks. I had to shoot him straight down. Shot him a few inches back from the shoulder blades and that did the trick. He was right underneath me before I even knew it and I had to do something!

USMC4910 most people dont have the patience or dedication to do the stuff you do for scent control. No doubt, it would be the best way or close to it. I only know a couple of people that anal, no offense. I wish I could be that way when I needed to, im just not that kind of fellow. Nice buck, and youre exactly right, it all paid off.

My extensive scent control regimen is a mix of Ben2 and Outback tactics.

I think I get that from the Marine Corps honestly. I haven’t always been like this and sometimes I wish I wasn’t, but it’s a routine now and if I don’t do it I feel like I’m half assing it. What’s crazy is I do all that scent control and get in the stand and get a dip! Lol! I do spit in a bottle though with a little bit of DDW in it.

I chew tobacco, spit on the ground and pee off the stand.
Actually killed two of my biggest bucks with my pants unzipped.

Could be more in it than her just smelling where you walked. If you're in hilly country and it was later in the day, it could be that you were a victim of thermals... and when she crossed your trail it happened to be where the thermals took your scent.

Whoa easy fella borderline TMI

Always heard perch was a good Hunter...this confirms it now 🤣