Scent control?

[bigbob]

I was wondering how far you guys take scent control? Are you freaks or more just aware of scent? I would say I'm more scent aware. I take scent free showers, use unscented deodorants, keep my clothes and boots in totes until I'm going to leave the parking spot, approach from where I dont' think the wind will blow scent to deer I'm hunting, don't walk where I expect deer to come from and do my best to hunt stands only when the wind is right. I kind of think all the high dollar scent eliminating clothes etc are a crock. What do you guys think? Am I on the right track or am I missing something?

[U.P. MAN]

Approach and exit strategy,correct wind a absolute necessity. I also take care with hygiene and clothing contamination. Those are kinda "second fiddle " though. : )

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[Dewey]

Play the wind in your favor, that's the only way to beat a whitetails nose. If they get down wind they will smell you no matter what scent control precautions you take.

Use milkweed seed to test the wind while on stand and you will be really surprised how your scent stream is affected by wind currents and thermals.

[Stanley]

I don't use anything. I have been called lucky though.

[dan]

Read this thread, it gets better a page or two into it:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3027

[bonemonger]

entrance and exit routes is the only place i am concerned with scent, try to avoid contact with brush and high grass. other than a normal shower if time permits i am not taking any other measures.

[Mike]

I find it to be very beneficial on hunting smaller properties, just depends on your hunting style. Not a fan of carbon clothing, just clean clothes, gear, and carbon powder.

To me successful scent control is not having deer react to me. From what I have seen I have been successful most of the time, but its never gonna be 100%.

[G3s]

As far as Scent Blocking clothing, I am not a believer. I do feel that my scent spray does work, mainly because I have seen deer cross my path of entrance with a little reaction but with no real bad reaction. I use Wildlife Research Center spray...I believe in it. Other than that I really don't think the scent control industry holds much water.

[Jackson Marsh]

I don't do too much, try to stay clean, the entrance route is very important. I can be as clean as possible with scent free clothes, and by the time I slog a mile through the marsh with hip boots it doesn't matter.........so entrance route is key.

[Jackson Marsh]

I don't use anything. I have been called lucky though.

If Stanley is"lucky" than I want to be lucky too I think luck has very little to do with Stanley's success.

[backstraps]

I don't use anything. I have been called lucky though.

If Stanley is"lucky" than I want to be lucky too I think luck has very little to do with Stanley's success.

ME TOO! I want a "lucky" wall or two like Stanley!

[headgear]

I use to be a scnet control slave and still got busted, now I could care less about scent control and I am able to get on mature bucks on public land, it is all about how well you know the land and how much effort you want to put into your hunt.

[dan]

Scent control to me means watching the wind direction and where you walk... Some deer react to scent, some don't, but you certainly are not fooling a deers nose.

"Baking soda and peroxide do not scare deer... Neither does clothes scent, and maybe not even human sweat... The thing that spooks deer is the millions of dead skin cells that shed off your body constantly. Nothing can mask or stop that.
Reduce it? Sure... But our skin cell scent to a deers millions of times stronger nose and there vomernasal organ is the equivalent to our nose of being sprayed by a skunk. Wiping off the skunk spray with a dry towel will reduce it, however even reduced its going to make little difference when you get up wind of your wife. She is going to smell you and notice it immediately.

Research shows that deer have up to 297 million olfactory receptors in the nose, plus a vomeronasal organ (that detects scents/odors) in the roof of their mouth. Dogs have up to 220 million olfactory receptors in the nose, plus a vomeronasal organ. Humans have up to 5 million olfactory receptors in the nose, but no vomeronasal organ.

I would say not only does a deer smell 27% better than a bloodhound, a deer is also a wild animal that depends on survival thru its nose. It uses its nose to detect tiny food particles under deep snow and at great distances so as not to starve. A deer also depends on his nose to detect predators that want to kill it. His beds are put in position to smell approaching danger... They also use there nose to find receptive does... I would venture to say they depend greatly on there nose on a day to day basis....Or maybe I should say minute to minute...
A domesticated dog on the other hand is not being hunted, does not get to chase around for females, does not live totally based on his nose...Me? I would rather try to fool the dogs nose"

"Deer can smell better than a blood hound. I seen a real police crime show where a blood hound was used to track a wanted man 3 days after he was at a motel (the motel had been cleaned ) and they used a coke can that the man drank out of as the sniffer for the dog to get the scent off his finger prints... The dog followed the mans scent out of the motel, down a side walk that hundreds of other people used since the man went thru into a park, across a river, and right to a campsight on the side of a hill where they caught the guy... Now, I am saying that if the dog could track that individual guy 3 days after he walked up that crowded side walk, and tell the difference between his scent and the hundreds of others, how long do you think they can pick up some human scent ( maybe not that they can follow) in the area, especially if its not contaminated with other human scent???
You certainly cannot leave a trail thru the woods that a dog could not follow with his nose by "wearing a magic suit" and "rubber boots". Deer smell better than dogs!"

"if you get away from the hunting industry and look at other industries using carbon filtering you will find one common trait. The stuff quickly clogs up and becomes ineffective. Only extreme heat that would destroy any fabric can restore the molecules."

"If I buy soap/shampoo I usually buy scent free or something mild... But Carol generally buys the shampoo and detergents. So generally I just use regular soaps. I really believe it makes very little difference. I don't think deer are afraid of forein odor. They fear human or predator odors that come from your skin cells dropping constantly. The key is to not let your wind blow to the deer."

"Ever watch deer walk right up to a freshly parked vehicle/ATV that smalls like gas, oil, and obviously don't belong where it is parked?
But get up wind of that same deer..."

"The big point you should get out of this is that it won't hurt you to be clean. But don't limit your hunting because of time restraints or anal rituals that will keep you from hunting when time is limited.
If you hunted the extra 45 minutes you spend doing rituals, your success from getting 45 more minutes per hunt would far exceed the "help" scent control rituals do...
The scent that spooks the deer is the human scent created as the body sheds dead skin cells. Washing don't remove that... Scent spray does not stop you from creating and shedding more cells. Carbon activated suits don't remove it enough to be effective... Foreign odors could work to catch a deers attention and his focus could make him notice your scent. But I believe if they smell the foreign odor, they are down wind and smell your human scent too.... Our human scent to a deer is likely stronger than that of a skunk spray to us. They smell millions of times better than you or I."

"if the belief is you can fool the nose, and you choose your set ups without strong regard to the wind, you are likely hurting your success."

[dan]

Here is a link to the Mythbusters show "beat the bloodhound"

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythb ... he-dog.htm

What is interesting, is I have seen about a 1/2 dozen good well done bloodhound tests done on manufacture recommended scent removal and containment systems, and amazingly, the results have always shown that the cleanest most "scent free" person is the one found the fastest... I wonder if skin cells come off faster when skin is clean and free of sweat?

[bucksnbows]

Well I am a scent control freak. Is it needed to kill mature bucks? Nope. I look at a deer's nose like a smoke detector.
If you smoke a cigarette in your family room the detector will not go off, but if you light the couch on fire it will. Look at the deer's nose the same way. Without any attention to your scent and trying to reduce it as much as possible you are the burning couch.
Scent control goes way beyond washing in scent free soaps and wearing carbon lined clothing. It is a very time consuming process and requires dedication the whole season. If you are not willing to take the required measures then you will have less than satisfactory results. In my opinion go big or not at all. Playing the wind is absolutly the most important. Though I play the wind much differently than we have been taught. I use the wind expecting the bucks to be angling into the wind weather they are entering or exiting a bedding area. So I don't want them directly down wind of me but I set up with the expectations of them being more on my down wind side than not. With swirling winds playing the predominate wind direction is near impossible.

As for the tracking dog "experiments". A dog is trained to find what ever it is after. So naturally they will track down even the faintest of scent they are looking for. A deer is programmed to avoid scents of predetors (humans). Deer also come across human scent on a regular basis in some areas. It relates the scent in certain areas to its experiences. If human scent on a two track is normal without any negative experiences they will more tend to over look it.
Example:
Farmer Tom is in and about the property all the time, farming, repairing fences, etc. Farmer Tom moves about his business and seems to care less about the deer. He makes noise moves fast and is usually in general areas. The deer are used to the activity and the scent left behind by farmer Tom. Hunter Tom on the other hand acts like a predator. Moves slow, quiet, and leaves scent behind in areas the deer are not used to smelling humans. This raises concern and the deer pay much more attention to it.

So if hunter Tom can reduce his scent to a point that it results in the deer thinking he is either farther away than he really is or the scent they smell seems to be older than it is, hunters can fool the deer's nose. We can never beat it, no matter what we do. If they get in the scent stream they will smell you 100% of the time. The key is to fool them. Think about the smoke detector................are you just a cigarette in the room or are you a burning couch?