Scent Control for Feet

[dan]

Stan is in Iowa...

[Spysar]

Get a boot dryer and use it everytime you wear your rubber boots(or any boots). Odor causing bacteria get wiped out if the inside of your boot is bone dry.

[Clevinger]

Stan is in Iowa...

Whoops. Thought I saw a thread where he said he was from Minnesota.

[GRUD]

A couple things: I buy cheap $25 Winchester rubber boots at Rural King and wear them most of the year. I find the ones that only have 200gr of thinsulate so my feet dont sweat as much. If you can keep your body temp up you dont need heavy insulated boots to keep your feet warm. What happens when your core body temp drops is your system pulls more blood to your torso to keep its temp up thus your hands and feet get cold no matter what you are wearing. I have found that an outer layer blocking the wind is an absolute to keep warm.

Second: If you are just trying to keep your boots from being smelly and rank from sweating no matter what kind of boot, spray your feet with Right Guard aerosol antiperspirant before putting on your socks, this will keep your feet dry and warmer in certain conditions.

As for scent control I just watch where I walk and plan my entry as I move in slowly. If I do have to walk across where the deer will be I make sure my path will be is shooting distance of my setup.

[adrenalin]

Get a boot dryer and use it everytime you wear your rubber boots(or any boots). Odor causing bacteria get wiped out if the inside of your boot is bone dry.

Same for me. Your boots will last alot longer too.

[ttsbuck]

Clevinger I also have a real problem with my feet sweating in rubber boots, which causes my feet to be cold in any temp below 40. I have found rubber boots with removeable felt liners eliminated the problem. Foot odors don't matter, entry route does.

[Clevinger]

Clevinger I also have a real problem with my feet sweating in rubber boots, which causes my feet to be cold in any temp below 40. I have found rubber boots with removeable felt liners eliminated the problem. Foot odors don't matter, entry route does.

A lot of helpful thoughts in this thread. Thanks guys.

I probably will have to invest in some insulated rubber boots for next season.

[Stanley]

This is what I do.

Stanley, you are like the ultimate teacher. It seems like you have a picture for any question that comes up.

I have a pair of rubber boots like that but kind of reserve them for wet situations. My feet sweat in them too.

Do you spray them or do anything special to get rid of their scent after hunting?

I like to use visual aids whenever I can. It kind of helps express some of the information I'm trying to convey. Showing something works, helps in saying something works. Wearing rubber boots will save you from getting busted (ground scent) a few times a year. I believe the rubber smell isn't alarming to some deer. They smell rubber their entire lives, from tires on the ground.

You live in Minnesota too, right? Did you invest in the insulated rubber boots?

I might need to get some insulated ones. I just have the regular rubber boots and you can only wear so many socks when it's cold.

I'm from Iowa. I wear tennis shoes thick wool socks and toe warmers when real cold.

[Dewey]

I wear rubber boots only because I hunt in water or muck most of the time. I think relying on them for scent control is not a primary reason to use them.

I have been dressed head to toe in rain gear with rubber hip boots over the top during heavy rain and still got busted when a deer hit my scent trail where I walked in. If you are not careful about your entry route they will smell you no matter what scent measures you use.

[PLB]

I watch where I walk and too use a boot dryer. Entrance and exit are key to scent control. Especially entrance. I play the wind also. That's it. No scent control gimmicks for me. No way to fool a mature bucks nose.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Stanley]

Watch the wind, and watch where I walk... I usually where muck boots, but have killed good bucks while wearing my smelly work boots or my tennis shoes. Entrance is very important.
I feel no mater what you do, if the buck crosses your path, he will know you have been there... Staying mobile and keeping him guessing usually have the best results for me.

I have done a ton of thinking, testing, on the footwear topic. If your boots have any type of foreign smell, you are busted. I did a lot of testing 20 years ago on what a buck would tolerate and what he wouldn't. I left my boots in a boat (intentionally scent soiled my boots) and walked across a path I knew a buck would travel. I never had one buck make it across that path (bare dirt) with out getting busted. A boat holds all kinds of human scent, gasoline, oil. I tried this many times. Busted every time. I then left my boots outside walked a 1/2 mile or so to scrub the boots so to speak. Big difference I actually had many bucks go past my ground trail un alerted. I did these tests many times to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Keep in mind this is bare dirt, no grass. I then had a friend of mine "said I was full of it" do the same tests. Same results. He now wears the tall rubber boots exclusively.
I also found that wet boots would alarm more bucks than dry boots. I thought it would be the opposite but was not. So washing off my boots in a creek was counter productive. I also found walking through any tall grass was a bust every time.
This is my theory on why it works. The rubber boots isolate your human scent from dispersing to the ground. The rubber smell does not alarm deer as they smell rubber every day of their lives. At least in agriculture country they do. So if you can keep the foreign scent off your boots you can sometimes sneak by a buck or two. In bare dirt your ground scent is as far from a bucks nose as it ever will be. That is why tall grass is no good to walk through it is at nose level. Over the the years I can tell you with out a doubt I have had many bucks cross my ground scent and not be alarmed. Think of it like this if you could lay down a rubber mat to walk on and pull it up behind you. You would leave very little scent on the ground. This in a sense is what wearing rubber boots does. Don't get me wrong if you can avoid putting your ground scent where a buck will cross it you are better off (this is the best alternative).

[Bucky]

You can spray your feet with antiperspirant. They make unscented stuff... it contains typically aluminum chloride or chlorohydrate with will help with excessive sweating of the feet. I have done this in the past with muck or rubber boots and it makes a huge difference in how much your feet sweat.

The other best tip I think is the boot dryer after every hunt. I also wear merrino wool wicking socks with merrino wool poly mix on the outside = wool has natural antibacterial properties

[Stanley]

You can spray your feet with antiperspirant. They make unscented stuff... it contains typically aluminum chloride or chlorohydrate with will help with excessive sweating of the feet. I have done this in the past with muck or rubber boots and it makes a huge difference in how much your feet sweat.

The other best tip I think is the boot dryer after every hunt. I also wear merrino wool wicking socks with merrino wool poly mix on the outside = wool has natural antibacterial properties

I always used boot dryers when I wore Goretex boots. I have switched to tennis shoes (arthritis in my toes) and just air dry them and fresh socks daily unless I'm in the bush. The dryers make a huge difference in keeping your feet warm more than the benefit of foot stench. With my rubber boot system foot stench is isolated from reaching the ground.

[Clevinger]

Watch the wind, and watch where I walk... I usually where muck boots, but have killed good bucks while wearing my smelly work boots or my tennis shoes. Entrance is very important.
I feel no mater what you do, if the buck crosses your path, he will know you have been there... Staying mobile and keeping him guessing usually have the best results for me.

I have done a ton of thinking, testing, on the footwear topic. If your boots have any type of foreign smell, you are busted. I did a lot of testing 20 years ago on what a buck would tolerate and what he wouldn't. I left my boots in a boat (intentionally scent soiled my boots) and walked across a path I knew a buck would travel. I never had one buck make it across that path (bare dirt) with out getting busted. A boat holds all kinds of human scent, gasoline, oil. I tried this many times. Busted every time. I then left my boots outside walked a 1/2 mile or so to scrub the boots so to speak. Big difference I actually had many bucks go past my ground trail un alerted. I did these tests many times to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Keep in mind this is bare dirt, no grass. I then had a friend of mine "said I was full of it" do the same tests. Same results. He now wears the tall rubber boots exclusively.
I also found that wet boots would alarm more bucks than dry boots. I thought it would be the opposite but was not. So washing off my boots in a creek was counter productive. I also found walking through any tall grass was a bust every time.
This is my theory on why it works. The rubber boots isolate your human scent from dispersing to the ground. The rubber smell does not alarm deer as they smell rubber every day of their lives. At least in agriculture country they do. So if you can keep the foreign scent off your boots you can sometimes sneak by a buck or two. In bare dirt your ground scent is as far from a bucks nose as it ever will be. That is why tall grass is no good to walk through it is at nose level. Over the the years I can tell you with out a doubt I have had many bucks cross my ground scent and not be alarmed. Think of it like this if you could lay down a rubber mat to walk on and pull it up behind you. You would leave very little scent on the ground. This in a sense is what wearing rubber boots does. Don't get me wrong if you can avoid putting your ground scent where a buck will cross it you are better off (this is the best alternative).

Sometimes someone writes a post that is so informative and interesting that it's a shame that it's buried in the thread. This is such a post. Well done.

[Clevinger]

I watch where I walk and too use a boot dryer. Entrance and exit are key to scent control. Especially entrance. I play the wind also. That's it. No scent control gimmicks for me. No way to fool a mature bucks nose.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Do you guys have a particular boot dryer you would recommend? This has become a need purchase for me.