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Scent Killers and Ozone!!

I know I'm the black sheep on this topic but I pay absolutely zero attention to scent control…seriously! Throw on the camo, play with the dogs, drink coffee, pump gas on the way there, and sweat the whole way in. Has it cost me deer, maybe, would they have smelled me anyways, probably... for me I'd rather spend that time or energy scouting but To each his own and I think if something gives you confidence when hunting then by all means do it!
 
I wash in that green soap before every hunt. Hunting clothes are outside where I dress before I leave and taken off outside when I get home. Yea, I basically walk in the house nekked. Base layers get washed and air dried outside every other hunt. Boots touch nothing but dirt and the forest floor. Outer layers get smoked using either pine or cedar branches usually once a week or as needed. I don' use any sprays or chemicals.
 
Somewhat varies by where I'm hunting.
Wash all clothes, hat, belt, bag, etc in scent killing detergent or baking soda or a combo of both. They go straight from the dryer into a plano case with conifer limbs and charcoal in the bottom. I keep a smaller plastic container in there to hold knives, ropes, calls, flashlights, etc. Rubber boots will go in there on top, also extremely picky about which boots I where and route I take.
Shower and try to limit sweat after as much as possible.
If hunting public or somewhere other than where I'm sleeping, will get dressed after the drive. Spray clothes before I put them on, spray climber, etc. Generally have a friend do another dose.
I also hunt back home with my friends on private where we walk off the cabin porch to a stand. I'll wash it all the same, then once we're out there will hang all our stuff on the clothes line. If taking the atv up the road to a stand, will spray down once there.

However, I think a lot of this is just chasing the last few percent of what I need to do. If watching the wind and sitting the right place, this will help but everything before this step takes priority
 
tree_ghost said:
I know I'm the black sheep on this topic but I pay absolutely zero attention to scent control…seriously! Throw on the camo, play with the dogs, drink coffee, pump gas on the way there, and sweat the whole way in. Has it cost me deer, maybe, would they have smelled me anyways, probably... for me I'd rather spend that time or energy scouting but To each his own and I think if something gives you confidence when hunting then by all means do it!
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That's how my brother is and he's a stone cold killer. That boy could eat everything on Taco Bell's menu, roll around in the dog pen, grab a jacket from his work truck, and still get it done. He spends a lot of time in the woods & understands deer, and that's what actually matters.
 
My scent control consists of arm and hammer deodorant and scent free laundry detergent if I remember it.

I used to constantly spray scent killer on clothes, boots, and gear. I had a tote with an ozone machine. I washed clothes regularly. Before every hunt I'd take a shower with scent free soap. And the list goes on and on.

My success rate has not went down at all since i quit doing all the extra stuff. I'm very conscious of my entry and exit routes. I'm always watching wind direction as well.

As another member said, do whatever it takes to give you confidence.
 
I just use scent free All and run an empty load first before my clothes. I spray my dryer and the lent collector down and run it while my clothes are washing. Throw my clothes in a tote with some cut up cedars and get dressed once I get parked where I'm hunting if I'm not running late. I also make my own spray. In the last 4-5 years doing it I have not been blown at but have watched 2 scent check when the wind was high. I do not hunt the wind partly because I hunt public and it's ppl every which way anyways and 2 I call a lot, so If the buck is going to circle me anyways what's the point 🤷🏽‍♂️? I see deer pretty much every hunt. Kill 2-4 bucks a year (quota).
 
Wash with Atsko, air dry when it's warmer. 2nd step 15 minutes ozone. Cooler temps I run in the dryer. Ozone for 15 minutes, flip clothes around, then 15 more. Spray my stand down with scent killer as it sits in the garage and that's my routine.
 
tree_ghost said:
I know I'm the black sheep on this topic but I pay absolutely zero attention to scent control…seriously! Throw on the camo, play with the dogs, drink coffee, pump gas on the way there, and sweat the whole way in. Has it cost me deer, maybe, would they have smelled me anyways, probably... for me I'd rather spend that time or energy scouting but To each his own and I think if something gives you confidence when hunting then by all means do it!
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Honestly, as long as you play the wind right (IF there is a consistent wind that day), you could roll in dog poop before every hunt and it wouldn't matter.
 
30-06 type of guy said:
I just use scent free All and run an empty load first before my clothes. I spray my dryer and the lent collector down and run it while my clothes are washing. Throw my clothes in a tote with some cut up cedars and get dressed once I get parked where I'm hunting if I'm not running late. I also make my own spray. In the last 4-5 years doing it I have not been blown at but have watched 2 scent check when the wind was high. I do not hunt the wind partly because I hunt public and it's ppl every which way anyways and 2 I call a lot, so If the buck is going to circle me anyways what's the point 🤷🏽‍♂️? I see deer pretty much every hunt. Kill 2-4 bucks a year (quota).
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What ingredients do you use to create your spray? I buy D/Code because it's about the only brand listing their ingredients (aqua, glycerin, silver complex), making me think they're at least transparent and accountable. Would be interested in putting my own stuff together tho
 
Wrangler95 said:
Another thing I do is use the stick of Evercalm on my boots!!I walk to my stands usually on old logging trails and Ive had quite alot of deer come right down the logging trail Ive just walked and wasnt spooked at all,so I sure believe in the Evercalm.Im not into most things on the market but I sure believe in the Evercalm ,although its pricey!
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Evercalm is legit.
 
I take a shower before most every hunt but I just use my regular soap and shampoo. I've decided that deer aren't smart enough to associate the smell of my soap(s) with danger. I've become super conscious of my entry and exit routes and trying to touch as little as humanly possible while walking in and out. Outside of that I wash my clothes after every hunt during bow season and maybe 1-2 times once the temps start cooling down some. I won't say I never get smelled but it's becoming a pretty rare occurrence. I'm also hunting mainly open farm ground with limited bedding though so I always have a good idea where the deer should be coming from.
 
I'll be the first to say - even though I used to be a fanatic about scent control - if a deer is downwind, they're going to smell you, no matter what you do. However, I've found that if I reduce my scent, I can often fool a deer into thinking I'm farther away than I am. Instead of snorting and bolting when they smell me, they just go on high alert. And either slowly back out of the situation, or continue on, very slowly, on ultra-alert. Sometimes this provides a shooting opportunity snorting-and-bolting does not.
 
I'm religious on my rubber boots and keeping them away from human odors. They don't come out of the tote until I'm out of the truck to hunt. Plus this….Wildlife Research Center Coon Urine on your boots as cover scent. It works
 
I used to spend a small fortune on scent killers. All we do now is I wash my stuff in scent free stuff how often depends in weather honestly and we hang dry all of it. we have a lot of cedars around all of our farms so I spilt cedar and put it in my totes. I don't wear my boots til I get ready at the barns or ready to hunt at our house wear rubber boots all the time anyways. We have completely went crazy on wind and thermals. We also pay extreme details to entrances and exits. Especially exits in the evenings we will get picked up if necessary. All the doe and buck piss and all that stuff not my thing anymore. I will use a tarsel gland off of a buck we killed off another farm and use it on a different piece is about all we might do. I have an ozonics got one when they first came out. Works yes but can't put a percentage on it. Probably just some stop using it when they came out with all the information on how dangerous they could be. My paw paw was one of the best hunters I knew and he smoked on the stand all the time. I also dip. Wind and understanding thermals is how we play the scent game now. I also do my best to not mess with anything stinky gas, diesel or anything of that nature.
 
The best sportsman I knew kept the wind at his face, smoked, chewed tobacco, drank whiskey, did not bath that morning. He wore a full blaze orange cap and orange jacket and stacked big bucks up like cordwood. Folks would try to find his vehicle and walk in and hunt. He was way too smart for that. He told me he would walk a mile down the road to enter the woods he hunted.
 
BSK said:
I used to be obsessed with scent reduction. However, as I've aged and gotten lazier, not so much. And my success has not declined. However, there are still a few practices I still follow. All hunting clothes are washed in scent-reducing soaps, air dried, and then stored in air-tight containers. Inner layers are washed again after every use. Mid-layers, maybe once every three or four uses. Outer layers are just sprayed down with scent-reducers after each hunt, but not rewashed. And when it comes to hunting, every stand on my property is in a spreadsheet listing the best wind directions to hunt that stand. I live by that. Now some stands, where deer could come from anywhere, can be hunted under any wind, as deer are just as likely to be downwind as upwind. But some stands are watching a particular feature, and I don't hunt them when my scent would be blowing towards that feature, only away from it.
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This ^^^^ trying to stay scent free is really, really hard . Even your breath smells 😁 play the wind !
 

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