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Scent Killers and Ozone!!

BSK said:
I forgot to add I'm still a fanatic about my hunting boots. They are regularly soaked in scent-reducing soaps, and they touch nothing but the forest floor. I do not wear them in my truck (where the rubber mats are covered with oil and grease from gas stations) and I do not wear them indoors.
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I do a lot of things, but this is the most important, IMO. I'm strict about it. I have one pair for warmer weather, one for cooler weather, and one for cold weather. None of these three pairs have step foot on anything but dirt and leaves. Never stepped foot inside, ever. You won't believe what you can get away with.

Other than that, wash clothes in scent free detergent and hang dry. I use scent free soap/shampoo all fall with scent free deodorant all fall as well. I also take chlorophyll pills each day all fall.
 
Snake said:
This ^^^^ trying to stay scent free is really, really hard . Even your breath smells 😁 play the wind !
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I suck on dried apples while I hunt. The clorophyl absorbs mouth orders. Plus I floss before every hunt. Most "bad breath" comes from the breakdown of the food stuck between your teeth.

And, I play the wind.
 
I shower before the hunt using scent free soap, store my clothes in a plastic tote, dress when I get out of the truck, keep my boots in the bed of the truck, spray down before I head to the stand, walk in without crossing where the deer will come from, hunt with the wind in my favor, and use Ozonics in case it shifts and to cover anything coming in from behind me.... It all seems to help.
 
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I used to be obsessed. Now, not so much.

I shower with hunting soap, use unscented deodorant, and try not to walk where I think deer will cross my path.

I don't take a stand where my scent will primarily blow towards expected movement, but it's fickle and I learned a long time ago that I'll never totally defeat wind or a deer's nose.

I pay my money and take my chances.
 
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BSK said:
Each year I fill the bottom of clothes container with dead leaves. I don't think it does a thing to hide my scent, but I absolutely LOVE the pungent smell of rotting leaves on my clothes while I'm on stand! Smells like fall. Smells like hunting season!


I forgot to add I'm still a fanatic about my hunting boots. They are regularly soaked in scent-reducing soaps, and they touch nothing but the forest floor. I do not wear them in my truck (where the rubber mats are covered with oil and grease from gas stations) and I do not wear them indoors.
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Smells like seed ticks!
 
Your scent comes from skin cells sloughing off. It's how dogs track lost or criminal humans.

I use the scent/ UV enhancer free laundry soaps for my clothes. I use a scent free body wash. I wear long sleeves and lightweight gloves to reduce the skin cells from sloughing all over the place. Then I spray a bit of buck urine on my pant legs (dont use doe or doe in estrus for this unless you walk a young buck violating you) and shirt sleeves to help mask my human oder. I used to use fox urine but that can spook a deer if there are no fox in your hunting area. And like someone already mentioned, try not to touch/ trample all over the area you're hunting.

My brother does the same thing. The pic below has 2 deer in it. They were laying behind his stand less than 20 yards away. He took the pic opening morning after he climbed in the treestand, took a leak off the treestand, got situated and the sun came up to reveal the deer laying there watching him. They couldn't smell him as a human so they weren't alarmed. Trust me, I walked up the hill behind him that morning. He did not smell human. The 3rd doe, which was the biggest he did not see until he stood back up to shoot one of the doe in the picture. When the 3rd stood, she was the biggest and she went down just as fast. It was a good quick hunt for him. And proof cover scent works well.

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I wash hunting clothes in scent-free soap, keep them in sealed totes, and do my best to keep my boots away from unnatural scents. Shower in scent-free soap, but the main thing is "Hunt the wind!" You're not going to beat a deer's nose regardless of what you do.

I have to say that I've never been a fan of coverup scents even though I've used them. I even own an Ozone's unit but rarely use it due to the noise. I've had deer walk the same path I've used and not spook, and I've had them jump out of their skin. Idk why that is other than pressured deer are always more nervous. I may try the Evercalm though based on some comments here.
 
BSK said:
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.
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Perfectly said. I'm not as bad as I used to be either. But this is all I try to do. If the deer catches your scent, it's making them think you are 100+ yards away, when in reality you are really 10-20 yards away ready to make a shot. Most of the time, it's how you describe - it's them actually processing what they just caught scent of that affords us an opportunity, if we want to take it.
 
If you watched myth busters you probably saw where they tried everything to hide the scent from a dog and the dog always went right to it. A deer is suppose to be able to smell and hear better than a dog. I'm going to count on wind or getting up in as high as practical. Good luck.
 
To me, scent control has more to do with how I enter and exit my hunting area. Once your in the a stand with a favorable wind, scent control is what it is. I have two rules I try to follow each hunt, (1) get in undetected and (2) leave without a trace.
 
About the only thing I do is leave my hunting stuff in a tote in the bed of my truck. That's for a few reasons, one I like to have everything in one place somewhat organized. I also can have "quick hunt" before or after work. The main thing I do is watch the wind IF possible. They will either come in downwind of you or they will be upwind of you just depends on which way they go. I think the most important part is being willing to move and I'll give you a prime example from yesterday.

I was sitting in a location that I knew had deer activity and knew they would be there. I sat until 9am and hadn't seen anything so I made the decision to climb down and move everything 50-60yards deeper to my left. After about 30 minutes here they come. I believe the wind was blowing my scent right at the trail area so they smelled me before I could see them and with moving 50-60yards farther left it carried my scent almost parallel with their trail but off to the side of it.
 
washing my outer layers of clothes in detergents that have no brighteners in them really helps, have had deer look through me and never alerted, I make sure my orange gets washed in it also, non scent soap also along with no scent arm and hammer deodorant. Movement is the biggest buster in my hunting career , most of the time it happens from 1 I hadn't noticed ,
 
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