Hunting Clothes and scent control

[corndog1]

It's probably more important to not eat chilli and bean burritos the night before you go hunting

 

[belshawelk]

Just my opinion. Its all crap.

Unless you wash yourself in elk crap they will smell you. Learning how to use the wind is your only friend.

2nd worse thing, is hunters wo cant walk qiuetly. I am not talking that stupid crap of going barefoot or slippers. Learn how to walk quietly. Cant tell you how many people I hunt with can find a twig every freaking step.

Wear good camo, learn how to use wind, walk quietly and move when your suppose to not when you want to. Learn how to spot them before they spot you. This is the most skilled part. Most cant see an antler, hoof or a ear out of place that doesn't belong.

 

[dandredeshon]

Im making this thread in the forum for deer hunting, but Im really talking to all big game hunters. I'm relatively new to the hunting world, been hunting for going on three years now, and I dont have my "system" figured out yet and I recently was talking to someone I know that has been a hunter for 30-40 years and has done most of their hunting in Texas, but has gone to some other states for mulies/elk. I have not been successful bowhunting whitetails this year and so they told me that I should start washing my hunting clothes in scent free detergent, letting them air dry, and then storing them in a bag. As opposed to doing what I normally do which is wash them with whatever I have, dry them in the dryer, and then hanging them in the closet with the rest of the clothes. They also recommended that I stop eating in my hunting clothes and filling up gas in my hunting clothes which I normally end up doing because I hunt public that is 3 hours away (it's the closest piece of public where I can whitetail hunt) and I want to be in my hunting clothes when I get there every weekend so I can just get out and hunt, so I put wear the clothes on the way there. And finally, they suggested I wear scent killer. So, will some of you tell me you're process for storing hunting clothes, cleaning them, what you wont do in hunting clothes, etc? I think it would be beneficial for me and other people to hear from multiple points of view on this subject before I invest time and money into cleaning and storing my hunting clothes different then other clothes.

.

 

[Steiny77]

Don't use scent lock stuff, any of those sprays, an ozone machine or closet, hunters shampoo, or any such gadgetry. Keep my hunting clothes reasonably clean and only use them for hunting, air them out between hunts by just hanging outdoors, wear rubber boots that are for hunting only, and that's about it.

If you play the wind properly they can't smell you regardless. Have killed lots of deer inside 30 yards with a bow that never detected me including a number of P&Y bucks. Killed three whitetails with a bow this year.

 

[Trailsend]

Not saying all that stuff doesn’t work, still think playing the wind is the best option. That’s with 40+ Experience years behind me.

 

[longbow51]

Scent block clothing, special detergents, and the like are the greatest innovations to hit the hunting scene ever. For the people who sell them.

 

[glahorses1]

Buy a Rubbermaid tote, throw your hunting clothes in it with some dirt, leaves, and vegetation from where you hunt. Leave tote in your vehicle and just change into it when you get there.

I was a smoker and quit last year. Several times had deer come in from the direction my smoke would blow. IMO deer are curious critters, not saying they are dumb either though, especially if they have been shot at!

 

[more_cowbell]

I think the scent killer detergent is also good because it also doesn't contain the UV fabric brighteners that normal detergents have.

But for scent I also get fresh white fir or other evergreen branches and put them in a storage bin or contractor bag with my hunting clothes, boots and gear.

Then at the start of each hunt/hike, I grab more fir branches/needles, and rub them all over my hat, clothes and boots, then stuff some of the smaller stuff in several of my pockets and pretend I'm a Christmas tree. The animals can still smell me, but I'm a lot more odor-muted, relatively speaking.

Just make sure you swap out the fir branches every couple of days. If you let white fir especially go too long, then you'll discover why it rightly earned its nickname.

 

[grizzly63]

The biggest place I see deer detect me is when they hit the path i walked in. The rubber boots definitely help but if the grass is tall and you are rubbing, you are leaving scent. Unfortunately figuring out how to walk in to your stand without leaving a trace is difficult. Some deer leave immediately after scenting you. Some do not notice at all. Deer are probably like people, not all are super sharp. Doing your best to eliminate or lessen your scent is never a bad thing to do. The only product I have complete confidence in for helping is the bedding scents you apply to your immediate area or your clothes if you wish. I have seen this stuff work to a good level of success. The wind is absolutely the best option but is an uncontrollable variant. I watched a doe track me to my treestand in the middle of a standing cornfield I had walked through two hours prior. The wind had been blowing steadily for the whole time and not in the direction of her favor. There are things about scent molecules we do not yet know.

 

[shannerdrake]

I’m not crazy, but I’m consistent. I don’t wear cologne ever. My truck never had or will have an air freshener in it. And I don’t use scented body wash, shampoo, deodorant, or clothes wash from about August-January.

Morning wash with unscented soap and shampoo.
Put on clothes that came out of a washer that only uses unscented wash.
Wear casual unscented clean clothes in truck on drive to hunting spot.
Run ozone generator in truck.
Strip to undies and dress in hunting clothes and rubber boots from a tote that was ozone washed. All of which have never been inside a home.
Play the wind walking in.
Hunt only stands that work for the wind and thermals.
Run ozone generator on stand.
Play wind in walk out.
Reverse process.
Ozone wash gear before next hunt.

I also have a 10 pack of jersey cloth gloves from Menards that are washed scent free and stored that I use to handle my gear and wear in and out or when I touch stuff in the woods.

It’s a way of life and can get annoying, but I’m used it it. I also had 16 hunts this year on the same property and honestly didn’t get busted this year. Also shot my biggest buck, a that was aged at 5 years after he came in directly down wind.

Wind always wins, but a quality scent control program is really good insurance. I’ve had mature bucks and old does walk in on the same path I did. You don’t see that with consistently if you are wearing the same boot you wore to Waffle House and spilled 87 octane on.

Also cover scents don’t work. That’s scientific. Deer like dogs smell in layers. So when you use cover scent, deer smell all of your stank AND fake dirt scent.

 

[Shangobango]

I try to keep my scent to a minimum. I am careful with my hunting clothes and boots, I don’t bathe in foo foo smelling soap, and I am just generally careful to not spread my scent through my hunting area.

Even with all that I still just assume that if the wind is not in my favor I will be screwed 99% of the time.

 

[Lota lota]

I think playing the wind is the best scent control but I dont also dont see how it would hurt a hunt to simply wash clothes in scent free detergent and store them in a different bag.

I've used scent control body wash/laundry detergent etc...Don't know if it made any difference. Like you said...playing the wind is the best scent control out there. Reading animals/thermals is just as important. A straight shooting bow/rife is just as important. I've made campfires mid-hunt while chasing elk and had them come 100-200 yards away. I don't know if elk and deer and really know what they are smelling in small quantities.

 

[Lota lota]

Wear good camo

I find noise/movement/wind and scent to be the biggest hurdles...wind specifically. I've killed elk in a blue T-Shirt at 20 yards with the right wind. My Dad always told me...An Elk will hear you three times, see you twice and smell you once!

 

[Stocker]

The biggest place I see deer detect me is when they hit the path i walked in. The rubber boots definitely help but if the grass is tall and you are rubbing, you are leaving scent. Unfortunately figuring out how to walk in to your stand without leaving a trace is difficult. Some deer leave immediately after scenting you. Some do not notice at all. Deer are probably like people, not all are super sharp. Doing your best to eliminate or lessen your scent is never a bad thing to do. The only product I have complete confidence in for helping is the bedding scents you apply to your immediate area or your clothes if you wish. I have seen this stuff work to a good level of success. The wind is absolutely the best option but is an uncontrollable variant. I watched a doe track me to my treestand in the middle of a standing cornfield I had walked through two hours prior. The wind had been blowing steadily for the whole time and not in the direction of her favor. There are things about scent molecules we do not yet know.

Yep, I’ve had deer stand dead down wind of me with their nose in the air then go back to feeding, I’ve also had deer barely catch anything and blow out. I think a lot of it depends on how comfortable they are in an area. If it’s an area they feel really safe in they aren’t on high alert. If it’s an area that people have been busted in and the deer are already on edge going in it’s worse. Yeah, the wind is the only way to defeat scent, clothing, soaps, etc, I think help but maybe 10-20%. So I wouldn’t rely on it to hunt a bad wind.

 

[belshawelk]

I find noise/movement/wind and scent to be the biggest hurdles...wind specifically. I've killed elk in a blue T-Shirt at 20 yards with the right wind. My Dad always told me...An Elk will hear you three times, see you twice and smell you once!

agreed but was more talking about material.

 

[Islander]

My philosophy, and Remmie Warren's, is that wind is your scent control device and all the scent alchemy is not necessary, and in many cases hokem. I trust Remmie.

 

[GKTE8]

I don’t find that buying special scent control clothing really provides a large benefit, but I am a huge believer in following a scent “minimizing” process and use pretty much exactly the same steps that you described thumper. What I’ve learned over the past many years is that no matter how careful we are about scent, etc. repeatedly hunting a specific stand or an area will result in the deer feeling pressured and changing their pattern. My best success has been early season hunting/watching fields to understand where deer are entering the fields then doing a hang an hunt. Later in the season I will cover ground looking for sign (Scrapes, rubs, etc.) and also do a hang and hunt. Hunting the same stands/locations over and over seems to result in quickly diminishing results.

 

[GKTE8]

hang my hunting clothes outside for the season. Other than that I do not think you will fool a deers nose. I play the wind mostly. I do believe scent control can be beneficial but if a deer is down wind of you it will more than likely smell you no matter what you do.

 

[FairWeather]

We only use unscented detergent in my house (Fragrance in anything really isn’t great for human skin). Then I store my clothes in a laundry bag in the garage so it’s not taking up space in my closet. I start sweating pretty much instantly when I’m hunting, so no point trying harder than that.

 

[devon deer]

My bit of advice, from November the 1st I'm out Monday-Friday, morning and evening until the end of March, hunting hard, dealing with the smelliest stinkiest red deer and my clothes stink, I have to keep them in the garage, god forbid the wife would wash them, damn it works even better when they are wet!
But, get the wind wrong and you are screwed, but I might get just a few seconds break like I did this morning, 2 red spiker down, one for me and one for me mate.