I think a lot of the debate here has to do with hunting styles. Many of us eastern whitetail hunters have seen scent reduction techniques work to some degree. But that’s also usually from a tree stand, for a matter of a few hours to a day, while wearing clothes that were stored in a bag of leaves from the hunting area, etc., etc. We’re not saying it’ll let you beat the wind or anything like that, just that it can limit the degree of scent, which surely fools the animal as to how close you are or maybe how recently you passed by. I like the gasoline analogy that was used above. A skunk is another way of looking at it. If I catch a slight whiff of skunk while walking through the woods, I assume one sprayed somewhere. But if I catch a really strong, fresh skunk spray, I turn around and go the other way! A deer’s nose is far more powerful, but surely that same concept applies to some degree.
But I think the detractors are arguing whether baking soda would help on a 5-10 day backpacking elk hunt, and I have to say, probably not—or at least it probably wouldn’t for me. At that point, everything is so saturated with your smells that nothing short of a good wash will limit them enough to maybe fool an animal.
Having said that, I’ve tried unscented “hunting” antiperspirant in the whitetail woods, and by the end of the morning hunt, I could smell my own body odor without trying. But if I scrub my pits with the homemade wipes I mentioned in a previous post, I can’t smell myself at all until mid afternoon. Two wipes ought to get you through the day. If you’re backpacking, pack them in a freezer bag and squeeze out the water a bit. Add a little water to the bag when you get to camp or one at a time as you use them.
www.puppyup.org
