Ozonics Gimmick or No?

[Hoytaholic]

Curious to see what people think of the ozonics machines and if they use them during their tree stand or blind hunts? There are other items out there as well that do not use O3 but positive and negative ions or something.

just curious to see what people’s experience is and if it’s worth it or just another gimmick. Having a hard time believing the small machine can truly eliminate majority of any scent when I’m in a tree stand.

On that same note I guess the same question for those scent crusher O3 bags.

 

[jakelogsdon]

I've hunted under an Ozonics unit for 3 years now and I can honestly say that I have seen it work time and time again. I'm generally skeptical of crap like this, so I would test it occasionally to see. Many occasions Id have a few does down wind that are feeding and acting normal, shut the unit of and in a matter of minutes, noses go up and they started getting weird. That being said its most definitely not a foolproof solution. I have been winded with it running. Ive also had plenty of deer wind "something" but its like they dont know exactly what it is.

 

[Hoytaholic]

Thanks Jake, good real life experience. Have you tried the other systems that don’t use ozone by any chance?

 

[jakelogsdon]

I haven't. I would be curious to see what others have to say about it as well.

 

[Shepherd]

I've used my Ozonics for the last three whitetail seasons and have been satisfied with it. I don't use it every time but when I do, its usually when I'm in a blind. What I've noticed is that sometimes it seems to fool the deer's nose, where they're downwind and don't get spooked at all. Other times, they seem to get a small whiff of something and just slowly walk away, without alerting all the other deer to the danger.

Three years ago I was hunting over a standing corn field during the late season. I was after a really nice old buck and there was an extended cold snap for about a week. I was hunting basically every evening over 1 1/2 weeks and the Ozonics worked extremely well. I had deer downwind regularly and was still able to see the big guy regularly, and finally did get him after three or four close calls. That experience sold me on Ozonics.

 

[Hoytaholic]

Thanks Shep... those are the personal experiences I like to read. It seems majority of responses are good experiences or people who have not tried it. Haven’t come across one that says it negatively affected their hunt.

next step is to try and determine if the non O3 products have the same success stories or if they are just hanging on the coat tails of the O3 success

 

[ejp5281]

I have not personally used an ozonics unit while on the stand. My hunting buddy has one and swears by it. I have used an ozone bag system to treat my clothing before hunting and I think it works. I still do my best to hunt the wind but a couple stands I have deer come regularly from any direction throughout the day. I definitely noticed less deer catching my trail or wind after using that type of system.
One note of caution: Do not put any rubberized materials in a bag with ozone as it will deteriorate them (rapidly). This goes for all elastics, accessory pieces (binoculars), etc. If you pay attention to that, I think its a good addition. It doesn't matter for an ozonics mounted in your stand because the ozone disperses in the same direction your scent would go, so it won't eat away at the rubber.

 

[mrgreen]

I've commented on this before, not sure but I think it was here. When my son started hunting with me, I tried everything that might help him see deer. I used Ozonics every time he was in the blind with me. We saw deer, but I can't say if the Ozonics made any difference.

That being said, I can say this; Every single morning when we got into the blind my son would have to go poop. Usually like "Dad, now!". I started keeping a bucket with a trash bag liner so he could just go in the blind. I was very happy to find that as long as the Ozonics device was running, the blind did not stink. Even as the day warmed and we stayed put.

So, definitely not scientific but I believe it works.

 

[bignocks]

food for thought. You can cook breakfast with bacon etc in the morning. Then with a plug in unit Ive turned the ozone machine on for an hour and when I come home for lunch you cant even tell I cooked but ozone does have a distinct smell. It can also ruin natural rubber material. I feel like it has messed up some of my headlamp bands when I ozone my gear.

 

[hoythunter]

wouldn't feel comfortable in a tree stand without mine

 

[Hoytaholic]

What model ozonics do you guys use out of curiosity?

 

[DMooch]

I do not have any ozonics (can't get myself to pull the trigger), but have multiple hunting buddies that will not get in the tree without them.

 

[SlickTrick123]

it definitely works.

 

[180splitg3]

On the fence here but have been wanting to try one. Just don't like dropping that kind of cash on that type of item. My hunting buddy never hunts without one. I've been wanting to try this - https://hunterboxes.com/ - it looks like a lower cost alternative to the ozonics. I would love to hear from anyone who has used one of these units specifically. I did use a wildgame innovations zero trace ion generator this season and was very disappointed. I felt it did absolutely nothing to mask my scent. I go to a lot of trouble to keep scent free including ozoning my clothes in bins before I hunt and I felt like I got busted at least as much as I did without it - possibly even more. Ended up returning it after the season. If I decide to try a generator for the stand it will probably be one of those hunter boxes...

 

[PA_Probe]

Ozonics has a smell of its own, and if I can smell it a deer cans definitely smell it. Maybe they don't associate it with danger though like they do human scent.

 

[Hmr]

Hunt with the wind in your favor. No matter what kind of scent control you use, if the wind swirls wrong mature animals will know something’s up.

 

[Sekora]

I bought into all the scent control devices years ago when they became the big thing for archery hunters. That only lasted a few years. I have never tried Ozonics, and probably never will. My opinion is that you cannot fool a deer's nose. I'd rather spend my money elsewhere and keep the wind in my favor.

 

[jakelogsdon]

I absolutely always attempt to play the wind first and foremost, but I also understand that deer dictate their daily movements, bedding areas, destination feed areas, and travel routes primarily based on wind. And us trying to outsmart them in their element is marginal at best. Most of the times when you think you're playing the wind and set up good, you're actually being played. Inevitably there will be times that deer will slip in the backdoor and get down wind of me. When that does happen I'd rather have my Ozonics above my head then nothing at all.

 

[Shepherd]

I have the Ozonics HR-300 model.

 

[Rstefano89]

Has anyone tried the pure ion by WGI?