Scent control

[Osborn Outdoors]

Always play the wind.
I stick with the cheap options for what little scent control I do, baking soda for washing camo, hypoallergenic generic dryer sheet as they are dye, perfume and scent free, any sensitive skin or hypoallergenic soap that's perfume free. That's about it for me, I used to all crazy trying to be "scent free", hunting got a lot more enjoyable when I started focusing on the wind and scaled back to the few simple and cost effective steps listed above.

 

[Pendleton]

Always play the wind.
I stick with the cheap options for what little scent control I do, baking soda for washing camo, hypoallergenic generic dryer sheet as they are dye, perfume and scent free, any sensitive skin or hypoallergenic soap that's perfume free. That's about it for me, I used to all crazy trying to be "scent free", hunting got a lot more enjoyable when I started focusing on the wind and scaled back to the few simple and cost effective steps listed above.

Yes. All in, I'd spend more time worrying about movement limitation than scent. Obviously, don't still hunt with the wind at your back, but I've had poor wind lead to success if I'm in a motionless stand and great wind conditions bust me with a minor movement at a fair distance.

 

[d_rek]

As more of a lifestyle choice than one for hunting we use scent, perfume, and dye free soaps and detergents for laundry. I actually have sensitive skin and more often than not perfumed detergents are prone to making me break out with a rash or blotchy skin. I also use hypoallergenic soap in the shower.

We use Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin detergent for laundry and I use Dr. Bronners Baby Unscented castille soap for both hair and body.

For hunting I wash clothes using Arm & Hammer and store my clothing in airtight bin, but as far as in the field I play the wind.

As an added bonus, if you live in an area with hard water, those products both perform very well if your hardiness is high, or if you soften your water. The Dr. Bronners is the best as it actually feels like you are rinsing it off unlike other soaps with surfactants that can make you feel ultra slicked up.

 

[BigCityBowhunter]

Wind & thermals


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[Lefty26]

I play the wind as much as possible, but I also believe smoke is a great scent blocker, I user a bee keepers smoker contraption and smoke all of my hunting clothes.

 

[LostArra]

It's interesting what hunters will do to control scent: wind, thermals, sprays, smoke, ozone, special clothing and in spite of this the deer still win most of the time. Then some of my best deer have been taken when they came in downwind in an area I would have expected them to evacuate immediately. I wonder if the deer just decide the day they will die.

 

[Jay09]

Scent free soap, deodorant and wash clothes in scent free detergent occasionally. I will use earth scent wafers for a cover occasionally but playing the wind is key!! From my experiences when I used attractants in the past it was mostly younger deer that were curious enough to investigate. A hunter will spook a lot of older deer before you ever see em. They let their guard down a little during the rut but in my opinion success is usually determined from wind, preparation, wind, luck, and wind!

 

[Virginian]

I stand hunt in the east and where I am the wind swirls and changes directions constantly. I have a meticulous system I use for scent control and update it every year but at the end of the day, I still get busted sometimes. As most others have said playing the wind is great but it's not always possible. I started using Ozonics a couple of years ago and I like it but it's not a miracle worker or anything.
About a month out from season opener I was everything in scent free soap. I use dead down wind but I've used most all kinds at one time or another. I then hand them in a cedar tree for a few days (depending on the weather) and store them in a big plastic container with a couple of cedar limbs.
I take the clothes out and hand them in the Ozonics closet and treat them with Ozone.
I always treat a set of street clothes in the same manner and I always put my clothes in a pack and wear street clothes to the stand and change before the hunt. I spray down with scent killer before I leave the vehicle and again when I get to the stand. I also have scent free wet wipes I wipe down with once I get to the stand. In the stand, I use Ozonics too.
This is me probably just being OCD but I won't allow anyone in my Jeep with perfume or cologne several weeks before the season and treat the inside of my vehicle with ozonics.
After each hunt, I will put the clothes in the ozonics closet and cleanse them again and wash them once a week unless I sweat a lot and I wash them more. Of course, I use scent free soap, shampoo, and deodorant starting about 2 weeks prior to season opener.
My dad and buddies think I'm crazy but it seems to help.
It makes me cringe to see people after hunting in a restaurant with their hunting clothes on

 

[Smallie]

Hunting bluff country its hard to always have the wind in your favor as it seems to blow every direction a little bit everyday. I start using scent free soap and shampoo about 2 months before the season and use a little ozone machine in a tote to treat my hunting clothes. I will wear merino base layers in the truck and change into my outer layers once I get to my spot. Haven't really been busted doing this method the last couple seasons. If the wind changes drastically I move spots.

 

[JD5521]

Downwind

 

[Clarence]

Using a scentlok type facemask has helped shrink my scent cone. Do things much the way you do, in a o.c.d. fashion as well. Try to breathe through my nose and keep my nose and mouth covered with the mask. We don't like to admit it, but alot of odor causing bacteria in the mouth. All that being said, the nanny does still get uneasy when dead downwind. Figure out how to beat those old girls...you had better patent it quick!

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[NYNick147]

Play the wind, shower with scent free soap from sept-dec. I also use nose jammer on boots and backpack. Seems to work well.

 

[Molon Labe]

Everyone says wind. Which is EASY answer if you are hunting a specific buck with a known travel pattern.

BUT wind doesn't matter during the rut in travel zones...wind does not matter when you are hunting a funnel/choke. Bucks do not travel in a straight line...like a conveyor belt. They could come from downwind or upwind depending on their mood when they are searching. All you can do is dump your scent into low probability areas...which is easier to control (briar patches, deep creek beds, rivers etc).

Three of the six 5yr+ plus bucks I have killed have been downwind of me within 100yds at some point.

There are a terrifying number of things that you need to worry about to decrease your scent signature. But if you want to stick to the two major ones...here they are: your breath, your porous clothing.

what I do...
clothing: I hang my whitetail clothing from September until I put them away in December. They are underneath an overhang on a shed perfect for air drying clothing. They don't get direct sunlight and do not get rained/snowed on. Don't waste your time washing them or spraying them...its sketchy science at best. Just let mother nature take care of the scent molecules for you.

if I am traveling to a hunting spot I put the clothes in a tote with oak leaves and dirt from that particular chunk of woods that were gathered first week in October. They are immediately taken from the tote and worn or hung every night.

Breath: this is tough. I eat two fresh apples on all day sits. One at 10am and one at 2pm. I also use Listerine mouth wash 4 times a day. Once before going in...then at 9am...then at noon after eating snacks...then at 3-4pm. Two bottles in my stand pack...one big mouth Gatorade bottle that holds at least 20oz of piss and another hard plastic 12 oz bottle for the listerine spit.
I also wear a face mask and breath through my nose...and regulate my heartbeat and breathing when I have deer close. The more excited you are the more scent you expel through your mouth...

side note...deer don't care about the piss scent but I just don't want them to hear it hitting the ground from my stand.

 

[Jaspe]

Hunting whitetails on a 750 acre private property tract for many years. Stand hunting exclusively. As others have said the wind is key especially in getting to the stand. Additionally, I use scent free and UV free detergent, scent free soap and deodorant , and breath mints. I am not sure how effective any of these are but believe that using them is better than not taking these steps. I usually scuff my boots in dirt sand before walking in to stand. I also try to keep paths free of debris and limbs to reduce noise and body contact. If riding in truck I dress outside of truck.(Not exactly to the scent control topic, but believe not over hunting stands and hunting stands based upon wind increase sightings)

 

[JBrew]

side note...deer don't care about the piss scent but I just don't want them to hear it hitting the ground from my stand.

I go for aim and distance. Piss and dry leaves go together like peanut butter and jelly during the rut, from my experience anyway.

 

[tspittmon]

Breath: this is tough. I eat two fresh apples on all day sits. One at 10am and one at 2pm.

I second the apple. They are natures toothbrush and in my opinion the best thing to use in the stand to cover mouth odor.

 

[Molon Labe]

I go for aim and distance. Piss and dry leaves go together like peanut butter and jelly during the rut, from my experience anyway.

Had a buck come in midstream over oak leaves. It works. But I would prefer not to have to pinch off. So I carry a bottle now...way quieter! Hahaha