Treating clothes before and during season

[9x56MS]

How many here treat or spray their hunting clothing? About a week or 2 before season I hang all my outfit on the clothes line for 2 days to air out. Then pack them in scent free bags. For archery I add the white oak acorn wafers. For gun season I add the doe in heat wafers. After season I air them out again and if dirty wash them in a UV killer detergent. Spray them down with scent killer and pack them away till next season. I very rarely have deer blowing at me. I have had them come in with nose up looking around from downwind.

 

[Fyrstyk]

I use a ozone air scent killer after every outing, and earth scent wafers while in the field.

 

[JDeere]

I use to to go through trying to eliminate scent and spent a lot of time at it. If the wind and conditions were right I would still get busted. Now I just keep most of my hunting stuff in a tote with chunks of fresh local cedar in a sock. I also play the wind on every hunt and have my stand locations set for that.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I also play the wind on every hunt and have my stand locations set for that.

This is the thing to do. The rest is superstition and marketing. A deer's sense of smell cannot be fooled by anything sold at WalMart.
Deer smell in 3D. You and I smell a pot of chili, a deer smells beef, onion, celery, garlic, beans, tomato, pepper, chili powder.....................

Whatever you put on your hunting clothes is just one more thing that deer smell in addition to all the smells you produce. Breathing is how you produce the most scent.

 

[PonyKiller]

Only thing I put on my hunting clothes is permithrin to keep the ticks from carrying me off. Beyond that I do my best to play the wind, I'm a pretty piss poor hunter however. 3 out of the 4 best hunters I have known were all chain smokers, for what it's worth. "If the wind is against you, hunt somewhere else. Don't blow up a good spot because your stubborn. There is a lot of woods out there". What my uncle would tell me.

 

[crestoncowboy]

I think if you are hunting on a million acres untouched by man, you probably should worry about scent. If you live where there is one house per 50 acres or less then it's likely not necessary. Most people hunt where they are in walking distance of a house with people. I had a friend who would spend hundreds in scent killing detergent. Had a scent killing wardrobe thing, wore scent lock.... then had his tree stand hanging within setting distance from his house. Lol. I guess deer smell the hunter, but not the dryer vent exhaust, food cooking, kids playing etc........

I have deer eating apples off the trees 20 feet in front of my dryer exhaust.

I've always said that you really don't have to work super hard to outsmart an animal that still hasn't figured out that a screaming 18 wheeler nor a mowing sickle is a threat.

 

[PonyKiller]

I hunt about 2 miles from a drag strip, an about the same distance from a gun range, sound of race cars,gun fire don't seem to phase them by me. Hell the sound of most dirt bikes don't seem to bother them, especially the two strokes, uless they are within a few feet of them they hunker down and let them pass by unless they are yearling. The deeper tone of the bigger 4 strokes bothers them though.

Kinda strikes me that if they are accustomed to it and its not "out of place" they dont seem overly bothered. Having a loud truck drop off 40 hunters half our before the sun comes up, anything more than 50lbs skulks off to the swamp before they even load the shotguns.

 

[Condor]

I hang my clothes outside to deodorize and when i bring them in I store them in a plastic tote with some boughs from the local evergreen trees.

I also tried this recipe this year (i found this online in several different forums)... I mixed 1/8 cup baking soda in 8 oz (1 cup) of water and stirred to dissolve. I added 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide (3% strength) and put it in a spray bottle. I tested a small portion of the clothes first to make certain it wouldn’t harm them. I sprayed the clothes well and hung them outside to dry.

I recommend that you leave the spray bottle cap loose unless you are spraying it. The baking soda will form carbon dioxide in solution and will build pressure over time in a sealed container. I used the entire solution at once and wouldn’t try to save it.

It may well be coincidence, but the boys and I had a coyote walk to within 75 yards of us this year, so I’ll probably do it again next year.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I have never worried about scent control and firmly believe there is a ton of hype and marketing around it. Thats just me.

Here is my reasoning. I grew up hunting a few hundred yards from a major interstate highway in MI. There was a State rest area nearby too. Close enough for me to hear the diesel trucks idling and smell them when the wind was right. Should I really be worrying about my own human scent with all that around.

OK, what about in less populated areas. Right now I hunt several different areas. All of them are 2-300 yds from very busy roads and one property butts up to a regularly used railroad.

Also, this is the south. There are bugs and more bugs. I use permethrin for ticks and that also doubles as general bug control and use the 99 or 100 whatever DEET for the hot spots. Both of those chemicals stink to me so I have no doubt a deer could smell it hundreds of yards down wind. Bug spray is mandatory for me. Much more so than human scent control. Maybe the bug spray is covering my scent I dont know.

I do believe it may play a part if you are hunting out in the sticks far away from any human habitation. Also, animals become assimilated to their environments. If there is train that regularly rolls through or a bunch of truckers milling around a rest area, they get used to it and think nothing of it over time. That can be an advantage for hunters in those areas. Some may say the biggest bucks wont go around there. I say that is a bunch of hooey since I have seen many nice animals taken next to railroad tracks and highways but go ahead and keep believing it.

All that is to say that I am more than satisfied with my hunting results and do not believe I could do any better by making a concerted effort at scent control for my BO. I may have better luck if I played the wind which I only do if it happens to work out that way for me. Like I said, I am satisfied with my results. Im not a trophy hunter either so there is that.

 

[buck460XVR]

For archery I add the white oak acorn wafers. For gun season I add the doe in heat wafers.

.......and this is what most every other hunter in the woods does too. Wonder why mature bucks are so wary of "rut" type scents anymore? I don't use any cover or attractant scents anymore because I have had more deer spook from them than from my own scent. Exception would be mock scrapes and even then, I use them sparingly.

I think if you are hunting on a million acres untouched by man, you probably should worry about scent. If you live where there is one house per 50 acres or less then it's likely not necessary. Most people hunt where they are in walking distance of a house with people.

^^^This. Folks drive a stinky old four-wheeler to dump corn on the ground that smells like humans, while leaving a human scent trail from the parked 4-wheeler to the bait pile. How do deer even come in to eat being so dang scared of human scent? They have become so acclimated and trained to come to human scent for food, maybe one would be better off to rub themselves down with sweaty workout clothes.


Keep yourself as clean as possible and hunt the wind.

 

[rayatphonix]

The only spray I use is permethrin. My clothes get a dose at the beginning of each season. It works. I sat down in a stand and hit a wasp nest. While wasps were everywhere, including on my body, I didn’t get stung. I did make a quick retreat though.

If they could come up with a spray for poisonous snakes, I’d be all set.

 

[JFrank]

We had a slash pile burn a short while back that smoldered for several days.. Anyway I started noticing the local deer pop. heads were all black when I mentioned it to my SIL he replied that for some reason deer were attracted to the ash.
So my point being maybe campfire smoke on my clothes isn't such a bad thing.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Wonder why mature bucks are so wary of "rut" type scents anymore?

I have tied a peed on tarsal gland to my shoe while I'm walking around if I get a doe early on. Lol. Probably does nothing. But more for attracting than covering. Biggest buck i killed was a nice 12 and he was grunting coming toward me on a log in a fairly clear area. He knew I was there and he came to me. But yeah I think people are foolish about it.

It's like weight loss. People are willing to buy a new machine or pill over and over. But not willing to actually work for it. Same with hunting. Buying things is easy. Feeezing and scouting and walking is work.

 

[daniel craig]

I just put them in a bag with leaves and cedar branches and don’t think more about it.

 

[FL-NC]

I tend to keep it simple when it comes to odor control. I wash my hunting clothes and dedicated bath towel with non scent detergent (BTW, you don't need much detergent of any type to wash a load of clothes- I have been using the same quart bottle for 2 seasons) and I keep them in a rubber made bin. During hunting season, those things have their own laundry basket, and I don't wash my hunting clothes until they are ALL dirty. My hunting boots stay in the garage or outside shed. I wash my body and hair with unscented bar soap, and I use about 1 bar a season. I also have unscented deodorant, and a stick lasts about 2 seasons. I guess the soap, deodorant, and detergent ends up costing about $12 a year, total. Maybe it makes a difference, or maybe it doesn't- but either way its not that inconvenient or expensive.

 

[Scrambler]

Sawyers Permethrin for ticks is it. I think people rely too much on gimmicks and gadgets. If you are serious about killing deer, the best thing to do would be spending time studying deer where you hunt them. Learn where they bed, what they feed on, where they travel. Get out there in the off season. Do some shed hunting, clear some shooting lanes, make note of likely ambush spots. Luck favors the prepared.

 

[Jeff62]

I use unscented detergent to wash clothes. My scent cover is leaf/pine needle smoke from a bee smoker.
I get scent busted less often in cool weather. During the beginning of Arkansas bow season, October 1, it’s hot and I’m using whatever skeeter repellent that is on sale. I don’t know of a way to offset that so I’m working the wind.

 

[Citron]

Deer wander through my yard, within 15' of the house, all the time. Singles and small groups. My dog chases them, but they don't seem to mind. The neighbors horses have chased them out of the pasture a few times, when they are feeling feisty. I have also had a coyote walk up the driveway and sniff my truck tires. I have seen coyotes a few times in the horse pasture, there are at least two dens around my place, I have seen the pups crossing the road. I have also seen two bobcat and a cougar in the tree farm across the road, and I have only lived here three years. This is a rural area, but it certainly isn't remote. I don't think the animals care about human scent, unless you are in backcountry Alaska where they have only seen two humans in their life.

 

[Random 8]

I bag mine with a few sprigs of fresh cut balsam fir (common where I hunt) before season. I also gob a generous amount of balsam pitch onto my boots at camp (usually plenty of fresh cut in the camp wood pile). Not sure if it's effective or not, but gives a pleasant smell and certainly won't hurt. Fresh cut balsam boughs are also incorporated into my stands and blinds for concealment prior to season. I'm so steeped in balsam fir smell, I associate it with hunting.

I also do an old indian trick and burn a small coil of birch bark under my stand when I first arrive.

We only use unscented laundry soap at home, so no special treatment there, other than I try not to wash hunting clothes with my nasty work clothes.

 

[JERRY]

how do you stop your body from producing your human scent? the short answer is you can't.

 

[Meeks36]

Just roll around in some leaves and put some in your pockets. My grandpa taught me that. It was taught to him and so on. It works. Also I dont wear camo. Just overalls and a flannel.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I don't bother with anything anymore. I used to special wash my clothing, took care not to get my clothing around my dogs, etc. Not anymore. I just play the wind when I can. Strangely, I have been busted by hogs downwind of me and I have not been busted by hogs down wind of me.

I tend to wear my hunting clothing over and over again, dirty (pants and sweatshirts, etc., but change underwear, socks and under shirt). When I get too much blood or mud on it, then it gets washed.

If I had to guess, mud, blood, sweat, etc. are much more natural smells to be wearing in the woods than so-called scent-free detergent washed clothing. Animals like dogs, hogs, and deer all have the ability to smell things that humans cannot smell.

how do you stop your body from producing your human scent? the short answer is you can't.

Well, and there is that whole business where you stop breathing volumes of scented particles that goes with that. I think that is the hardest part of trying to hide your scent...no breathing.

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I have a buddy that always insists on stepping in cow manure at the start of a hunt. We may stalk all night, be in and out of vehicles, but we only step in manure once and somehow we are golden for the night. Apparently, the bottom of your shoe is the most important thing of scent that needs to be covered.

 

[Captcurt]

I used to try non-scented laundry soap, put clothes in a bag with cedar, even boiled acorns and washed clothes with it. Last year I tried scent shield but still got caught if the deer got down wind. Maybe Ozonics works but I am too tight to blow several hundred dollars on one. Guess I'll just play the wind like I have done for 55 years.

 

[JERRY]

I don't bother with anything anymore. I used to special wash my clothing, took care not to get my clothing around my dogs, etc. Not anymore. I just play the wind when I can. Strangely, I have been busted by hogs downwind of me and I have not been busted by hogs down wind of me.

I tend to wear my hunting clothing over and over again, dirty (pants and sweatshirts, etc., but change underwear, socks and under shirt). When I get too much blood or mud on it, then it gets washed.

If I had to guess, mud, blood, sweat, etc. are much more natural smells to be wearing in the woods than so-called scent-free detergent washed clothing. Animals like dogs, hogs, and deer all have the ability to smell things that humans cannot smell.



Well, and there is that whole business where you stop breathing volumes of scented particles that goes with that. I think that is the hardest part of trying to hide your scent...no breathing.

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I have a buddy that always insists on stepping in cow manure at the start of a hunt. We may stalk all night, be in and out of vehicles, but we only step in manure once and somehow we are golden for the night. Apparently, the bottom of your shoe is the most important thing of scent that needs to be covered.

exactly.

I've had to scramble for my rifle while hanging over the side to whiz, had to softly rub out a cigarette (when I use to smoke), quietly put down a can of sardines or Vienna sausages... when a deer would appear a lot closer than I expected near the base of my stand where I parked my 4 wheeler.

 

[caribou]

We just wash our clothes in camp with cold water soap and at home with arm and hammer.
Scent isnt a matter, unless were trapping and we deal with that.

What IS noticeable is when cotton/poly blend or 100% poly is used to make a snow cammo over cloth, we call "Whiteouts" and they will 'glow' in our cameras with a slight purple tone.
I think ,maybe , some animals detect this.

We use 100% Cotton white covers and wash them with no soap. If we get blood in winter, we leave the clothes in the storm shed and they freeze.When we get a chance, we take them a few miles to the ocean and sink them on a line through a hole or crack in the ice., and the next day all the blood and any stains will be gone.
If we cant get near the ocean , we soak the blood stained clothes in cold water with no soap. Just dont let the blood dry and set in.
In deep cold we often just brush away the frozen blood and just deal with a bright stain. If we have to use soap to remove oils aor other stains, we will soak them a couple times and dry inbetween soaking to get the soap/detergent off.