No scent sprays/methods

[cavemann]

I'm sure it's been discussed in years past, but there are a ton of very knowledgeable black tail guys active the last few days.  Any strong opinions on no scent sprays, brands, methods??

[Stein]

The best method is to take the money and put it right back in your pocket.

[jackelope]

I can't really say I'm a very experienced blacktail guy, but I do know that if you don't hunt the wind and use it to your advantage, nothing works. Something will always smell like people to a deer.

[WapitiTalk1]

Same as with elk hunting; nothing disguises human scent.  You can bathe in a tub of the scent free stuff, rub it under your arms, brush your teeth, and gargle with it but if the wind is wrong..... the deer is gone. 

[boneaddict]

One of the biggest scam jobs in the industry

[cavemann]

man you guys are making me feel better...  I've never used them and figured maybe I was missing out or maybe I was saving money..  Seems like I was finally right on something and saved a few bucks.. 

[Doublelunger]

You can do things to reduce your scent. Who will a blaktail smell first...the hungover guy that crapped his pants, or the guy that was religious about scent control??

[WapitiTalk1]

You can do things to reduce your scent. Who will a blacktail smell first...the hungover guy that crapped his pants, or the guy that was religious about scent control??

   Nice. 

[Antlershed]

I used to use them all the time. Body wash, clothing spray, deodorant, etc, but like was mentioned you’ll never get rid of 100% of your human scent. Hunt the wind and it doesn’t matter what you smell like. 

[Mallardmasher]

I use it for body and clothes. Been in the middle of many a herd of elk with them all around me, every time they look at me I just bend over like I am grazing, and they calm right back down. Bears on ground blinds come in very close, even in bad wind, deer in a tree or ground, had their wishers tickle my neck, scared the crap out of both of us, when I jumped. The thing is, they can tell how close or far you are by how strong your scent is, and the noise you create.  if you stink and the wind changes and you are close , game over. But if you control it, they may smell you, but may think you are further then you are. A blacktail buck would rather stay tight and let you walk by then crash out. Just my .02

[Eric M]

I think they work a little. I used to be a fanatic about how I washed my clothes and then I'd put them in a bag of vegetation from the area I hunted. If I go back to archery hunting I'll probably get that way again. But if you dont use the wind right it doesnt matter. For me I think it helps me feel like I've done everything I can do. But I haven't bothered the last couple years while rifle hunting.

[vandeman17]

I use scent killers knowing full well it doesn't kill all or even most of my scent. If it only helps even a little bit, its worth it to me because that extra second or two could be the difference between getting a shot and getting busted. With that said, I also like to store my clothes and gear in totes with pieces of sage brush and pine branches. My clothes smell strongly of them after a month or two

[Doublelunger]

 

Exactly, scent reduction works even if it is just slightly.  Playing the wind is key, but the wind will betray you at the worst times. Especially when bow hunting. If a buck comes into your set and doesn't bust you until he gets to 30 yards instead of 60 that could be the difference.  The question is how much money and how much effort do you want to spend to reduce your scent. For most its not much, for me its quite a bit.

[bowNarrow]

I used to make my own. I tested it on a kitty litter box and was actually surprised that it worked. I use the spray kind only and believe it works. That’s my 

[Houndhunter]

I sweat too much, can't believe any "scent killing" product would work for me

[TommyGun496]

I use wind.  It is free and you can find it everywhere!

[Stein]

So how does it give you guys extra time?  If it somehow reduces your scent by 75%, wouldn’t the remaining 25% travel the exact same speed?

I would think that if they are going to bolt, they bolt.  Human=danger.

I also believe cover scent or neutralizer works about as well as the stuff in a bathroom.  Nobody is fooled.


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[Antlershed]

I sweat too much, can't believe any "scent killing" product would work for me

I snuck in on my bull and his cows and shot him at 80 yards last week. I hadn’t showered in 9 days. 

[hunter399]

You can do things to reduce your scent. Who will a blacktail smell first...the hungover guy that crapped his pants, or the guy that was religious about scent control??

   Nice.

Every time I fart it smells like I crapped my pants.
Are you saying I should hold it in.
That will make my belly hurt by the end of the day.

[Doublelunger]

So how does it give you guys extra time?  If it somehow reduces your scent by 75%, wouldn’t the remaining 25% travel the exact same speed?

I would think that if they are going to bolt, they bolt.  Human=danger.

I also believe cover scent or neutralizer works about as well as the stuff in a bathroom.  Nobody is fooled.


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The more your stink the farther away deer can smell you. Think about the guy at the gym who hasn't changed his clothes for a month. You can smell him across the room . Same concept for deer.

[The Marquis]

When I get to thinking about it, the more I realize it's a waste of money.  I may have showered, etc... but in the end, I'm probably waking up, having a cup of coffee and some breakfast, and letting out a few bombs on my walk to wherever I'm glassing in the morning.  Besides, how useful is scent control when you're 8 miles in and sleeping in a tent and not showering at all? 

Lastly, I've learned that the sprays don't do a very good job of covering up the smell of butt.

[boneaddict]

One of the biggest scam jobs in the industry

Part II..... Sucker born every minute.

[Jonathan_S]

I'm not real big on sprays but I'm very careful about clothes storage, contamination, foods etc and it makes a big difference.  Reducing the overall scent signature obviously makes a difference and if a spray helps a guy 5-10% then good for him.

[skagitsteel]

I'm sure it's been discussed in years past, but there are a ton of very knowledgeable black tail guys active the last few days.  Any strong opinions on no scent sprays, brands, methods??

save the money take an extra day off work and learn the wind in your spot.  scent control is 100% about the wind

[Stein]

So how does it give you guys extra time?  If it somehow reduces your scent by 75%, wouldn’t the remaining 25% travel the exact same speed?

I would think that if they are going to bolt, they bolt.  Human=danger.

I also believe cover scent or neutralizer works about as well as the stuff in a bathroom.  Nobody is fooled.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The more your stink the farther away deer can smell you. Think about the guy at the gym who hasn't changed his clothes for a month. You can smell him across the room . Same concept for deer.

Actually, large smelly molecules travel slower as it takes them longer to diffuse through the air.  Heavier molecular weight translates to slower velocity, at least it did in my last physics class.  The only thing that impacts the velocity of the "smell" is the size of the particles (as well as other stuff we can't control like barometric pressure, temp, etc).

Take a piece of steak, spray the magic spray on it and show it to your dog.  He'll show you how neutralized the scent is.  If there was a way to neutralize scent with spray, you would have an effective can of that in your bathroom instead of the fake rose scent.  Even if it was possible, 5 minutes later you body would produce scent again.

Besides your body, you have clothes, boots, rifle, bow, bottles of water you handled, lunch, wallet, knife and a dozen other things that all have some type of human or unnatural smell that gives you away.

I read a book and it had a story about a drug sniffing dog that sniffed out a small package of drugs hidden in the gas tank of a motorcycle.  The gas and sealed tank couldn't block or mask the scent, many animals pick out scents separately.  Dog's don't smell chili, they smell all of the ingredients separately.  I imagine deer are similar.

To each their own, if you think it works go for it.

[Doublelunger]

Rifle hunting it's not as big of a deal. If your mobile and not hunting out of a tree stand or ground blind its very easy to play the wind.  But IMO you won't find a lot of guys that consistantly kill big whitetail or blacktail with a bow who don't use or practice some sort of scent control.   

I've been archery hunting WA for 10 years. I have killed two whitetail bucks over 160". I'm a LOUSY hunter but I'm extremely patient and I'm religious about scent control. One of those two bucks was 8 years old, very wise and came in to 22 yards in swirly wind and never knew I was there. The other one was 6 years old and came in from strait down wind to 17 yards and never knew I was there. I'm lucky but I'm not that lucky.

So does practicing scent control make me a sucker? If so I'm pretty happy to be one every time I look at my wall!

[Eric M]

So how does it give you guys extra time?  If it somehow reduces your scent by 75%, wouldn’t the remaining 25% travel the exact same speed?

I would think that if they are going to bolt, they bolt.  Human=danger.

I also believe cover scent or neutralizer works about as well as the stuff in a bathroom.  Nobody is fooled.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The more your stink the farther away deer can smell you. Think about the guy at the gym who hasn't changed his clothes for a month. You can smell him across the room . Same concept for deer.

Actually, large smelly molecules travel slower as it takes them longer to diffuse through the air.  Heavier molecular weight translates to slower velocity, at least it did in my last physics class.  The only thing that impacts the velocity of the "smell" is the size of the particles (as well as other stuff we can't control like barometric pressure, temp, etc).

Take a piece of steak, spray the magic spray on it and show it to your dog.  He'll show you how neutralized the scent is.  If there was a way to neutralize scent with spray, you would have an effective can of that in your bathroom instead of the fake rose scent.  Even if it was possible, 5 minutes later you body would produce scent again.

Besides your body, you have clothes, boots, rifle, bow, bottles of water you handled, lunch, wallet, knife and a dozen other things that all have some type of human or unnatural smell that gives you away.

I read a book and it had a story about a drug sniffing dog that sniffed out a small package of drugs hidden in the gas tank of a motorcycle.  The gas and sealed tank couldn't block or mask the scent, many animals pick out scents separately.  Dog's don't smell chili, they smell all of the ingredients separately.  I imagine deer are similar.

To each their own, if you think it works go for it.

Made me remember, Febreze couldnt sell. It was an odor neutralizer with no smell of it's own. They had to add the smells to get it to sell.

[Okanagan]

Rifle hunting it's not as big of a deal. If your mobile and not hunting out of a tree stand or ground blind its very easy to play the wind.  But IMO you won't find a lot of guys that consistantly kill big whitetail or blacktail with a bow who don't use or practice some sort of scent control.   

I've been archery hunting WA for 10 years. I have killed two whitetail bucks over 160". I'm a LOUSY hunter but I'm extremely patient and I'm religious about scent control. One of those two bucks was 8 years old, very wise and came in to 22 yards in swirly wind and never knew I was there. The other one was 6 years old and came in from strait down wind to 17 yards and never knew I was there. I'm lucky but I'm not that lucky.

So does practicing scent control make me a sucker? If so I'm pretty happy to be one every time I look at my wall!

With respect, we have no idea whether the buck knew you were there or not.  The fact is that you killed both of them.  What the deer smelled, thought, etc. etc. is beyond our knowledge.  At best it is a theory.

I have had bull elk, bull moose, mule deer and black bears plus called coyotes and fox all within touching distance.  All without scent control on my part. Blacktails, lynx, bobcats and caribou within ten feet or considerably less.  What does it prove?  That I got close to them.  Period. 

Recently when I was still hunting along an old road, a mule deer stepped onto the road 25 yards downwind of me.  She walked up the wind toward me to within ten yards, and then casually strolled off of the road to feed.  She never knew I was there, in spite of a McDonald's hamburger on my breath and my Good Will store wool dress pants and plaid shirt.  This event is proof positive that a deer cannot smell a hamburger nor see a human carrying a rifle if he is wearing second hand clothes from Good Will.

Go for it if it gives you confidence or is part of getting into your game face mental state for hunting.  I do not mean to discourage that, yet I hate to see inexperienced hunters put effort and money into what I consider useless effort to defeat wild animal scenting ability.

[Eric M]

I think scent control has its place, but playing the wind is what matters most.

[Jonathan_S]

I'm sure it's been discussed in years past, but there are a ton of very knowledgeable black tail guys active the last few days.  Any strong opinions on no scent sprays, brands, methods??

save the money take an extra day off work and learn the wind in your spot.  scent control is 100% about the wind

Some areas I would agree but that’s laughable in the swirly places, of which there are a lot

[Tiger1358]

The best method is to take the money and put it right back in your pocket.

 

[Tiger1358]

Just put more layers on.  Hike to your spot in thin clothes to sweat less, then put on whatever you were supposed to wear.
Your breath is what mostly they smell, so just eat an apple, good old method to eliminate the scent . No need to waste money on those "scent killers".
Keep it simple and use the wind !

[Okanagan]

Slather on Skin So Soft.

You can thank me later.


 

[DeArBuCK4me]

Don't shower for 3 months before opening day and they will not know what you actually smell like-- and on the way to the woods go roll on pig poop and you will smell just like an innocent animal and the deer will like it...https://hunting-washington.com/smf/Smileys/default/badidea.gif

[Sandberm]

Ive toyed with the idea of putting my hunting costume in a garbage bag with some sagebrush, shaking the bag vigorously every time I walk by it for a week. Sort of like marinating clothes.

Probably get a rash or something.

[vandeman17]

Ive toyed with the idea of putting my hunting costume in a garbage bag with some sagebrush, shaking the bag vigorously every time I walk by it for a week. Sort of like marinating clothes.

Probably get a rash or something.

i do it with the totes i store mine in. Never got a rash and no need to shake 

[PolarBear]

I sweat too much, can't believe any "scent killing" product would work for me

Sweat?   Hell, you were always freezing if the temps were under 70 degrees! 

[PolarBear]

I know that scent eliminating products won't kill all of your scent but from many years of using them they can buy you time or get you a tiny bit closer.  I look at it this way.  Who is a deer going to smell first of be alarmed more by, a guy with a little smell or the one who smells like a garbage truck?  My cousins all believed in not showering the whole 2 weeks of camp and never thought that all of their deer were shot either on the run or at long distance and those of us who cleaned up and used scent reducing products were killing calmer deer within bow range.

[PolarBear]

I will say this about scents.  The buck the I killed yesterday was more interested in the doe pee that I had on my boots 3 hours before when I walked through were I killed him than the smell of me with the wind to my back and directly at him.  I made a 300 acre circle through thick brush, scotch broom and timber with doe pee on my boots and pants.  On my way back to point A I jumped 2 other bucks in the thick brush that were headed to investigate the smell.  Headed out now to try to get my daughter and her bestie those other bucks.