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Another experiment: opinions?
#6619521
01/06/17 06:05 PM
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,111
Red Cloud
OP
Veteran Tracker
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OP
Veteran Tracker
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,111 |
I realize that the use of scent eliminating products is controversial however,this past season I conducted another experiment with Scent Killer. Nov. 28 and 29 I did the full scent eliminating procedure, as I always due prior to hunting: Scent Killer soap and shampoo the night before, scent free laundry detergent for all hunting clothes, Scent Killer spray before and after dressing. Nov. 28 and 29 had small bucks, does three coyotes and many turkeys from 5 yds. (buck, does and coyote) to about 100 yds. out and none of them busted me. Most of the time I was not hidden in a blind but was extremely slow and quiet. Killed a nice 10 pt. Nov. 30, regular soap (no shampoo) and did not use Scent Killer at all. Two does, who could not have seen or heard me busted me at from over 100 yds. Interested to hear your opinions on scent eliminating products?
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6619529
01/06/17 06:10 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 12,547
chital_shikari
Minor in training
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Minor in training
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 12,547 |
I've had deer at 10yd with just Scent Killer sprayed. No shampoo, no soap, no laundry detergent. Sprayed well, and all over boots and soles. However, I did spray each layer as I wore it, save the thermal underwear . Also sprayed hunt pack/bag, gloves, beanie, and hat. I don't like Dead Down Wind at all because I had it ruin my hunt, but love the Scent Killer and have used Scent A Way once and it was alright. Dunno about the other brands.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6619539
01/06/17 06:13 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,416
SnakeWrangler
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,416 |
I just hunt the wind....regular soap...no shampoo (shaved head)....big 'ol chew of tobacco most of the time....
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored] Actually, BBC is pretty damn good "You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6619562
01/06/17 06:25 PM
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Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 372
Bobcat4119
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 372 |
I think any step you can take to not add to your natural scent will help. You can never be 100% scent free, but eliminating your regular daily rituals like regular deoderents and shampoos will only help get the percentage down.
I will wash and air dry my camos a week or 2 before season and then box them up with fresh cut cedar. I try to only wear them when I'm in the field and not in my truck or house... I use scent control shampoo and deoderent and it seems to help, but I still get busted from time to time. As the season wears on and I aquire more natural scents from the field like doe pee "from my bottle" and just natural dirt scents, I seem to get busted WAY less. I've even stumbled up on deer in the dark walking to my stand without my flashlight, of course, and had young bucks follow me to the point where I've had to turn on my light to scare them off from being too close!
OR you could just gear up and go roll around in the dirt for a few hours
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6619610
01/06/17 06:57 PM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 7,947
Curtis
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 7,947 |
I use the Dead Down Wind stuff. Or whatever some hunter leaves behind in one of my blinds or at the lodge. I don't think I have bought only 1 bottle scent eliminator spray in several years(Thank you clients!)It's usually half a bottle or something like that left behind. I checked the lodge house today and I have 4 full bottles of DDW(after I gathered all the partials and combined them), 1 half bottle of Hunter's Specialties, and 2 Wildlife Research. I usually wear a regular pair of wranglers that I will wash in scent-free soap along with my shirts and spray down before going on the Gator and at the blind if I'm sitting with them.
Double Arrow Bow Hunting www.doublearrowbowhunting.comBow hunters welcome! Whitetail-Axis-Blackbuck-Fallow-Barasingha-Scimitar Oryx Located in Gonzales County. Visit our Facebook page for current updates!
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6619612
01/06/17 06:58 PM
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 5,900
Jgraider
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 5,900 |
Scent killing products are a farce. They do nothing to eliminate the odor coming from your mouth, and even eyes. Huge scam. As others have said, hunt the wind.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6619615
01/06/17 06:59 PM
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 4,136
Dalee7892
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 4,136 |
I use those wafers that smell like dirt in the clothing bag, Dead Down Wind or Scent Killer final spray down. Don't wear hunting clothes around cooking or camp fires. Cig smoking okay.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6619754
01/06/17 08:19 PM
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,788
dogcatcher
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,788 |
Most of the deer in our area are so exposed to human scents, that unless they associate the scent with danger, they basically ignore it.
Combat Infantryman, the ultimate hunter where the prey shoots back. _____________"Illegitimus non carborundum est"_______________
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: dogcatcher]
#6619813
01/06/17 08:52 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,206
Texas Dan
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,206 |
Most of the deer in our area are so exposed to human scents, that unless they associate the scent with danger, they basically ignore it. I've heard of guys who leave old clothes in their stands during the off season so deer will learn to ignore the scent. It makes complete sense when you consider that deer are only alerted to smells that are out of place.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Jgraider]
#6619838
01/06/17 09:15 PM
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,200
Theringworm
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,200 |
Scent killing products are a farce. They do nothing to eliminate the odor coming from your mouth, and even eyes. Huge scam. As others have said, hunt the wind. I have almost totally bought into this thought after this year and my personal experiences. I have walked a trail and not 5-10 mins later had deer travel the same trail in my direction. When the urge arises I have gotten out of the blind, found the nearest tree or bush closest to the stand, done my business whether #1 or #2, and have had deer walk right over it 20 to 40 mins later. About all I will do is shampoo/wash with scent free soap. After that I am playing the wind. Sure, I try and keep my clothes in a bag that won't smell like fast food on the way to the lease but that's just common sense.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6619869
01/06/17 09:42 PM
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Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 3,091
Always ready 2 hunt
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 3,091 |
Hunt the wind and I try not wear my hunting clothes around camp. Dress and undress asap. I often rub some nature on my boots/clothes of area as I'm waling in (cedar branches, pine needles, dirt, etc.). I've heard guys boil cedar & bottling for their own scent spray. Anyone tried that with success.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6619890
01/06/17 09:55 PM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 27,091
Nogalus Prairie
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 27,091 |
Objective studies using dogs have been done to show scent-elimination stuff has little to no effect. Probably no effect, but in a couple of the experiments the dogs did take a little longer (as in a few more seconds to 30 seconds) to find a couple of the test subjects. So they said "little to no" effect.
Use common sense, hunt the wind, and save your money.
I learned long ago you can't reason someone out of something they don't reason themselves into.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6621155
01/07/17 06:28 PM
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 156
crooked horn
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 156 |
If you hunt like the vast majority of Texans (from a blind at a feeder) there will nearly always be some human scent in the area. When you leave, all your scent doesn't go with you, it lingers long after your gone. Having said that, I believe the use of scent elimination/masking products can make a difference in a deer thinking you ARE there, or you WERE there. I use Scent Away products, and do feel, regardless of any studies done, that it can help. Obviously I hunt the wind first, and will never hunt a stand with the wrong wind, but on numerous occasions I have had deer leave a feeder and cross downwind of me without showing any concern at all. Not always, but often enough to make me think there are some merits to these products.
Thank you...thank you very much
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Theringworm]
#6621184
01/07/17 06:57 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,857
Simple Searcher
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,857 |
Scent killing products are a farce. They do nothing to eliminate the odor coming from your mouth, and even eyes. Huge scam. As others have said, hunt the wind. I have almost totally bought into this thought after this year and my personal experiences. I have walked a trail and not 5-10 mins later had deer travel the same trail in my direction. When the urge arises I have gotten out of the blind, found the nearest tree or bush closest to the stand, done my business whether #1 or #2, and have had deer walk right over it 20 to 40 mins later. About all I will do is shampoo/wash with scent free soap. After that I am playing the wind. Sure, I try and keep my clothes in a bag that won't smell like fast food on the way to the lease but that's just common sense. I also think the "scent free" stuff is as useless as a lot of other gadgets in the hunting world. Hunting from an elevation and hunting the wind is a biggie. I walk my feeders a few times a week to get the animal accustomed to my scent. Just part of the everyday routine. And I agree, all of the scent block in the world can't do a thing about expelling a cubic foot of air every few minutes.
"Man is still a hunter, still a simple searcher after meat..." Robert C. Ruark
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6621229
01/07/17 07:40 PM
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 31,055
HWY_MAN
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 31,055 |
About the only time I worry about scent is when I'm rattling, I take cedar and crush it up in my hands and rub it on my clothes also might step in a little cow chit if available.
Yes! A Weatherby does kill them deader.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6621322
01/07/17 08:57 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 8,719
cameron00
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 8,719 |
My neighbors feed the deer so much, they smell a person, they come running.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6621772
01/08/17 02:03 AM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 14
sotol buster
Light Foot
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Light Foot
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 14 |
I leave some sotol leaves by where I park. when i leave the truck i step in them and smear a little scent on the boot soles. Last time I did it I looked back toward the truck and a doe was eating the sotol right by the truck. I guess my scent didn't bother her much!
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6621809
01/08/17 02:32 AM
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,271
Palehorse
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,271 |
I use unscented laundry soap, body wash, and deodorant. I also put a clean beach towel on the seat of my truck on the drive in. I seriously doubt that a deer downwind won't be able to smell me, but I try to cut the odor somewhat. I think it helps a little, especially at close range bow hunting. I always try to hunt the wind, but sometimes wind variations and swirls will get you.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: chital_shikari]
#6622408
01/08/17 06:25 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,034
TxYoteHunter
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,034 |
I usually always spray some of the bottled doe urine on the tree branches around my area to cover my scent.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: cameron00]
#6625690
01/10/17 03:53 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,832
Texan Til I Die
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,832 |
My neighbors feed the deer so much, they smell a person, they come running. LOL, mine aren't quite that bad, but not too far from it. I've noticed more than a few deer who are coming in get into my scent cone and reverse course. They'll circle around and eventually find a way to get to the feeder without having to smell me. I've watched some move 400 - 500 yards in a big circle to get around to the other side and come in from that direction. I try to set up several stands for different wind directions and adjust accordingly. And yes, unless you're wearing something that says NASA on it, you're always leaking scent.
Silver spurs and gold tequila keep me hanging on. Pretty girls and old cantinas give me shelter from the storm.
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Re: Another experiment: opinions?
[Re: Red Cloud]
#6625829
01/10/17 05:21 PM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 6,358
jshouse
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 6,358 |
this has all been said before but to the guys that say "just hunt the wind," sometimes thats not possible. i hunt 3 different spots in 3 different counties and have deer come from almost every direction every time i hunt. i have the stands setup to hunt certain winds with my corn in a certain spot for the trail i hope they come in on, but i still have deer coming in on trails that arent ideal. unless you can back yourself up to a creek/canyon wall/lake/etc i dont see how you can be confident that deer wont come from downwind.
on the flip side, i hear guys swear by ozonics or scent away clothes and say they know it works because they have never been busted and have deer downwind all the time. two days in a row, while hunting the ideal wind for my setup, i as able to catch a mature buck circling me and coming in very close to the trail i walked in on, which was down wind. that buck got to almost the same exact spot both days and started lip curling and sniffing. both times he never made a sound, he slowly turned around and walked away. the only reason i saw him do this was because i happened to barely see him out in front of me through the brush circling and was watching for him out of my back window to see what he would do.
anyone using hand corn or some type of lure, the deer will have to be downwind of it to smell it, meaning they are going to be downwind of you too.
i know nothing is going to eliminate your scent, but if spending an extra $20 will get me an extra 3 or 4 seconds on a shooter, its worth it.
If I send my neighbors a text and ask them to give me feedback on my lawn and plant rye into a giant dong pattern, I'm probably going to get some less than positive feedback. Same goes here.
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