Hey all,

Is scent blocker camo worth it when bow hunting or is it a gimmick? I am a new hunter in general and starting off the right/hard way with a bow.

There is so much gear to buy, was wondering if I could get by with a spray of some kind and being careful with soaps, detergents, deodorant, etc. I'll be in a ladder blind and maybe a pop up in mixed hardwoods, cedars and mesquites.

Also- as a bow hunter, what do you look for or avoid in camo?

Thanks!

If you are an avid hunter my answer is yes, I have two layers to cover myself, but they do not block 100% of your smell. Looking forward to the posts on this thread

X2

I have a buddy who swears by it and I don't think it's worth it. On that note let me say that I am bathing with scent free soap everyday and spraying down with scentblocker before each hunt and I swear by that. So who really knows? I do know if you find something you believe works use it because it will boost your confidence and you won't be worried about that part of your hunt.

Scent "Blockers" are simply scent control. They may dampen the smell, but will not fool a deers nose. I hunt with a group that are some of the most stringent scent minded folks I have ever seen. They go as far as keeping their hunting clothes in a vacuum sealed bag and change once they are in the field, they bath religiously in non-scent soup, use sprays and cover scents, so on and so forth. Yet, they still get busted.

I hear from guys that swear by sprays and clothes and say they have had a deer walk directly down wind and never smell them. I have had the same happen to me and I do absolutely nothing for scent control. I have also heard some that swear by scent control because they have never seen or heard one blow at them. Again, doesn't mean a thing. Many deer will simply slip out of the area without a sound when they hit your scent.

I am not saying that every product is a gimmick. What I am saying is that you cannot rely on any product to completely fool the nose of an animal.

Hunting the wind is the only sure way to not get busted. Good luck

I don't own any of the scent blocker clothes yet I had deer on several occasions stand or walk by the bottom of my ladder stand last year. I do shower with scent free soaps and wash all clothes with scent free. A lot of deer I saw came in from down wind last year so I am not sure hunting stands with the wind in favor of a feeder always works either. I think the biggest thing I did to keep deer close was lack of movement.

As far a scent stopping product no, but as a well thought out and above normal quality hunting clothing yes.

Their clothes are very functional for the most part.

Field and Stream magazine did a study and subsequent article on this subject about a year ago. The conclusion from their studies was that scent blocking clothing is a marketing thing and nothing more. The key is staying above and down wind from the deer regardless of what kind of clothing you are wearing.

Oh as far as second part of the question quiet and none restrictive of the most part. If you only hunt oct. then just breathable and quiet. You bow hunt late nov dec. quiet, warm and none bulky.

I wanna try merino wool. Anyone try it yet?

Do some research on how hot you have to heat carbon to reactivate it. I doubt there is any clothing in the world that can withstand that kind of heat without going up in flames.

If you are on the fence wait until the end of season and the sales on scent blocker gear is amazing. The mark up on these products is pretty healthy

Personally I don't use scent killer soap, detergent, or clothes. Ill spray some on me once I get out of the truck to kill off some smells but for the most part I use the wind to decide which stand I hunt an how I hunt

I've had great success washing my normal camo in scent-free soap and storing it in a bin with some sticks from my hunting area. The soap gets rid of human scent, and the sticks infuse them with a great cover scent natural to the area. Big fan.

Great stuff, I use merino pretty exclusivly chasing mulie and elk in sept.


But you still can't beat the wind

Good mfg with merino-kuiu, firstlite, core4element,

I feel like I don't really need it. I usually get a clothes bin and fill it with cedar branches and put my clothes in that so they smell of cedar when I put them on. Then I will spray scent spray! Especially on my boots!!!

Play the wind! It has been working thousands of years....maybe longer.

much easier said then done. try as i might ive never bee able to make them use the trails in front of me everytime.

Great info, thanks everyone. Will try the cedar and stick storage!

I keep all my clothes in a sealed container with earth scent wafers, I don't use scent blocker clothing. With my method, I have not had a deer smell me. Have have many come from dead down wind.