Human Scent

[xbhntr]

There are many products that mask human scent . If I leave my scent ,( sweat from my hand ) on my ladder stand rung ; how long will it last ? Will the rain or snow dissolve the scent ? Just curious about being scent free. Ray

[agingcrossbower]

Ray;
The rain or snow should remove the scent. When its dry the scent will last for some time. Best to ware plastic gloves.

[wabi]

Talking to a hunting buddy this weekend and he was telling me about an article he recently read in an outdoor magazine.

They used a dog to try to find a hidden (in a blind) person.
They tried with the person just off work (dirty & sweaty) and it took about 15 seconds for the dog to find him.
Showered with scent eliminating soap and clothes washed in scent eliminating soap it took the dog 13 seconds.
Carbon suit - 16 seconds.

Bottom line - None of the products tested reduce scent enough to matter!

Keeping the wind in your favor is the best method!!!!!!!!!!

Next time I see him I'll ask him where he read the article.

[VixChix]

Wabi, I was told the same thing once by a CO that used dogs to catch poachers - the scent-eliminating products aren't a challenge for a dog's nose.

[See4miles]

We are all silly to believe for a minute that we can fool a deer's nose. They survive for a living, 24/7 using it.
Scent elimination and or masking scents has become the great illusion of this sport IMO. It encourages lazy hunting. Just my opinion.

[Panhandler80]

Yeah, the notion of "Scen Elimination" is laughable.

However, it can't hurt to use things like scent free detergent as opposed to "Summer Rain Blossom Potpori Mountain Mist."

[See4miles]

Hey I use that! The hummingbirds follow me everywhere!

[Sopchoppy]

Reckon how anybody killed anything before Scent Lok, Scent Blocker, Scent Away, Dead Down Wind and many other overpriced products?

[new2xbow]

Talking to a hunting buddy this weekend and he was telling me about an article he recently read in an outdoor magazine.

They used a dog to try to find a hidden (in a blind) person.
They tried with the person just off work (dirty & sweaty) and it took about 15 seconds for the dog to find him.
Showered with scent eliminating soap and clothes washed in scent eliminating soap it took the dog 13 seconds.
Carbon suit - 16 seconds.

Bottom line - None of the products tested reduce scent enough to matter!

Keeping the wind in your favor is the best method!!!!!!!!!!

Next time I see him I'll ask him where he read the article.

I read that same article but can't for the life of me remember which mag it was in, and of course they are at my house, not here at my home away from home.

Aabout the only thing i do about scent is i wash in scent free, store with a pine or cedar branch, and i have started using DDD evolve for the walk in and can say i had to sit and wait for quite some time while 2 deer sat at my corn pile 10 yards down wind of me. Once i am in the stand (which i choose based on wind) all bets are off, i have even had to on more than one occasion put my cigarette down to shoot the deer!

[deerhunter0430]

Reckon how anybody killed anything before Scent Lok, Scent Blocker, Scent Away, Dead Down Wind and many other overpriced products?

X2!!!!!

[GaryM]

I hunted one morning and walked across a large pasture. It has a high barbed wire fence but there is a place with a broken wire where the critters go under. I crawled under at that spot and hunted. Came home the same way. Next morning, I was in a stand near the pasture and I could see the crossing spot. A coyote crossed the pasture and got to the crossing place. He put his nose down by the fence, jumped back, then ran. I have no doubt he smelled me from the day before.

Play the wind. Use the fluff from milkweed pods to determine where your scent is going. Gary

[rayman]

Another complex and ongoing issue. You want to do things that will increase your chances and don't kid yourself about it. I learned very early in my deer hunting career that it helps to take showers and wear clean clothes. Of that I have absolutely no doubt. I don't think the special soap matters as much as just being clean as long as there are no heavy perfumes. Of course, rifle hunting from a stand where you expect your shot to be up to 300 yards it does not matter as much. Bow hunting in a closed in hammock where you are expecting to shoot a deer at 20 yards, it matters more. Playing the wind makes a huge difference also. How high you are off the ground makes a difference. The route you took in to the stand makes a difference. You are not going to fool a deer's nose, but you might give yourself a slight edge that makes all the difference.

Of course, there are a lot of stories about deer that were killed by someone who hadn't showered in days, wasn't wearing clean clothes, and smoking a cigar. I have some of them myself. But there are also a lot of stories about a deer that didn't present the right shot because it winded and ran, or some such foolishness. There are stories about people who smoked 3 packs a day, fried all their meals in lard, were 100 pounds overweight, and lived to the age of 97, but anyone would admit that these things would likely not increase the life expectancy of an average person. You want to do things that will help, not hurt your chances.

As for all the products on the market today, I think most of them are gimmicks.

[gogo]

confidence is a big part of hunting, if you think scent spray will make you a better hunter then use it. My son uses cover scent on every hunt, it makes him more confident. I say play the wind and things should work out ok.Who knows sometimes it might make a difference.

[huntfishfam]

I think scent elimination products do work to a degree. By reducing our human scent and various unnatural, woods, scents. The deer may still be able to smell us but we smell more like something that should be there rather than something different or out of place. Think of these products as camo for the nose. By placing leaves in with my hunting clothes, in my case, after I wash them they take on that smell. Useing scent killer of some sort to reduce my human odor and wearing camo, I now smell like a bush and look like a bush. My scent is not totally eliminated but it is less alarming should that animal get down wind of me.
Sean

[Limbs and Sticks]

You can put two five gallon bucket's of fresh cow manure in the stand with you and deer will smell you over the manure if the breeze hits it's nose, your not going to hide or disguise your scent if the wind is wrong.


Wes