scent control

[Robinsons Rebel]

I know you can't defeat a deer's nose, but I do try to control my scent. I now make my own cover scent and use scent free All instead of buying the more expensive hunter detergents to wash my cloths. Looking for a deodorant that is scent free also. I have some that is unscented but still has an odor to me so does anyone have any suggestions on something that works for them? My wife would love it if I could cut back some spending on hunting! Rather skimp on deodorant than broadheads. Thanks! It's getting closer.

[IronNoggin]

I've been using this for years:

https://www.thecrystal.com/products/mineral-deodorant-stick-unscented

Works very well, even hiking in the heat.

Inexpensive but effective.

Cheers,
Nog

[AJ01]

Ivory Free and Clear....

The ad says...

Ivory Free and Clear laundry detergent is designed for your family's sensitive skin. Serving families for 140 years by crafting products with purposeful ingredients to care for even the most delicate skin, Ivory originated as a simple solution for washing clothes and bodies. Made without dyes, fragrances, phosphates, brighteners, enzymes, and chlorine Ivory Free and Clear detergent is gentle on the skin.

Designed for sensitive skin.
Hypoallergenic.
Fragrance-free.
Made without dyes, phosphates, brighteners, enzymes, and chlorine.
Accepted by National Eczema Association.
Works in all washing machines.

It's cheap at Wally World. I wash my hunting gear in this stuff and then let it air dry on a clothesline. Then they all get stored in a Cedar Chest until I need them.
This works for me, but then again, I hunt where there are LOTS of Cedar trees!!

[wheelsquad]

Wind direction both for where you'll be sitting and your access. That's it for me. I've pretty much given up on everything else. My hunting has steadily improved since.

[artifact]

For me it's also 100% wind direction, I've had to lay lit cigars down to get ready to shoot deer, maybe the cigars attract them, you should give it a try!
Of course, I'm probably not going to see anything close that's downwind of me, but probably wouldn't either unless I stop breathing and releasing human scent molecules into the air.
Ever wonder, how those "stinky" Indians and mountain men ever manage to shoot any deer, I'm sure that many of them were quite "ripe"!
I'm on a coyote hunting forum, one thing they harp on when approaching a stand and setting up is WIND, WIND, WIND, works for deer also!
Looks like I agree with wheelsquad!

[papabear1]

For me it's also 100% wind direction, I've had to lay lit cigars down to get ready to shoot deer, maybe the cigars attract them, you should give it a try!
Of course, I'm probably not going to see anything close that's downwind of me, but probably wouldn't either unless I stop breathing and releasing human scent molecules into the air.
Ever wonder, how those "stinky" Indians and mountain men ever manage to shoot any deer, I'm sure that many of them were quite "ripe"!
I'm on a coyote hunting forum, one thing they harp on when approaching a stand and setting up is WIND, WIND, WIND, works for deer also!
Looks like I agree with wheelsquad!

Agree 100 %

[papabear1]

Wind direction both for where you'll be sitting and your access. That's it for me. I've pretty much given up on everything else. My hunting has steadily improved since.

Yeppers 100 %

[longbow joe]

All good advice but storing your hunting clothes in a dedicated large Rubbermaid trash can with dried herbs plants native to your hunting area is key.
Store the dried plants in a couple nylon laundry bags.
I add new herbs every fall.
Number 2 is spend your other money on doe pee lots of it.
Not rut doe pee just regular kind...it works amazingly well at disguising your odor.
The hunting only down wind is nonsense by taking a shower before hunting and using what I mentioned you can get away with a surprising amount of undetection even down wind.
I have killed many downwind deer some may whiff you briefly but usually I get away with it.
When I hear hunters talk about being winded they usually have a beard bigger than a turkey that smells
like the food they ate all week and shower every 2 days.
Nothing against beards but if you do the research a crap load of odor comes from human hair it's wise to loose the squirrel on the face till the season is over.
(I'm probably gonna get a hate respond from Dan Fitzgerald now.)
Now don't forget a deer can smell you but if it's looking around and doesn't actually see a human it probably won't bolt just walk away.
That's where your camouflage and face mask come in.
.....a whole different subject.

[DuckHunt]

Depending on where I sit, its a 300 to 400ft climb up a mountain from my parking spot to the tree I'll be climbing up in. I'm just happy if I don't entirely melt before I reach the tree. Depending on the speed of the climb, how I'm dressed and the outside temp all factor into the amount of sweat produced. The soap I bathed with and washed my hunting clothes with is largely irrelevant in my situation.

I try to play the wind, but I've got only one entrance direction. Using a Thermacell, I've watched the smoke off of it make a complete 360 degree swing in a half hour period. The swirling winds in the mountains make playing the wind frustrating, because it is constantly changing directions. I do what I can, but it takes a little luck for everything to come together right. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't. I wouldn't trade if nothing.

[lituani]

My hunting clothes are hung in furnace room for 10 months. 2 months prior, I go out and collect local flora for boxing with my clothes. However, I bring my hunt clothes and let them sit downwind from a campfire for 10 minutes as additional "cover scent". The farmland where I hunt always has smoke in the air and doesn't spook them. But, as previously stated, wind is your friend. Challenge becomes shifty/swirling currents which are unpredictable in wooded areas, especially after dawn or at dusk.

[janesy]

I know you can't defeat a deer's nose, but I do try to control my scent. I now make my own cover scent and use scent free All instead of buying the more expensive hunter detergents to wash my cloths. Looking for a deodorant that is scent free also. I have some that is unscented but still has an odor to me so does anyone have any suggestions on something that works for them? My wife would love it if I could cut back some spending on hunting! Rather skimp on deodorant than broadheads. Thanks! It's getting closer.

Here you go. Cheap, zero odor, and works great. Been using it for years. My ex used to take it for office trips it actually works so well. 6 pack, $15 Canadian.

[Robinsons Rebel]

I use unscented Mitchum but it still has an odor to me. I play the wind and all that but like I've said before, if the little things help me kill a deer that I wouldn't have been able to before, I'll do it,

[AJ01]

I find this product works very well.

[xcaliber]

Wind direction both for where you'll be sitting and your access. That's it for me. I've pretty much given up on everything else. My hunting has steadily improved since.

Yep, I do use attractants while using the wind in my favor for the last hundred yards or so to my stand. U use a gel, and dip a branch from the ground to rub on brush on the way, then I do a loop at the end to where the scent I leave is blowing at me.

[Deaf jeff]

personal opinion if you hunt where human smell is the norm then i think scent control is over rated. i have not ben fortunate to hunt the wind for almost 35 years now. i do use cover scent once in awhile(usually smoke) but the wind is what it will be. i dont have many complaints in my success.
now in a remote location where humans are not a common thing then yes i believe more precautions need to be taken more seriously.
just my 2 cents worth