Where does your scent control start?

[adk hunter]

I am always trying to keep a low scent signature. Often, the guys I hunt with, point out the me how much better a deer or bear can smell and I am wasting my time. I say all I have to do is smell less than you and I am golden! I'm sure I do...

 

[Critter Picker]

I do all the right stuff. Soap,shampoo,scent loc suit, ozonics unit. Most of all I play the wind. All the other stuff works to a degree,but you can't beat the nose.

 

[cajun]

Keep the wind in your face.

 

[Mt.Vernon]

Wash without soap, smoke a stick of cigarette and i hunt the wind.

 

[338 dude]

Where do you start your scent control? Do you start it at home before you even put on your hunting clothes?

In the shower is where I start with hunting soap ,I have scent lock clothing that is activated in the dryer and then I spray down my hands,Boots and face with scent spray. I used to clean my rifle with a kit called (no stinking gun) but I haven't been able to find it in a while. I know all this is basically futile, but I believe it does help. where I hunt in Tennessee The wind is constantly switching and changing. Of course I try to hunt the wind as much as possible, but it seems as soon as you get it set up something changes so I take any precautions I can

 

[Muddyboots]

I think it also depends on weapon of choice. Bow huge wind mgmt. Sitting on ag field waiting for 3-500 yd shot much less prob but still wind mgmt even at that distance.

 

[atepointer]

That's what I did w

That's what I did when we had our farm.
Best scent control in that area.

At least on a 6k acre cattle ranch scent is not an issue I've experienced unless it's thermal with coyotes those lil buggers are a different approach. From does to bucks to hogs literally they don't care about my brand of stink. They are so used to ranch hands, trucks, city utility, game warden etc....non stop people and trucks.

I do think my situation is just a one off as I have buddies up north who get winded and blown out on a wind switch and they are outstanding outdoorsmen and hunters. I'm glad I get to be nose blind though

 

[Straight Shooter]

I try not to break wind while I am on a stand.

 

[DSheetz]

It is interesting to me how we change our thoughts on scent control with time spent hunting, the areas we hunt as well as the animals being hunted. When we are hunting in areas with a lot of people visiting the area it tends not to be as important to watch our scent or the air currents as when we are in areas that aren't frequently visited by people. It also tends to change with the species of animal we are hunting and how much hunting pressure is placed on that animal species in that area. To me sound control is as important as anything else in my hunting of the coyote, but I also know that they can hear and smell as well as see movement way better than I could ever hope to even when I was younger. With hunting it's the same as buying a truck or a rifle it's what works for us as to what our decisions will be regarding how we ultimately approach how we go about it isn't it?

 

[Mike Matteson]

One time while bow hunting in MT. I was doing a ground stand for awhile using my cow elk call. In full camo. I had put up a cow elk decoy behind me about 10' away. A friend was about 80 yds away from me on my left side.
Anyway I heard this baa, baa noise about 200 yds to my right and below me. I had never heard a muley doe talk before in my life. It had me going, and what that noise was coming from. The doe walked next to me and behind me. My thinking was should I touch it. The doe was that close to me as she walked by.
The doe stopped behind me and bedded down looking at my elk decoy. I couldn't believe it. I had stopped calling and want to see how long she would stay bedded down. It must have been 20 to 30 minutes bedded there.
My friend which gets up tight quickly couldn't understand why I wasn't calling. So he came towards me. The doe spotted him quickly and jump up and ran off.
He ask me what I was doing. I told him he screwed up my hunt by running off my live decoy. I was using that doe as live decoy and it was working for me. I still tell him, he screwed up my live decoy hunting set up.
I do work on scent control. I feel it helps, but wind direction really helps the most. The only problem with that is the **** wind keeps changing all the time. So if I walked into the wind, I would be going in circles.

 

[atepointer]

I try not to break wind while I am on a stand.

This is a non starter for me. When I'm in good form there is no amount of square footage I can't clear out. I've crop dusted entire aisles in stores watching people stumble through the impact zone with me watching proudly.

 

[choprzrul]

I hunt Nebraska whitetails out of a double bull ground blind.....with zero effort to control scent up to parking my 700 Kodiak right beside the blind. I'll have deer hop out of the wind break 20 yards away and walk up to within 10 yards just staring at me. I'll even video them while talking to narrate the video and they pay me no mind. Last year, I had to wait on my buck to finally give me a quartering shot as he just kept walking straight at my blind out of sheer curiosity it seemed like. Not sure why I used to work so hard at deer hunting before I bought that ground blind....

.

 

[Barehandlineman11]

I shoot from long ways off so they don't smell me

 

[wvbearhunter]

Where do you start your scent control? Do you start it at home before you even put on your hunting clothes?

I store all my hunting clothes, slings, ropes, etc in baking soda for the entire off season. That way my gear is scent neutral. Its rare I get busted