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Best Scent Removing Sprays, etc.?!?!?

Sorry - but this topic is one that hits close to home for me because I hate gimmicks, lies, and pixy dust products that fool hunters into believing it will improve their odds at killing "a big buck" like one of the adds says.

It is said tha a whitetails nose is as powerful as a bloodhound. I've heard that it's more powerful, less powerful, not sure what the real truth is.

So, can we agree that a bloodhound would be a good "worst case" for proving or disproving any products? It's already been disproven to work on Mythbusters, so I guess, what is keeping people from believing that it is impossible to mask enough human odor to make any difference?

When I used to use rubber boots and sprays (like religiously), I would watch deer hit my path, stop, smell, and follow the scent to the bottom of my tree. In-fact, I've watched deer do this on things I've touched from days before (deer can detect your path for days after you've walked through an area).

Since I stopped using all this "junk", I have seen ZERO difference in deer detecting humnan scent. All I've done is secured better properties that have less pressure, which is the ONLY thing you can do to improve your odds! Hunt deer that aren't pounded, and they will react - or not react nearly as spooky as in certain areas. Big mature bucks - forget about it!

Do what you want, this is all coming from a guy who could be making money promoting this crap, but someone who refuses to lie to people to do so!
 
We all know hunters have been Scammed into many things that don't work. I would suspect SOME of this stuff is a scam. Personally, I believe Scent Lok does nothing, that's my opinion from experience- I surely don't think it does ENOUGH to fool a deer. IMO.

I do believe scientifically that things are out there that can absorb or cover odors- kind of common sense- say BAKING SODA for instance. I know that ABSORBS odor- no debate there. BUT, are any of these products POTENT enough to fool a deer? For sure NONE I've tried are 100%. I think what keeps SOME people buying them is they think it MIGHT help, MIGHT. And for some, they've had deer downwind and not get smelled SO they assume it's the product- are the right or wrong- not sure. I think the whole debate is speculation to SOME EXTENT. Interesting hearing other perspectives!!!

Obviously no one hear is of the mindset of "Forget the wind and hunt". *Which company ever said that anyways???? I think it's about products that might help and products that do NOTHING and trying to sift through the garbage. I do know if someone took away my sprays & scentlok I would not be too worried.
 
I'll throw my .02 in on the WHY deer will still smell you part of the question.

You will NEVER cover or contain your scent 100%. I know this and I'll still admit to using the stuff. I rarely wash my outer clothes during hunting season, and I think that it works to keep them from stinking. I'm not saying a deer couldn't smell them, but I can't so it works for what I want it to do. I not going to defend the sprays, but I'm not quite as mad at them as Todd is either.

The reason deer can still smell the things that you touch, or where you walked even after spraying down is because every time that you touch something or take a step you are leaving what are called skin rafts behind. People are constantly "shedding" these rafts-millions of them a day. These rafts are what the bloodhound (or in my case the GSD in my avatar), or for the sake of this conversation the deer, are smelling when they've "got your scent". Basically, if you have ANY exposed skin you are pretty much pouring your scent onto the ground with every step.

If your trying to eliminate all scent the outlook is pretty gloomy, it just ain't gonna happen. I think that the sprays do reduce odors on clothes, but unfortunately we naturally stink them back up pretty quickly. .
 
What are the chances that the sprays "adhere" the skin rafts to your clothing? Not really covering them up, just not alowing them to float away? Ever used a spray bottle with water to settel the dust in a room before you paint? Same idea?

I've been undetected one day and busted the next and busted one day and undetected the next with no variables, same wind, same prep, same deer. I'll never figure it out.

The 'Bonker
 
I've been lucky enough to share camp for many years with some pretty incredible whitetail hunters. Guys who are litterally killing some of the biggest bucks each year. Experience levels chasing mature whitetails far beyond my years.

After doing lots of listening to guys who have the trophy collections to prove their tactics, scent reduction products essentually don't play a part in their gameplan. Some of the opinions they shared have defineatly changed the way I looked at hunting, and the hunting industry in-general.

The most important factor these guys are constantly talking about is always the wind. Thermals, barametric pressure, swirling winds, and story after story of different set-ups that offered huge advantages over others, and some that could simply not be explained.

Any hard-core elk hunter will tell you the effects thermals have on getting winded. I don't know why it's not discussed more in the whitetail world, but I guess it may have to do with the number of companies making money from the idea of scent reduction. For years I used many of the products we are discussing, thinking they may be working. Sometimes I would have deer "Straight down wind" and they wouldn't nail me. I figured it was the products.

Years after I've stopped using any of this stuff, I now have a cameraman in the stand with me 100% of the time. Twice the scent of the normal guy, and I probably give off more scent that the average guy because I sweat like a hauss! There are countless times throughout the year where we get away with something that we shouldn't have. I have told my cameraman time and time again how if we were sponsored by a "product", we would have a great plug for them. Because we "stink", there was likely a wind current or thermal that didn't allow our scent to reach the ground. Sometimes I'm just humbled because I don't know how this all works, but sometimes it does. 95% of the time, we get winded.
 
Very interesting thread.

I think it was Dwight Schuh who once said "If you have the wind (in your favor), you have everything. If you don't have the wind, you have nothing."
 
I love reading the old stories of Native hunters. Many of them knelt down-wind of a camp fire to cover their scent with smoke. That could be the next million dollar idea! Dead-Downwind "Smoke scented spray"!!! /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Fishbonker</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What are the chances that the sprays "adhere" the skin rafts to your clothing? Not really covering them up, just not alowing them to float away? Ever used a spray bottle with water to settel the dust in a room before you paint? Same idea?


The 'Bonker </div></div>

I'm not sure that would work over the course of a few hours.(theoretically) The clothes would probably have to stay wet for that to work. I have several articles on human scent that have to do with K9 tracking. They don't give you a very good outlook on being able to control your scent while hunting. I'll see if I can find some of them online.
 
I'm a HUGE fan of scent control. I use a non scent deoderant and shampoo and wash my clothes in non scent detergent. Basically, products that don't use any perfumes or dyes in them. You're going to have one helluva hard time convincing me that it doesn't make a difference after 25 years of avidly hunting this animal. I then use a Scent Killer autumn blend. I have had many deer dead downwind that have not winded me. I've had others that HAVE winded me but did not spook and some of those have actually came in later. My theory is that deer are used to smelling human scent in varying degrees and IMO they are determining the following when these encounters occur:
One...there is strong human scent which means there is in fact a human just upwind from them that poses an immediate danger and a flight response.
Two...there is weak scent upwind which means either there was previously a human there but they are no longer present OR the human is located a long enough distance upwind that they aren't an immediate threat.

I believe quality scent control products, at minimum, do just that... they <u>weaken </u>human scent to the point it confuses the deer's olfactory sense and gives you a chance. Do I think there are products out there that make false or overreaching claims? Yes. But I use certain ones I've had a good track record with and I firmly believe they give the hunter an edge they would not have without them.
 
Speaking of this topic, I have always found it ironic how some guys will go through the routine of getting their clothes totally scent free but then add artificial cover scents through dirt scented dryer sheets, storing clothes with the dirt wafers, or using "flavored" scent killing sprays, and then try to cover all of that scent up with scent lock or scent blocker outer layers. Seems like a contradiction to me, so I just do my best to eliminate as much scent as possible and try to hunt smart.

Also, I have to laugh when I see the HS guys on video with their scent wafers flopping around on their hats, and then see pictures of amateurs wearing the wafers in the same spot. I guess their marketing is paying off.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Iowabowtech</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm a HUGE fan of scent control. I use a non scent deoderant and shampoo and wash my clothes in non scent detergent. Basically, products that don't use any perfumes or dyes in them. You're going to have one helluva hard time convincing me that it doesn't make a difference after 25 years of avidly hunting this animal. I then use a Scent Killer autumn blend. I have had many deer dead downwind that have not winded me. I've had others that HAVE winded me but did not spook and some of those have actually came in later. My theory is that deer are used to smelling human scent in varying degrees and IMO they are determining the following when these encounters occur:
One...there is strong human scent which means there is in fact a human just upwind from them that poses an immediate danger and a flight response.
Two...there is weak scent upwind which means either there was previously a human there but they are no longer present OR the human is located a long enough distance upwind that they aren't an immediate threat.

I believe quality scent control products, at minimum, do just that... they <u>weaken </u>human scent to the point it confuses the deer's olfactory sense and gives you a chance. Do I think there are products out there that make false or overreaching claims? Yes. But I use certain ones I've had a good track record with and I firmly believe they give the hunter an edge they would not have without them. </div></div>

couldnt agree more, and very well put! I absolutely feel there is some relevance to the "pixy-dust"

a former roomate of mine had exceptionally stinky feet, in fact the kind where he could be across the room, take his shoes off and STANK CITY! we sprayed the unscented scent-a-way spray in his shoes, (liberally) and the smell vanished! no joke. however, after he wore them again it stank. we kept a bottle of the stuff around just for his stank-@$$ feet.

i know it works to a certian extent, and i will continue to use it as a part of my game plan, that has been exceptionally successful.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Speaking of this topic, I have always found it ironic how some guys will go through the routine of getting their clothes totally scent free but then add artificial cover scents through dirt scented dryer sheets, storing clothes with the dirt wafers, or using "flavored" scent killing sprays, and then try to cover all of that scent up with scent lock or scent blocker outer layers. Seems like a contradiction to me, so I just do my best to eliminate as much scent as possible and try to hunt smart.

Also, I have to laugh when I see the HS guys on video with their scent wafers flopping around on their hats, and then see pictures of amateurs wearing the wafers in the same spot. I guess their marketing is paying off. </div></div>

what if this stuff actually works......?
 
Hey, IMO bowhunting is all about confidence! If doing a ritual of "scent reduction" gives you a mental edge - I'm not going to be the guy to tell you to stop doing what works for you!

I like this forum because even if we disagree, everyone is civil about it! Keep it going, I want to hear some stories of other guys getting winded! That makes me feel better anyway! he he he...
 
I never get winded. I just choose to let deer smell me every once in awhile. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif .
 
In all actuality, what has worked the best for me is to forget about scent-lok, I just use a base-layer (don't really think it does anything but whatever...) AND I have a method of using cedar smell from real cedars to add to my outer layers. I know for a FACT that if I get my clothes smelling STRONG of natural cedar smell- I get scented less, I know it, it's a very strong cover odor. I get scented WAY LESS if i do the cedar smell compared to sprays and scent lok. I think the consensus is to never forget the wind though!

Todd, above you're wrong you JERK! You don't know ANYTHING! /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif Kidding- it is nice to have good discussions and appropriate debate, I agree with a lot of what you wrote actually, I also actually agree with many other statements on here too. I think the MIDDLE GROUND seems to be- is there things that can HELP at all or are some items SCAMS?!?! I love my cedar method!!!
 
This is a great thread - somehow I missed it until now. I've always liked bowhunting when it's been simple. As soon as I start throwing in all the "extras" and "gadgets" and have way more crap than I need in the woods I start to get annoyed with the sport that I love more than anything. I wash my clothes in scent free soap and hang them outside and then put them in a tub with leaves/sticks, etc, nothing else. I used to get where I was going and then spray down everything (which got very tiring) only to take off into the woods and sweat my ass off. I then finally get set up and think - why in the hell did I just waste all that time spraying down when I come in and sweat like a hog anyway. I think it's a mental game. It's hard to say. Lots of it is gimmics because the companies that make this stuff know that us hunters are a weak bunch and will buy anything we can because of the thought of "it just might work!".

The man that took me hunting when I was 15 when I killed my first buck is someone that I have more respect for than any other person on this planet. He's never had much $$, he's never been into what works and what doesn't, his life is the definition of the word "simple". He doesn't wear rubber boots, not much camo (if any at all), maybe took a shower before he hunted, has never run a trial cam, and dipped Copenhagen on stand like a mo fo his entire life. That man has killed more giant bucks in my home county than ANY person I know. He has always told me - there are 3 secrets in deer hunting. 1 - Understand a bucks food source all times of the year. 2 - Know the land you are hunting like the back of your hand. 3 - PLAY THE WIND. DUH right? Three things we all know but we let ourselves get caught up in the latest and greatest all the time because "it just might work". /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Whenever I have the latest "gimmick" in my hand at the store he pops into my head and more times than not I put whatever it was back on the shelf - hunt harder. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Shoot2Kill</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> He has always told me - there are 3 secrets in deer hunting. 1 - Understand a bucks food source all times of the year. 2 - Know the land you are hunting like the back of your hand. 3 - PLAY THE WIND. DUH right? Three things we all know but we let ourselves get caught up in the latest and greatest all the time because "it just might work". /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Whenever I have the latest "gimmick" in my hand at the store he pops into my head and more times than not I put whatever it was back on the shelf - hunt harder. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif</div></div>

Great Advice!!!!
 
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