How to hide human scent while hunt

[zorogreenhaired]

a lot of people say it is impossible why some say it is. please i will appreciate your comment of your personal experiences, is it really possible? if so then how can one hide his scent while hunting?

 

[4ester]

You are not going to eliminate human scent by using any snake oil or special clothing. Use the wind to your advantage is the best option.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kadler]

Scent elimination and the products sold for it is a gimmick IMO. Play the wind. I do however wash w scentless detergent and air dry, so I don't smell like Bounce..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dameon]

I use scent free wash for clothes and myself since most stuff has perfumes in it, but I always play the wind. I use a windicator religiously and like the one from Dead Down Wind.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bughalli]

Playing the wind is the only way to be scent free and I'm religious about it. Not just on stalks, but the entire time. How and where I hike, where I camp, etc. That said, game will still get down wind of you whether you know it or not. No need to stink up the whole canyon. You can't beat their nose, but can minimize how far your scent travels before it's diluted enough to not cause alarm. I use scent free soaps. If I can, I wash every day. Wear wool, really does reduce odor. Swap out or rotate clothes. Even in the back country if weather is good I'll wash every day, wash clothes and dry them. Might be overkill, but sometimes the water is available and there's down time mid day. Plus I feel staying and feeling clean has a mental impact, which keeps me more upbeat and alert. But I'll be the first to admit this has pretty minimal impact relative to just beating the wind.

 

[zorogreenhaired]

You are not going to eliminate human scent by using any snake oil or special clothing. Use the wind to your advantage is the best option.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay, how do i do it right?

 

[zorogreenhaired]

so what soap do you guys use, do they have a particular content that i should avoid or go for? i am asking because i have heard of some soap having uv Brightening and those aren't good for concealing odors

 

[Stwrt9]

from what ive experienced is you can buy all the scent free clothes and wash in the world and none of it can pass the fart test! In my opinion you can only take steps to minimize your scent path not eliminate it completely. Wash your clothes in scent free detergent, find some kind of scent free soaps for yourself, keep all of your gear in a tote as to separate it from human odor as best you can, you can use some scent free/scent killing sprays to spray down before you enter the woods to minimize and cover your scent, and lastly and probably the most important factor is know the WIND. Knowing and playing the Wind is honestly the best and only real way to play the scent free game.

 

[elkyinzer]

I can say with near certainty that you cannot eliminate your scent. You can go through a whole hell of a lot of work to achieve incremental improvements but how those improvements translate to the woods, I don't know.

I wash my clothes in baking soda, air dry them and keep them in a tote. I try not to eat or handle a shitload of stinky foods during hunting season. Don't pump gas in my hunting clothes. Check the wind and try to setup accordingly but realize that it does swirl here all the time. Accept that once in awhile a deer is going to wind you because that's just hunting. Just basic common sense stuff, nothing that requires gadgetry or any goofy routines. I don't struggle to kill shit, so it's good enough for me.

I know a guy that's all into the scentless clothes routines and spraying all his shit down with that stuff and buying the latest gadgets, but he smokes and I can smell the stale cigs on him from 20 yards away. Also he hunts from the same 2 or 3 stands all year, year after year, and tries to tell me the deer "aren't smart enough to remember where his stand is". Needless to say most years his tag goes unfilled. What can you even say to people like that?

 

[Dameon]

so what soap do you guys use, do they have a particular content that i should avoid or go for? i am asking because i have heard of some soap having uv Brightening and those aren't good for concealing odors

If you want to buy hunting specific scentless laundry detergent and body soap, I like Dead Down Wind. With that said, I like to use there scentless toothpaste, 3-in-1 balm, and body soap. For my clothes, I just use All Free and Clear. It is scent and UV brightener free and you can pick it up anywhere. Come hunting season, I just wash everything in it.

 

[zorogreenhaired]

if you want to buy hunting specific scentless laundry detergent and body soap, i like dead down wind. With that said, i like to use there scentless toothpaste, 3-in-1 balm, and body soap. For my clothes, i just use all free and clear. It is scent and uv brightener free and you can pick it up anywhere. Come hunting season, i just wash everything in it.

thanks bud.

 

[Stid2677]

I assume you want to hunt bears, since you have a thread asking about shot placement. Bears have without question one of the best noses in the animal kingdom. I have taken many and have seen them wind me from over a mile away, put their nose in the wind, stand to get a better whiff, then turn and not stop running.

In my youth during my bow hunting days I went through many of the gimmicks. Bottom line is to be a successful hunter you need to learn to read and hunt the wind. Myself and many of my friends have stands for all wind directions and will not even consider hunting even our favorite stand unless the wind is right. Being clean and practicing scent discipline helps, as well as staying away from meat eating. Anyone that has ever raised kids knows that the diaper changing is no big deal while they are on milk, put the stink changes once they start eating meat. Game can smell meat eaters and react differently to them. If bears are your target, I would try to find an area you can glass from a distance with the wind in your favor and resist the desire to walk around spreading scent. I keep a turkey feather on a thread tied to my bow and rifle as a wind indictor to always have a reference. This works good during dry weather, but I use a small puffer for rain days. If hunting mountainous terrain you also have thermals to deal with and they will change based on time of day. All this will come to you as you gain some experience.

Just my 2 cents worth what you paid.

Steve

 

[TheJuice]

Not to side track this thread.
But Steve, mentioned something I've never heard before regarding your scent and how eating meat effects that.
Steve, if a person were to try to clean up their own scent by not eating meat. How many days/weeks before a hunt would someone stop eating meat?
Curious.


Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[COlineman78]

The guy that kills the most animals in the group I hunt with sits there chain smoking; just goes to show that playing the wind is by far the most effective. That being said it is hard to always predict where the animals are going to come from and a combination of scentless detergent and scent masks can help but won't prevent anything. Just because you're wearing camouflage doesn't mean you can walk straight at an animal; same goes for scent. This year even with scentless detergent and a scent wafer I had an elk wind me slightly at 130 yards, just enough to make him feed away but not enough to run off.

 

[Stid2677]

Not to side track this thread.
But Steve, mentioned something I've never heard before regarding your scent and how eating meat effects that.
Steve, if a person were to try to clean up their own scent by not eating meat. How many days/weeks before a hunt would someone stop eating meat?
Curious.


Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Not sure how long one would have to abstain from meat. Lots written about the native peoples fasting before hunts.

Here is just one piece I googled, but I have read numerous accounts of this.

hunting | Ancestral Arts

 

[zorogreenhaired]

I assume you want to hunt bears, since you have a thread asking about shot placement. Bears have without question one of the best noses in the animal kingdom. I have taken many and have seen them wind me from over a mile away, put their nose in the wind, stand to get a better whiff, then turn and not stop running.

In my youth during my bow hunting days I went through many of the gimmicks. Bottom line is to be a successful hunter you need to learn to read and hunt the wind. Myself and many of my friends have stands for all wind directions and will not even consider hunting even our favorite stand unless the wind is right. Being clean and practicing scent discipline helps, as well as staying away from meat eating. Anyone that has ever raised kids knows that the diaper changing is no big deal while they are on milk, put the stink changes once they start eating meat. Game can smell meat eaters and react differently to them. If bears are your target, I would try to find an area you can glass from a distance with the wind in your favor and resist the desire to walk around spreading scent. I keep a turkey feather on a thread tied to my bow and rifle as a wind indictor to always have a reference. This works good during dry weather, but I use a small puffer for rain days. If hunting mountainous terrain you also have thermals to deal with and they will change based on time of day. All this will come to you as you gain some experience.

Just my 2 cents worth what you paid.

Steve

this is something i would have never expected, now you have my attention.

 

[zorogreenhaired]

Not sure how long one would have to abstain from meat. Lots written about the native peoples fasting before hunts.

Here is just one piece I googled, but I have read numerous accounts of this.

hunting | Ancestral Arts

thanks for the hunting article

 

[Willow]

I use Atsko Sports Wash on all my outdoor clothing. It's scent free and no UV brighteners. I also build a small fire and smoke myself out either before I go stalking or if I'm sitting in fixed position.

I had a doe walk within 20 feet of me one day while sitting on the mountain just relaxing with the dog. It was about 40°F out so I built a small fire to keep my hands warm. And when I say small I mean less than a foot high flame. I looked over at my dog and she's locked in a stare at something. I looked across the mountain and notice a doe walking towards us. She walked right to us and then stopped and stared at me. Snorted, stomped, snorted again. I just stood there looking at her. She finally walked away after about a 10 minute staring contest. 20 minutes later I noticed a buck sniffer her trail. I really didn't want to stick around and play games with him during the rut so we moved off down the mountain.

Ever since that day if I want to get close to game I use smoke from a fire.

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[Ross]

If you are mountain hunting you are going to sweat and stink....there is no way around it . as noted much of the scent elimination marketing is snake oil and gimmicks......play the wind, clean up when you can and spend those dollars elsewhere.......where it is much better spent. I to simply wash with baking soda and do everything I can to beat the EVIL WIND! it is the DEVIL

 

[monkey d luffy]

heavy smoker never have problems with hiding their scent