Storing clothes anxiety

[NYHunter20]

We use Iris airtight storage containers and they work great. Little more expensive than standard totes but well worth it for air and water tight.

 

[longspeak74]

Mine are stored in totes with a box of baking soda in each. I have never washed my hunting garments. Kill deer every year.

 

[Hoytaholic]

+1 for storing in a tote with the baking soda box during the off-season. During the season the only items I’ll wash are socks and after a few hunts the base layers. Figure it’s not worth washing the outer and mid layers since they are absorbing the outdoor smells all day during the hunt and I don’t sweat in them like I do with the Baselayers on the walks in.

Also I believe in using the scent killing soap and shampoo, definitely work as I use this stuff before i go horizontal after having a few cigars. Wife vouches she can’t smell any cigar scent when I go to bed

 

[Titan_Bow]

I just keep them in totes and wash them in chemical free / scent free detergent before season. I really think you are over-thinking it if it truly is giving you anxiety. Scentlok messed everyones heads up with the "forget the wind, just hunt" bologne!! Its the other way around actually, "Always pay attention to the wind, and just hunt!!"

Seriously, day 2 or 3 of a hunt where you dont have access to a shower, and anything you have done with clothes to keep them scent free is irrelevant, because your body is going to have an odor. Good thing deer cannot smell you up wind ;-P

 

[LostArra]

I'm a tote + scent-free detergent guy but I've got a friend who kills big deer on a regular basis that fries bacon and eggs on the morning of his hunt with his hunting clothes on including his rubber boots. Go figure.

 

[divingpa]

I don’t just hunt once a year any longer which helps as I’m pulling mine out every couple of months at a minimum, but when I did go long stretches between hunts this was my recipe to minimize scent.
Wash in scent free detergent with an extra rinse.
Hang dry, outside if possible, inside if necessary...but make sure nothing is cooked in the house just prior to or while hanging.
Store in tote in garage with cedar planks in the tote.
Take everything out a couple weeks prior to hunting and spray down with a de-scenting spray and hand outside until ready to pack.

 

[LASTINLINE]

i dont put any thought into things anymore. do the best you think and go hunting. i wash stuff in the Atsko sport wash and air dry or dryer dry. my leafy suits dry so fast no dryer needed. i remember from like 20 years ago those old Tree lounge stand hunting videos that showed hunting 25 feet or higher is better than scent control worries. that being said i hunt mostly out of wallymart 15 foot ladderstands and have no issues.

 

[scottprice]

You’re over thinking it dude

 

[Trial153]

Take a xanax. Breath deep. Put the clothing in a rubbermaid storage container and dont worry about it

 

[Mule3006Elk]

DDW after the hunt, hang dry, store in a duffle bag in my safe. Standard washing procedure except I use DDW.

Why are my clothes in the safe? Like most of us I dropped close to 2K on everything and I don't want it stolen. I live in a hunting state and I figured if someone breaks in, there is a chance they may know the value of the clothing (Sitka, FL), and run with it.

 

[Fadetoblack188]

Ok I feel better,

took your advice just him everything outside for a couple days and sprayed with scent killer. Then stored in all rubbermade boxes with a baking soda in each and stuck in the Basement.

the wind it is!

 

[Wrench]

Once you buy that wind puffer you'll only be anxious when the wind shifts.

 

[NME]

Love this topic! You are not going overboard at all. My wife and friends think I’m crazy. When storing my clothes I keep them in a large Pelican case. It’s air tight. I’ll put a bunch of pine branches in there, some leaves and fresh earth wafer scents. Prior to going out I shower with that scent free soap and then put the deodorant on as well. Then when I get out to the woods I’ll get dressed out there prior to stepping off and spray everything to include myself and then drag some rags soaked in estrus on my way to the stand if it’s rut’n time. Used to get sniffed quite a bit prior to doing this but since this ritual I have not been found. Probably overboard I know but that’s what makes this so much fun! I love everything about huntin Whitetails!

 

[Dieselwrenchr]

I used to take the scent free thing to extreme measures. Everything washed in the special scent free "hunting" detergents and stored in totes and when stored out of season I vacuum sealed the clothes in bags.

Now I just rely more on scouting, wind and thermals and how the animals use the terrain I hunt. I have the same amount of encounters i had in previous years with nice deer and enjoy it more with just focusing more on hunting without stressing over scent free stuff.

I do use a hypoallergenic regular brand detergent, a hypoallergenic bar soap and keep my clothes in a tote during season (Much cheaper than the soaps marketed for hunting). I don't think it will keep you from being busted if a deer is down wind but I still don't want to introduce foreign scent where I can help it. To each their own and whatever gives a person the most confidence is what I feel is key.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

My method is simple. I wash with the "ALL" brand they have a "Free and Clear" version of their soap. Don't dry with a dryer sheet and dry on low heat. Let them hang outside or in a breezeway for a few hours and then throw them in the totes until the season starts.

 

[Outlaw99]

I only wash my outer layers if they really get a lot of blood and mud build up. I wash my base layers when they start to smell like ass. I wash it all in arm n hammer scent free detergent, like I do every other clothing item, towels, sheets, etc in my house. I hang them outside to dry. I hunt the wind and call it good. I’m not worried about the blood and mud alerting deer, I only worry about permanent stains. In the off season, and during the season, it all gets hung in my storage room. The only time it sees a tote or bag is if I’m traveling with it.

 

[VTJ]

I use the large zip lock style bags that have the vacuum port to suck the air out, however, I just push the air out and zip them up .... got 'em at Walmart ... they are YUUUGE, I can fit plenty of clothes in each one .... for going5 to and from hunting, I use the green Hunters Specialty bags, one for the clothes, one for the fannypack/harness, boots go into a regular no scent garbage bag ... dont use those with the microbial scent crap in 'em, they do have a odor .... ... btw, I have used Sportwash for over 20 yrs, it is all I ever use on the hunting clothes ...

 

[bjfoxhoven]

I wash in scent free detergent and then store them in a weather tight tote. I mainly use the tote to keep the smells in the garage out of the clothes. I don’t want to be as anal about scent as you have to be to get past a deers nose, takes too much time and preparation. Check out John Eberhart if you wanna control scent. I use milkweed. I walk too far usually and sweat way too much to ever control the scent enough.

 

[The Angelo Kid]

Not to try to resurrect this but just in case folks haven't encountered this, you can always hit up Walmart after the season is over and they will have their scent control products slashed. Usually over half off. I'm not partial to any brand and am actually in the camp of don't go overboard, play the wind and just live life, but for the cheap prices I'm definitely willing to go ahead and shower with that stuff, have it around to wash the clothes in and spray the clothes before walking in should I choose to do so.

I believe the Scent Killer was $8.99.

 

[Milhouse58421]

i dont put any thought into things anymore. do the best you think and go hunting. i wash stuff in the Atsko sport wash and air dry or dryer dry. my leafy suits dry so fast no dryer needed. i remember from like 20 years ago those old Tree lounge stand hunting videos that showed hunting 25 feet or higher is better than scent control worries. that being said i hunt mostly out of wallymart 15 foot ladderstands and have no issues.

There is A LOT to be said for hunting higher, as far as being detected by deer in the stand... like I read somewhere once, when you get to 30', you almost cease to exist to deer. Which is great, as far as being detected goes, and pretty much what I experienced when I was younger, and thought I was superman. Shot angles become much tougher, especially in close. I don't go that high anymore. I try to by 18'+ ladder stands now, which are their own challenge to try and set up. Play the wind, you're always giving up one direction..... and deer tend to move where they want. All you can do is hope for the best when they get downwind.

I used to be super anal about scent control..... I still take some measures, such as scent free detergent, line drying, storing in totes, or just storing on the line.... I don't know how much difference it makes, if any, but it makes me a little more confident.