When it comes to being as scent free as I can get, it’s a big deal. For many of you it’s as important as remembering to bring your bow and for some “not so much”. Removing human scent from your clothing and equipment should go without saying, but many bowhunters are either not aware of their own human scent or choose not to believe it matters.
Deer, elk and bears have first-rate noses. That fact simply cannot be debated. Their sense of smell is many multiples better than any human’s nose is capable of detecting. If hunters fail to do everything possible to prevent detection by smell, their hunt is most likely to turn into yet another A.C.T. tale (Almost Came Together) and little else. Can you be successful even though you choose not to believe it matters. Of course you can but not at the frequency that others who do!
Concerning washes, it is my opinion and my approach, that an entire gamut of steps, is needed to be effective, including those products you use on your body and working outward.
I start with a scent-eliminator shampoo and body soap before I hunt. I wash my clothes in scent-eliminating clothes wash and liberally use a scent killer spray while afield. When watching many keen-nosed whitetails around my stands, over the years attest to the effectiveness of a three-part system.
Regardless of what type of scent elimination strategy you employ, I believe one of the biggest keys is keeping your clothes scent-free. Even if you have de-scented or are wearing carbon, your outer most hunting clothes should not be worn until you are afield. If you wear your clothes on the way to the field, you are more than likely going to pick up a lot of unnatural odors along the way. This is something that is often talked about, but I see hunter’s disregarding it all the time, its basic scent control. I can’t count the times I’ve seen deer hunter’s dressed to go hunting at gas stations, filling up their gas tanks or stopping for coffee and rolls. Gas, exhaust, and greasy fast food odors from a truck stop are all the kind of smelly things that surround hunters on the way to the field.
The biggest, baddest scent containing bag on the block
The best method is to treat your clothes (either with wash or in the dryer in the case of carbon), and place them immediately into a scent-proof bag, such as one of the Watson AirLock bags, and only put them on when you have reached your destination and are outside the vehicle. Now the Watson AirLock Camo Carrier is the best bag of its kind on the market. It can’t be beat, it locks out all odors and has a built in changing mat for getting dressed afield.
Some of this may have been review and for others new but either way, I know I’m always learning new things when it comes to bowhunting and I’m betting know one is all knowing. In review keep your hunting gear and hunting clothes as sent free as possible. Clean your hunting products with scent free detergents, preferably ones marketed for hunters and good luck this fall.
