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How to Hunt Scent
Free
As you move
around hunting, and even when you are just sitting, your body is
giving off millions of scent molecules into the surrounding air.
The clothes and boots that you wear, and equipment you carry all
have odors that add to the scent pool around you.
The greatest
of the whitetail deer's senses is their nose!
In hunting
areas that see moderate to heavy pressure, the deer associate
human odor with danger and give the hunter very little leeway
for mistakes. Deer in areas with light hunting pressure are less
conditioned to that association, and lapses in scent control
won't have the same consequences.
When you are
out hunting, if you think "I am sitting facing a steady wind so
I don't need to worry about all that scent control stuff", think
about all the area downwind of you that is being polluted with
your scent.
Some of the
areas you hunt may include a 'hub' where several deer trails
come together, which means your scent will eliminate a large
area of potential. Remember mature bucks may come from the wrong
direction because their travels are not always regular during
the rut.
There is also
the challenge of a variable wind, a swirling wind, a changing
wind, a crosswind, thermals, sea breezes, gusts, downdrafts and
zephyrs.
Remember how
many times you have sat around a campfire only to have the smoke
blow into your face as the wind changes several times in a few
hours.
So hunting on
windy days means you have to be aware of where your scent is
going.
Deer don't
tend to move around a lot on windy days because they lose a lot
of two key senses being their smell and hearing.
The most deer
movement tends to occur on calm or light wind days.
However on
these days, your odor spreads around you in an increasing scent
pool or fog in all directions!
If there is a
light wind it tends to be variable around the obstacles like
trees, rocks, hills and creeks. So your scent will likely end up
in all directions making hunting that site highly risky at best
and in fact it is best not to hunt prime hunting spots under
these conditions, and put the buck on full alert, or worse,
cause him to change his habits.
However,
waiting for the ideal wind for a particular site may not be an
option for reasons such as time constraints or pressure from
other hunters. In that case you need a scent control system to
minimize your scent.
So how can
you control the amount of your scent that reaches the
whitetail's nose?
- Try to
understand wind flow in the area you are going to hunt, so
that means understanding how wind 'flows' over and around
obstacles in that area. It also means understanding what
temperature does to create thermals so that when hot air
rises and cool air sinks you can take advantage of it
- Reduce
your scent as much as practical
An effective
scent control system should include:
- Before
your hunts wash with unscented antibacterial soap and
shampoo and dry with towels washed with odor-killing
detergent
- Use an
odor neutralizing deodorant on your body for every hunt
- Brush
your teeth with baking soda and try not to eat, smoke or
chew tobacco after that in order to reduce breath odors
- Wash all
hunting clothes including socks, gloves, hunting cap and
underwear with odor-killing detergent, and then line dry
them outside, not in a dryer. Store and transport the
clothes in scent-free bags
- Wash all
hunting gear such as backpack, ropes, harness, stand, grunt
tube, knife, release and wristband. Rifles can be oiled
using a brand that acts as a masking scent. Bow, arrows and
broadheads can be washed with hydrogen peroxide In general
anything you take into the woods should be used exclusively
for the woods and sealed in a scent free container when not
in use
- Wash
rubber boots and Elimitrax , inside and out, with
odor-killing detergent, and don’t wear them until you get to
your hunting ground as they pick up odors in your vehicle if
used for driving. If you have leather boots, make sure they
are lined with something like Scent-Lok and sprayed with
cover scent and odor neutralizer
- An
activated carbon Scent-Lok suit will help to dramatically
reduce your odors in the woods. It works by keeping your
scent molecules inside your suit as they are attracted to
the carbon surface, but allowing air and moisture to pass
through the suit. After a while the carbon needs to be
reactivated by placing your suit in a clothes dryer for a
short while. The label on the suit will provide instructions
- If you
wear your hunting clothes while travelling to your site,
they will pick up odors from your breakfast, your vehicle,
or any place you stop on the way to your site, such as a gas
station or restaurant
- When you
leave your vehicle and start walking into your hunting spot,
walk slowly so you don't build up a sweat. If this is
unavoidable, wear several light layers that you can take off
when you get close to your hunting site, and then put on
your heavier clothes
- When
walking in you can grind your boots in fresh deer droppings
- Avoid
coming into contact with vegetation while hunting as this
leaves your scent there for hours for deer to discover. Use
your bow or rifle to brush aside branches
- When you
get to your hunting site, put your hunting clothes on from
their scent free bags. This can either be done while you are
on stand, or a hundred yards away, so you don't leave a pool
of your scent at the base of your stand. Don't tuck your
trousers into your boots otherwise your scent can escape out
the top of the boot with each step. Put your trouser over
your boots so the scent from your feet can only travel up
inside your Scent-Lok suit
- Climb up
to your tree stand using activated carbon gloves so you
don't leave scent on the steps or bark
- If you
are hunting in a light or variable wind situation, every
half hour you should release a wind checking device such as
Wind Floaters or Smoke Stack to see what the wind is doing,
ALL the way to the ground
If you are
going to reduce your scent using the system above, you should
follow all of the steps and not just a few of them.
The aim is to
be as odor free as possible. However, having done all of the
above, you should still hunt thinking about the wind as though
you haven't done any of them.
If you
combine hunting scent free with a toolkit of tips and
techniques, you are well down the road to
successfully bagging your buck of a
lifetime.
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