Is scent eliminating clothing necessary?

[GLC]

I've been successfuly hunting deer for many years with shotgun and rifle. This is my first year hunting with archery equipment, namely my new Exocet.

I am carefull to minimize scent on myself by washing, wearing clean hunting clothes washed in scent free soap kept in a plastic storage container when not in use, and by spraying down with a scent eliminating carbon spray with earth fragrance scent before going out hunting. I also don't smoke, drink (other than water), eat stinky foods, or relieve myself near my stands. I have had deer come to within 10-15 yards of me before I shot them. When practicable, I pay attention to the wind and try to use it to my advantage.

I currently do not own any carbon-lined, scent reducing/eliminating clothes but all my archery aquaintances say that they are absolutely necessary and think I'm going to waste my time hunting without them.

I've seen other posts where someone stated something to the effect of "scent lock clothing is just a tax on poor hunters." I tend to agree as this clothing seems to be selling for ridiculously high prices.

What do you think?

[A.W]

Sounds like you're doing all the right things. Do what you normally do and show your buddies how much you've saved by not buying teh "must have" equipment they bought.

[wabi]

I don't worry about scent other than a few common-sense precautions. I do launder my hunting clothes in "20 mule team borax", and I usually bathe daily. I smoke cigars (vanilla flavored are my favorite), I eat what I want and really love plenty of onions & garlic in the food. I urinate in the woods when the urge hits, and sometimes it's close to the stand or blind.
I do try to play the wind, but sometimes it's futile if it's gusting and swirling. I've never owned carbon clothing, and don't intend to unless it's free! My last deer was shot from a ground blind while I was smoking a cigar at a range of 7 or 8 yards. I also brew coffee in the blind in cold weather, and have deer come in, sniff the coffee aroma, and go on about their business of feeding. I usually have plenty of shot opportunities over the course of a season, and most are up close - real close - many under 10 yards!
An old buck or doe with years of avoiding humans to survive might not come in that close, but I hunt for meat and plenty of younger deer don't seem to mind my scent trail. I have shot a few older (3-4 years) deer with the same tactics.
My advice - minimize scent as much as reasonable, but don't get hung up on trying to eliminate it! You can't eliminate it, so don't even worry yourself about it. Watch unnecessary movements and noise! Smell isn't a deer's only defensive sense! I think the deer in my area (heavily populated rural area) are used to human scent, noise, and movement. One of the senses might make them a little more cautious, but they aren't going to flee unless they put two or three of the of the "sensor alarms" together.

[thebigdummy]

I have read some fairly scientific opinions regarding carbon scent free clothing and in a very controlled laboratory with special equipment it should work.

But out in the field it is useless.

It is like going to the doctors and saying when I eat 5 bananas a day I feel good. Doctor replies keep eating them.

It comes down to what ever works for you...

[ecoaster]

A deer's #1 sense for survival is smell. Play the wind, plain and simple. If a mature deer winds you, even just the slightest hint, it's gone in a flash.

[A.W]

I smoke cigars (vanilla flavored are my favorite), I eat what I want and really love plenty of onions & garlic in the food. I urinate in the woods when the urge hits, and sometimes it's close to the stand or blind.

I also brew coffee in the blind in cold weather, and have deer come in, sniff the coffee aroma, and go on about their business of feeding.

My advice - minimize scent as much as reasonable, but don't get hung up on trying to eliminate it!

Wabi. You really do crack me up buddy.

[crazyfarmer]

no you dont have to buy it, I buy new clothes for comfort. Like the scent loc XLT suit. I plan on wearing only that as a shirt/jacket since its light and helps wick sweat and as a bonus it helps with scent.

You will never be able to get rid of ALL of your scent. The best thing to do is spray down with scent away and etc before entering the woods and once up in the stand.

Hunt with the wind also...

if you focus on getting rid of all of your scent you would have some big money tied up into it

[alces]

I have wondered if the carbon hunting clothing is worth the money. Maybe someone here can do a little experiment for us. Take your trusty hunting dog out to the woods dress up in your carbon duds and play a game of hide and seek. How long it takes your dog to track you down should give you an idea of how well your clothing works at concealing your scent.

I would love to try this myself but my hunting buddy has already gone to that last long retrieve in the sky

[Grizzly Adam]

Personally, I'd say save your money. I don't believe you can fool a close deer directly downwind of you anyway, whatever you do. That doesn't mean it's not wise to be careful. Here's what I do:

Clean up with non-fragranced soap.
Wear clothes washed in non-fragranced soap.
Wear gumboots.
Try to keep wind in face.

In my experience, it doesn't hurt to pitch natural foodstuffs near a stand (apple cores, banana peels, bread crusts, etc.). I've seen deer ignore such things ... they'll even eat some scraps. I don't think it hurts to pee near a stand, either. I've seen deer ignore that too, and I've never seen them do more than sniff such a spot and move on. I took a long and satisfying leak on a scrape on one of my farm paths once while mowing (stood on the tractor) ... and it was pawed up afresh the next day. No harm done, evidently.

My take on scent-control clothing is that it can't hurt, but it isn't necessary either. At least, it sure hasn't been needed in my experience ... and I have killed many, many deer because of our liberal seasons, all without any of that fancy stuff.

If I shared my opinions about the relative unimportance of particular camos and accessories, I'd probably draw a hailstorm of criticism ... but I will say that you can kill plenty of deer with only a good weapon, some shooting ability, and reasonable care ... all without camo, stands, blinds, ATVs, calls, lures, or any of the other "gotta have" items. I've done it, I still do it, and you can too.

My number one best piece of advice is to leave the woods alone until season begins, do a lot of "first time in" hunts early on, and as the season goes on and deer get spookier, use a lot of "edge" blinds while leaving their bedding and staging areas alone. I believe too many guys do way too much tromping around way too soon and blow things before the season even starts. Just my opinion ... but I have established it upon a couple of hundred backstraps!

Grizz

[wabi]

A deer's #1 sense for survival is smell. Play the wind, plain and simple. If a mature deer winds you, even just the slightest hint, it's gone in a flash.

Not saying you're wrong, and not trying to start an argument, but......
I think it depends a lot on where you hunt! I hunt in a fairly heavily populated rural environment. People are out in the woods and fields all the time. Farmers checking their property and livestock (and crops), kids playing, etc. Deer smell human odors often. I don't think they pay much attention to anything but very fresh human scent, and in most cases even fairly fresh scent isn't enough to send them running. Most of the deer I've watched (and I've seen some old deer) haven't fled until they got a combination of alarms. Scent + sight + sound or some combination of those signals. Sure, sometimes one signal will do it (such as an extra loud or unnatural noise, a movement that is very close, or a very fresh scent that is close) but usually it takes some combination. One signal might put them on alert, but they usually don't flee unless it's an obvious danger to them.
The other day I was watching two deer feeding from one of my stands. All of a sudden their heads came up and they both looked toward the nearby creek. Neither ran, they just looked. Soon after I heard the voices. Two people were coming closer & talking. The deer finally flagged their tails and ran off as the people came into sight (to the deer). Turned out it was a man and his son fishing the creek. But the deer didn't run until they had at least two danger signals sound & sight. Scent might have been part of it, but I wasn't where the deer were, and sure couldn't smell all they could.

[Partikle]

I think it depends a lot on where you hunt!

You just hit the nail on the head Wabi, I totally agree. Deer that are exposed to humans and farmers all year will react differently then deer in big woods who don't see or smell people all year and then smell them at the start of hunting season.

I don't own a scent lok suit. Do I believe they eliminate all human order? No I don't. Do I think they reduce it, Ya I do believe that. I think if you are carefull with all your "total" scent control from the moment you leave bed in the morning until the moment you get to your stand, a scent lok suit will reduce but not eliminate all human order.

Just my opinion from the cheap seats. I have some friends who swear by these suits.

Partikle

[crazyfarmer]

I have wondered if the carbon hunting clothing is worth the money. Maybe someone here can do a little experiment for us. Take your trusty hunting dog out to the woods dress up in your carbon duds and play a game of hide and seek. How long it takes your dog to track you down should give you an idea of how well your clothing works at concealing your scent.

I would love to try this myself but my hunting buddy has already gone to that last long retrieve in the sky

with the new scent blocker XLT I got they have a test with it. They have a scratch and sniff thing with a peice of carbon over it. You cant smell the stuff through the carbon, but put a peice of pain cloth like you pants or shirt over it and it knocks you out. So the carbon works, but odor will still find a way out somewhere. You are blocking most of it though

again, i just like the new designs and they happen to have carbon in them. I dont go to extremes and by the all out body suits, put them in bags, and etc lol. I normally just have a plain white shirt and jeans under my hunting clothes when its cold lol. Ive hardly had any scent issues with that.

[LoneWolf]

I think it depends a lot on where you hunt!

Deer that are exposed to humans and farmers all year will react differently then deer in big woods who don't see or smell people all year and then smell them at the start of hunting season.

Absolutely!...

[Stalker]

I've hunted in camps with all the amenities and I've also done very primitive hunts where the camp (and its members) smelled a little less politically correct by the time the hunt was over.. .... the best advice I can give to help with success is be in your stand early, stay late and play the wind (in fact I won't even go near a stand of the wind is wrong).... and stay in the stand over lunch... all the others hunters heading in around noon for lunch get the deer up and moving.... the debate about carbon scent control comes up every year and if folks believe that they have better luck with them... great... to each his or her own...I personally don't use them... here's an article that makes some interesting points....

http://www.fastestbows.com/articles/cor ... _suits.htm