A heavy-antlered 12-point buck materializes on the trail. He’s only five steps from bow range, but then he throws his nose in the air, goes rigid with nervousness, and waves the white flag. Game over. That’s all, folks.
We all know that any successful deer hunt starts with not getting busted by a whitetail’s incredibly powerful sense of smell. And today there’s a whole collection of gear that’s marketed as being able to beat a deer’s nose. Many of the scent control gear and strategies are gimmicks, but some are not.
With careful scent control, you can give yourself a slight edge that just might mean the difference between getting busted and getting a shot. Here are scent-reduction efforts that work, with 15 steps that hunters can use to minimize scent before, during, and after the hunt.
First, Understand the Goal of Scent Control
Hunters must understand they will never completely neutralize the scent they emit. Furthermore, they will never completely beat a whitetail’s nose. However, a hunter can minimize their scent.
This won’t keep a deer from smelling you, but it might buy you a little extra time or a few more yards. It can also make all the difference in a non-target deer just moving along rather than alarm snorting.
You don’t have to use all of the following strategies just to shoot a deer. But, implementing at least some of them will certainly make you more effective in the stand.
Implement a Long-Term Scent Control Mentality
Deer hunters should consider a long-term scent control mentality. Rather than just preparing the day of the hunt, start mitigating scent long before. During hunting season, consider cutting the smelly shampoos, soaps, colognes, deodorants, and aftershaves out of your routine. This will help keep your clothes smelling more natural, too.
Wash Your Hunting Clothes
Washing your hunting clothes is the next step. Treat with scent-reduction laundry detergent. Such laundry detergent doesn’t remove all scent, but it knocks out a lot of it and it doesn’t add unnatural scents. (Also, on a deer vision note, ensure that the detergent does not contain UV brighteners.)
Keep Clothing in Containers
Once your hunting clothes are clean, store them in a dedicated container. A portable plastic tote that has a place at home, but easily loads into a vehicle, is the best choice. This should help minimize odors that might contaminate the garment fibers. A lot of hunters like to put a pine branch in their tote to keep clothes smelling fresh and piney (and not like plastic).
Store Gear Wisely
In addition to hunting clothing, hunters should also clean their other gear. Backpacks and boots absorb the scents around them. So, store these and other hunting items in areas that aren’t stinky. Use a dedicated storage bin for this gear, too.
Hit the Showers
The day of the hunt, take a shower with shampoos and soaps that are designed to reduce human odor without adding artificial scents. This should help neutralize some (but not all) of the existing surface scent on your hair and skin.
Brush Up
Brush your teeth, but not with a super-smelly toothpaste. Instead, use something with a natural scent, or no scent at all. Then, eat an apple to help further mitigate scent that might originate from the mouth and throat. Avoid strong-smelling drinks and foods, such as coffee or spicy grub which lead to bad breath.
Use Ozone
A lot of hunters use ozone in the field (like Ozonics), but it’s also applicable for treating hunting clothing. Some products are designed to work in conjunction with boxes to clean clothing and remove unwanted scent.
Used improperly, Ozone can destroy clothing. So Wildgame innovations recently introduced a ZeroTrace tote and device that is designed to treat gear without destroying it.
Read Next: Does Ozonics Actually Work? Here’s What 5 Independent, Diehard Deer Hunters Say After Field Testing
Get Dressed in the Field
To minimize unwanted scent particles from making it onto your hunting clothes, consider dressing once in the field. This keeps away scent from handling pets, visiting gas stations, or other stops between home and the hunt. Getting dressed in the field during a cold or rainy day can be a hassle, but it’s worth it.
Photo by Honeycutt Creative
Wear Rubber Boots
Rubber boots can contain some scent, but they only achieve this if kept uncontaminated from foreign scents. Don’t wear your deer hunting boots around town where they might pick up unwanted odors.
Read Next: Best Rubber Hunting Boots
Keep Field Wipes and Wash Cloths on Hand
Hunters have many reasons for field wipes. But in terms of scent control, wiping off sweat with a field wipe will certainly help. Just make sure the version you use is scent-free.
Don’t Sweat … At All
Even better than wiping away sweat, is to not break a sweat at all. Sweat just adds an entire fresh new layer of scent. In the field, do everything possible to prevent or reduce sweating. Wait to put on your coat until you get to your stand.. Walk slowly. Remain in the shade. Take more time to get settled in the treestand.
Take Good Entry and Exit Routes
Perhaps the most important aspect of scent control is managing the direction that your scent travels. This means choosing good entry and exit routes, and ensuring your wind doesn’t carry over into areas that deer frequent (especially bedding areas and core feeding areas).
Deploy an Enclosed Blind
Those who hope to minimize scent even further should deploy hunting blinds that are completely enclosed. Those which have completely sealed doors and windows can hold most, if not all, scent within the blind. Keeping windows closed until it’s time to shoot is an excellent way to bottle up scent.
Use “Wind Blockers”
Some hunters might cleverly use wind blockers, which are land features that keep deer from getting downwind. Examples include hunting along the edge of a bluff, river, hinge-cut, or lake. Similarly, you can make a mock scrapes on either side of your scent cone, which might stop a buck just long enough before he gets downwind of you.
Benefit From Thermals
The rising and falling thermals can be helpful or a huge pain in the butt. When used wisely, and with the right stand locations, thermals will carry scent up and away from deer. For example, hunting up high on a ridge when morning thermals carry scent upward makes it very difficult for deer to smell hunters. Likewise, hunting down low in a bottom when afternoon thermals carry scent downward can achieve the same result.
Final Thoughts on Scent Control
Remember, no matter how far you take scent control strategies, deer will eventually smell you. It’s important to take all precautions, and implement each step outlined above. Ultimately, careful stand selection that puts the wind in your favor will be the most important step for not getting busted.
But don’t get discouraged when the inevitable happens. Just keep hunting. After all, you can’t really beat a deer’s nose, and it wouldn’t be fun if we won every time anyway.
