New hunter advice for scent control?

[JTBean]

One clarification on smoke. I use a bee smoker to smoke my body and clothes/gear. I am not after the smoke smell per se. The smoke kills bacteria that generates odor.

Do you take your smoker with you and smoke just before going into the woods?

[chackworth3]

If you have cedars where you hunt and can find a good cedar tree to get in that will help cover some of your scent because you can do all of the washing and scent free stuff all day long and you are still going to have a smell to you just from walking to your spot. Like they said above playing the wind is your best bet. I'm not saying the scent free stuff doesn't work/help, I'm just saying it's not 100% effective like playing the wind is

[SwampRabbit]

Do you take your smoker with you and smoke just before going into the woods?

I have, but I am not religious about it. I mainly use it in camp. I have used it after driving to a hunt 2 hours away. But it was a bit of a hassle.

All it can do is reduce your "footprint" rather than eliminate all sources of odor. Like Chris said, you will sweat and produce more odor as you go in. Your breath is a big deal too. I will take steps to minimize the amount of odor I am producing, but playing the wind is the only way to ensure that your odor doesn't come into play in the first place.

Hunting is a constant learning experience. The best tools in my opinion are the things that give you feedback on what is actually going on. Wind checkers are an invaluable and really cheap tool. Puff it as you are walking along to your stand. Watch how the wind changes, etc.

[El Paisano]

I have been within feet of two deer while smoking my pipe, with a stiff wind in my face. Wind trumps everything...IMO.

[El Paisano]

By the way. I tie about 8 to 10 inches of unwaxed dental floss to each end of my bow so that I have full time wind indicators. Of course, that won't work on a compound but it sure works on a longbow or recurve...or rifle.

[SwampRabbit]

By the way. I tie about 8 to 10 inches of unwaxed dental floss to each end of my bow so that I have full time wind indicators. Of course, that won't work on a compound but it sure works on a longbow or recurve...or rifle.

I tried that and couldn't keep it from wrapping aroundy string, etc.

And on a recurve it is worse because it gets pinched between string and limb.

[UltraMax]

Wind is EVERYTHING.

[spidermonkey]

As said many times above hunt where the wind is in your favor, cuz when game is upwind of you, you should be good to go. As far as my own regimen; scent free shower, I wash my clothes in just regular baking soda, store clothes in Rubbermaid totes with a couple of HS Scents Earth Scent Wafers or cedar limbs mixed in with the clothes, and spray down with some type of scent eliminator spray as you put on each layer of clothes prior to walking to your stand. I also spray the outside/bottoms of my boots with scent eliminator spray. One of the main things I stick to, is I will not get dressed in my huntin clothes until I get out of my truck to go huntin. If you ride an ATV, its your call... I still carry em on the rack till i get off, then dress. From the start of season till the end, my 2 Rubbermaid totes full of clothes and my bow are ALWAYS in my truck. One thing to remember, if ya go with some type of plastic container for clothes storage, set it outside in the open air for awhile, lid off, to let that funky plastic smell wear off ! BUT #1 WITHOUT A DOUBT, IS HUNT WITH THE WIND IN YOUR FAVOR!! All this other crap I mentioned is just my ol redneck way of doin things, cuz my motto has always been; the best way for a fella to be successful huntin, is to not let the deer know they're being hunted. Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty

[El Paisano]

Swamp. I tie the floss to the front of the string loop so it is in front of the limb.

[Rat]

1) Wind
2) Wind
3) Wind
4) Scent free soap for you and clothes.
5) Rubber boots
6) Cover scent... I use smoke.

The ides is that you don't want the game to get in an area that has a scent trail; all scent elimination products and scent cover products are to keep the game un-alerted if this happens. However, no amount of cover or elimination will help if they stay down wind for very long.

The best strategy is to hunt so that the game never gets downwind in the first place. IOW, if you hunt directly upwind of a bedding area no amount of scent cover or elimination will keep the deer from eventually figuring you out.

One thing I do that hasn't been mentioned is air drying your clothes. Once I wash them in scent free soap I hang them up outside to dry before they go in the rubber tub. It is near impossible to have scent free clothes come out of a dryer.

Smoke has been used for thousands of years because it works. Not only as a cover scent, but also as a bacterial growth inhibitor.

[JTBean]

Are mosquitoes and tics a problem? Are there scent free repellents?

[Etxbuckman]

Here's a link to a popular knock-off version of the Ozonics. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it's a lot less expensive. I use the Ozone30 for descenting my hunting clothes that I carry with me in a Contico storage box:

http://www.amazing1.com/ozone.html

A lot of guys use the Ozone100 in the stand.

[Dry Bones]

I'm agreeing with everyone scent is everything and the wind is something you really can't beat. I use a natural oils mixture. Since where I hunt has lots of cedar and occasionally the other place has pine I bought some essential oils in both and because I like the smell I added anise. just a few drops of each, maybe an extra or two of the cedar in a small spray bottle, fill the rest with water, and off to the woods. I do not believe this covers me, but it gives something to mask the human odor a little more, much like Scott's smoke screen. I have heard of people lighting a stick when they get to where they want to sit for a bit and letting the tip smoke. Haven't tried that yet, but may at some point.
As for ticks and biting flies... I have tried a few different situation and have yet to have a solid answer. I can say that using powdered sulfur around the cuffs and waste line of my pants seems to keep the ticks off. I buy it at a local garden supply shop in about a 1 or 5 lb bag, put a couple small scoops in a sock and then dust myself a little. (it stinks and do not put those clothes in your wife's machine. The next several loads will smell like sulfur as well, if you do<------ TRUST ME ON THIS)

[Ol Man]

Don't use anything special! No scent free stuff at all! Many, many times I will end up hunting in my work clothes. The wind is the best bet for all hunters. I have been 3 feet from a bull moose before, and he didn't even have a clue I was there. Wind and the ability to remain totally motionless (sometimes for extended periods) are your best tools for hunting.

[ATI]

So, wind in your face!!! what if animals come from behind you??? which they normally do...?
wind in your face only works if there's a cliff or a lake or a river behind you and animals can't come from behind or circle you.... IMO...