Scent Control
Filed under: Ask Grant, Hunting Tactics
Thanks for providing this question opportunity. Here in Alabama, the rut doesn’t kick in until January. That means (for us) our bow season is spent not just “pre-rut”, but basically in the deer’s summer behavior mode. In your videos it doesn’t look like your group pays any special attention to individual scent control beyond a very healthy respect for wind and stand elevation. I haven’t seen any special scent control clothing, canceling or masking sprays, and I’m not seeing any attractants either. Other than the possible lack of a sponsor for these items, what is your expert opinion on the issue of scent management? Again many thanks, great site, excellent science based information!! Dan
Dan,
Thanks for the kind words!! I believe one of the most important tactics a hunter can adopt for harvesting mature bucks on a consistent basis is to eliminate as much of their scent while approaching and in the stand.
I’m a kidney transplant patient so I take several steroids daily to remain healthy. Because of this, my body emits more odor than “healthy” hunters. In addition, I’m usually hunting with a cameraman and gads of camera equipment. Therefore, I take scent control very seriously! My regime is simple. I wash my clothes in an inexpensive washing machine that I keep in my garage. I only wash hunting clothes in that machine – period! I use a detergent made for hunters. I then hang my clothes outside in the sun because sunshine is a great disinfectant. When they are dry, I treat them with a scent elimination product and hang them in an abandoned barn that has both ends open so there is usually a breeze passing through. One of our camera guys doesn’t have access to an abandoned barn, so he hangs his clothes out to dry and then stores them in sterilized containers.
Our entire team takes their clothes to the field and we change outside the truck, before we approach our stand. Yes, it’s cold and miserable at times. We always wear rubber boots and treat them with a scent elimination spray before and after each hunt. These boots are never used except for hunting.
Yet we still get busted sometimes if the deer is dead downwind. However, we also film and harvest deer that are dead downwind and have crossed our trail multiple times while approaching the stand. In fact, two mature bucks I harvested recently (GDTV 48 & GDTV 50) were either dead downwind or crossed where I approached my stand numerous times.
I believe our efforts certainly have reduced the number of mature bucks that are alerted by our presence. I believe always hunting with the wind in your favor and eliminating as much scent as possible are two of the most important activities that can be done to harvest mature bucks on a consistent basis.
Growing Deer together,
Grant
