I'll admit it...I'm weak. I swore to myself that I wouldn't allow myself to get sucked into yet another odor thread. But I still read threads like these and eventually my resolve cracks and I gotta chime in.
What I find annoying is the broad-brush phrases, or terms that are absolute. Words like "works" or "can't fool a deer's nose", "only hunt the wind", etc etc...totally subjective terms about things that cannot be quantified in a thread, let alone in the real world of whitetails in the woods.
It's entirely possible that the 2 opposite extremes on this topic can both be correct.
We have to 1st realize that we don't all smell alike. We don't all emit the same level of odor. I would venture to say that a 16 year old boy with raging hormones emits more and stronger odors than a 63 year old. I know this 1st hand, because for whatever the reason, I don't sweat like I did when I was younger. I also don't need deodorant like I used to. For some reason, the level of my body odor is not what it used to be when I was younger...body chemistry? Diet? I don't know the reason.
We all know people that just have a "smell" to them. The same can be said about breath. Some people develop halitosis and some don't. I believe it is possible for some of us to become closer to the odorless-end of the spectrum than others.
The question within those very individual groups is to what extent and methods is the hunter practicing (or may not be) towards reducing odors.
Not all showers are equal. Not all oral hygiene practices are equal. There are more effective, or less effective ways to address the dozens of details that it takes to reduce odors. Just the details within the details can be a thread of it's own.
But minimizing odors has to be put into the context of the real woods scenario.
1st, What is the tolerance level your herd has for any trace amount of human odor? A suburban deer will tolerate more odor than a wilderness deer, and deer themselves are individuals and react individually based on their personality.
Then there is the "hunt the wind" camp. Does this tactic ignore ground scent? Residual odor? How about access routes? Do the wind guys adjust their access routes (approach AND exit routes) when they refer to hunting the wind? I've had to take some crazy routes in order to keep my odor from blowing towards the deer. And sometimes alternate routes just aren't feasible.
And then we also have terrain. Do the "hunt the wind" guys have micro properties in hilly terrain, or are they hunting large tracts of flat land? And are these properties in the suburbs or wilderness? Did the hunter practice extensive odor reduction or not? Hunt the wind? Definitely! Rely solely on the wind? Your area must have more stable wind patterns than mine.
Also, seldom does anyone define the "hot zone"...the area that deer will definitely show an extreme response to human odor.
I do agree that under certain conditions, with an educated deer in close, it's nearly impossible to go undetected to the point of zero alarm. Which is another point...Yeah, we might not be able to go 100% undetected, but can we go undetected enough that it doesn't blow the situation? Maybe the lead doe gets just a little nervous and walks out, but the buck that's following her doesn't "smell a rat" (pun intended). I guarantee you, if she blows out in utter panic because she got a full nose of a guy that practices zero odor reduction, the odds of us getting a bow shot at the buck following her are gonna be pretty slim.
How about a deer 300 yards away? You know, the ones that we don't even know are there. Can a "clean" hunter have a smaller hot zone than the "dirty" hunter? You bet.
Do I practice scent control? Yep, but it's more accurately described as odor reduction. I'm also religiously watching the wind and am quite picky about access routes. It's a total package deal.
Does it help my situation, my hunts? There's no doubt that it helps me, and I'm not saying that from a "whatever gives me confidence" point of view. I say that from 50 seasons and observations from tens of thousands of encounters with the deer I hunt. Would the next guy be as successful with his body chemistry, his odor reduction tactics, on his land and his deer? There's no possible way to make an intelligent comparison.
So cut the crap about talking in absolutes as to whether scent control works or not.
It "works" (I hate that term) for me.