• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Newbie Scent Control Advice

donnieballgame

donnieballgame

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
1,872
I'm a new bow hunter looking to improve my chances. I originally thought that the urban parks I'm currently hunting would be "easy" , "don't even have to worry about scent control" are all the things I've heard. I'm going on 3 weeks with about 10 sits and have only seen deer twice!

I've been washing my cloths with DDW and dryer sheets, I have DDW odor eliminating spray that I've been doing a little before walking into the woods. I just cleaned out a big tub that will also hold my backpack. I didn't wash the backpack until reading Johns posts.

I guess my question is what is everyone's recommendation, I am hoping to get by this season without buying scentlok at full price but don't really wanna waste a lot of time in the woods either, I've read(most) of John E's stuff posted here and almost went right out to buy the stuff, lol. I also don't have rubber boots yet was thinking about pulling the trigger on a pair and was hoping I could wait on the rest.

Thoughts?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Are you a new deer hunter or just a new bow hunter? I ask because if you don't know how to scout and find the deer, nothing about scent control will help you. You would need to learn that first.

IMO rubber boots are a huge thing you can do immediately in addition to what you are doing that will help. If you are not using scentlok you will still need to play the wind though.

Scentlok is not a magic bullet. You can't just throw it on and expect the deer to just show up. You have to care for it properly and you have to have a full system in place. Pants, shirt or jacket, gloves, hat, facecover. If you don't put a system in place and follow it religiously it won't work.
 
Are you paying any attention to wind direction and access? Not knocking scent control at all, but I don't use any of it and kill plenty of bucks. Learning what the wind/thermals do is very important.
 
Just washing yourself and your clothes in scent free soaps/detergents is scent control and like Red said, Rubber boots.

If you want a cheap way to get into carbon

https://www.amazon.com/Activated-Ch...r=8-1&keywords=zen+principle+coconut+charcoal

Toss some clothes in a storage bin, sprinkle a little carbon in there, put the lid on and shake it up. It will make you look like you've been working in a coal mine, but it gets the job done.

I really like putting a little bit in my boots. And again...coal miners sock/feet


go to youtube and watch huntingbeast vids...go to hunting beast forums, order hunting beast dvds, if you want more insight into wind/thermals. Those guys don't seem to believe or practice much scent control...but they get CLOSE to bedded big boys

I think its smart to take what knowledge I can from both camps
 
Last edited:
sb220 said:
Just washing yourself and your clothes in scent free soaps/detergents is scent control and like Red said, Rubber boots.

If you want a cheap way to get into carbon

https://www.amazon.com/Activated-Ch...r=8-1&keywords=zen+principle+coconut+charcoal

Toss some clothes in a storage bin, sprinkle a little carbon in there, put the lid on and shake it up. It will make you look like you've been working in a coal mine, but it gets the job done.

I really like putting a little bit in my boots. And again...coal miners sock/feet


go to youtube and watch huntingbeast vids...go to hunting beast forums, order hunting beast dvds, if you want more insight into wind/thermals. Those guys don't seem to believe or practice much scent control...but they get CLOSE to bedded big boys

I think its smart to take what knowledge I can from both camps
Click to expand...
Good advice right here.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
The cheapest scent control is playing the wind / thermals. If you're lax on scent control you also have to watch how you approach your sites because you'll leave a scent trail behind you.

One of the things that took me awhile to get over was feeling stuck at preset / pre-scouted locations. Hunting is like fishing if you always just fish off the same dock your chances are pretty random. I'm not afraid to jump ship and move to increase my odds. You might scout and find what you think is the best spot but seasonal changes / other hunters / food sources can change deer movement quickly.
 
Wow thanks for the help guys, I'm not a new hunter new to bow hunting, agree scouting is really important, being in the military I just moved here and didnt even know where to hunt let alone do any scouting.

I'm learning a few of the areas I can hunt, had a college that helped me figure out the Urban Archery thing which is pretty cool, a bunch of parks 5 minutes from my house. The interesting thing is my buddy made it sound super easy, he said to not worry about scent control at all, I did get some cameras out and found some deer but I think they are very nomadic because they get constantly pushed around by people in the parks.

I've only been looking at wind recently after a lot of sits with no action, because the parks are limited and I have limited access, sometimes I don't have a choice. I'm going to make more of an effort here for sure.

I'm also going to pull the trigger I some rubber boots, so hopefully that helps a bit. And I'm also gonna try that cheap carbon trick!

Hopefully a few of these tips and a little ocd and I'll have a little better luck, thanks again!



Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
EricS said:
It's amazing how deer that are around people all the time can tell when there is one that's not supposed to be there.
Click to expand...
Yep!!! I've hunted the " spaghetti " or the thin fingers or woods between residential areas forever. These deer watch and hear people in their yards everyday and exhibit zero concern whatsoever but as soon as you step beyond that invisible threshold everything changes.
 
EricS said:
It's amazing how deer that are around people all the time can tell when there is one that's not supposed to be there.
Click to expand...
huck72412 said:
Yep!!! I've hunted the " spaghetti " or the thin fingers or woods between residential areas forever. These deer watch and hear people in their yards everyday and exhibit zero concern whatsoever but as soon as you step beyond that invisible threshold everything changes.
Click to expand...
It is amazing. It's because they know what is normally there and what is not. My dad puts corn out behind his house and has a video camera so he can watch the deer at night. A few years ago a button buck got so used to him coming out to feed them that he would stand there and let my dad talk to him from 5 yards away. If I showed up on the driveway 40 yards away, that deer was out of there because I wasn't normal.
 
Sounds like some very good reasons to have a good scent control system!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Alright, a couple of questions.....

1. I got some fancy new rubber boots, now what? They smell like.....rubber, should I just rinse them out good and let them dry overnight? The smell seems pretty strong to me, I've got a little carbon from a fish tank filter that I can sprinkle on them as well and I picked up some DDW foot powder.

2. I'm not opposed to buying scentlok and investing in some odor control, do you think the stuff ever goes on sale? I think I was reading here that often at the end of the season you can get a good deal, I think I will try and play the wind and thermals and do my best for the rest of the season eliminating as much scent as I can and waiting for Scentlok til I can find a deal. Unless of course it's never on sale then I should just pull the trigger already, lol.

Thanks for the help!
 
Go on scentlok's website often and check their closeout specials. If you check often all the big outdoor stores they have closeouts too. A few weeks ago I bought a scentlok vortex jacket and pants for $98 shipped. The jacket is in their winter pattern but I'll just throw a long sleeve camo shirt over it for now until I find another one I want. I haven't been so lucky on their hats and gloves.
 
Scentlok goes on a good sale every year it seems as they try to market the latest and greatest

Your boot smell will go away. The thing is rubber boots help keep you from leaving a human scent on your trail in, so the rubber smell isn't that big a deal imo
Still you can spray them with some scent killer. Carbon and baking soda doesn't hurt
 
donnieballgame said:
Alright, a couple of questions.....

1. I got some fancy new rubber boots, now what? They smell like.....rubber, should I just rinse them out good and let them dry overnight? The smell seems pretty strong to me, I've got a little carbon from a fish tank filter that I can sprinkle on them as well and I picked up some DDW foot powder.

2. I'm not opposed to buying scentlok and investing in some odor control, do you think the stuff ever goes on sale? I think I was reading here that often at the end of the season you can get a good deal, I think I will try and play the wind and thermals and do my best for the rest of the season eliminating as much scent as I can and waiting for Scentlok til I can find a deal. Unless of course it's never on sale then I should just pull the trigger already, lol.

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
The rubber boot smell will only go away with time. But I wouldn't worry about it.

As mentioned there are weekly specials and closeouts on the scentlok site right now. There will be killer deals starting in december and running into the spring.
 
Alright thanks guys, lots of good info, did an am sit today with the new rubber boots seemed fine a little colder than previous sits in similar weather, took off the boots and my socks were wet which kinda surprised me, I didn't walk that far or even work that hard. I'm gonna dig out the nylon liners to keep my feet dry, any other tips?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Moisture wicking socks on foot, then wool socks on top as needed.
 
And I throw my boots on a boot drier after most hunts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top