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John Eberharts Scent Control
- Thread starter wpwoutdoors
- Start date
Not sure what your scent control measures were when you were huge into scent control or what you consider busted but I wouldn’t be happy with those numbers without scentlok. With scentlok I wouldn’t be happy unless I was on the fourth day of a hunt and only had field wipes no shower and called toba downwind deer and really made them focus on my area. My scentlok is a couple years old and I wash it way to frequently. To my knowledge I have been busted by three deer and one hog downwind of me this season. I know of 20-30 deer that have been down wind this season that didn’t react. Of those three deer one may have seen me move and another freaked out right at the base of the tree and possibly smelled where I sat my rifle/backpack down before climbing. I’m cheap and those four times of being busted were enough that I’m shopping for a new suit for next season. My first season in scentlok one deer busted behind me that was down wind and I was moving at the time. Also with the exception to the hog I had the opportunity to kill every deer that I knew busted me after they got my wind. Regardless of how many deer smell me that I don’t ever see I know I see more deer when wearing it.
I implemented as many scent eliminations techniques i could. Wearing Scent lock head to toe, washing clothing, hanging clothes outside away from house to dry, putting clothes in vacuum bags and then in air tight containers, showering before entering the field, dress in the field away from my vehicle. Wearing rubber boots. Using scent free wipes on equipment and spray while in the field. Etc, Etc
All that extra money and especially time, just wasn't worth it for me. but if it works for others, do it. Especially if it gives you confidence.
All that extra money and especially time, just wasn't worth it for me. but if it works for others, do it. Especially if it gives you confidence.
At any giving moment the thermals dictate impact of down wind side. So how a deer is effected in your down wind is depending on lift at that time frame .
Example you have the Wind at your face a deer comes in from behind you and you think your busted but the thermal lift at that given moment carried your scent up and over so he walks straight across (down wind) and never even blinks an eye .
Then let’s say 10 min. Later same wind in your face deer comes from behind you. This time the deer stops winds you and jumps out of his skin . Thermal lift wasn’t great enough to carry your scent out. It’s hunting things sometimes don’t work out. You just can’t control everything .
I have been hard on carbon suits in this thread and I’m going to take back on that. If you think they help by all means use one. But just consider the wind some and see if that helps. I’m not here to win the hunt the wind battle. I just hope some young guy reads this stuff and it helps him be a better hunter and enjoy his time afield and make memories like I have. Like said earlier enjoy yourself .
Example you have the Wind at your face a deer comes in from behind you and you think your busted but the thermal lift at that given moment carried your scent up and over so he walks straight across (down wind) and never even blinks an eye .
Then let’s say 10 min. Later same wind in your face deer comes from behind you. This time the deer stops winds you and jumps out of his skin . Thermal lift wasn’t great enough to carry your scent out. It’s hunting things sometimes don’t work out. You just can’t control everything .
I have been hard on carbon suits in this thread and I’m going to take back on that. If you think they help by all means use one. But just consider the wind some and see if that helps. I’m not here to win the hunt the wind battle. I just hope some young guy reads this stuff and it helps him be a better hunter and enjoy his time afield and make memories like I have. Like said earlier enjoy yourself .
BigAl
Well-Known Member
I have a question........have you tried to use milk weed to keep track of your scent? Me and a buddy have had them floating in the direction of the wind but went up or almost hovered around for a while. I KNOW scentlok works well but I also know that the air currents do funny things and scent reduction works with all the suits when one is thorough about prep. Just curious if anyone else watched floaters when deer were in line with their scent . This could be a good idea to get some on stand feedback.
BigAl
Well-Known Member
Wearing scentlok of course.
I release them when deer are present. Thats why I have always advocated a system for easy release. Guys that stuff them in pill bottles with lids on an stick them in your pack...how do you easily release them at crunch time?
I keep them right my my pocket. When deer approach, if there is any doubt about what the wind is REALLY DOING, then I know it.
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Downwind, for our purposes, is NOT well defined.
Yeah, the very core of our scent cone where odor molecules are most dense is certainly downwind and I agree most deer within that zone will probably detect us. (How that individual, "downwind" deer reacts under certain environmental conditions (like humidity) is yet another subject.)
But how about the fringes of the scent cone? How about the fringes of the fringes? The density and strength of odor molecules fades on those edges. Is our odor the same on those outer edges as it is in the core? No way! Just like smoke out of the chimney...dense in the middle but barely perceptible on the fringes until it's not there at all. You can choke on that smoke in the middle of it, but it may be nearly undetectable out on the edges. That's exactly what happens with our odor when it leaves our body.
The solution to pollution (our odor) is dilution.
Our scent cone leaves our stand measuring roughly 2 feet by 6 feet and as intense in odor density as it will ever be. But then air currents take over and our odor begins to weaken. Up drafts, downdrafts, crosswinds...they billow and morph the strength of our odor. After 50 yards, our scent cone is many times it's original size, but it's weaker. Multiply that effect as wind patterns and distance increases.
Downwind?? What's that?
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Last edited:
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- Sep 19, 2014
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I throw milkweed constantly and it will surprise you sometimes. I've had deer "down wind" of me many many times and thought to myself "how are they not busting me?" then I throw some milkweed out and watch it float out and over them or float out and make a turn because of topography or a change in vegetation. I believe that if a hunter can learn wind currents and thermals while keeping a low scent profile that you will be an efficient killer year after year. I don't claim to know everything about that subject, but in the last two years of really trying to learn this stuff I have had my best seasons ever. I don't think it's coincidence either.
I didn't know you were looking for a scientific explanation.. i like how you set your self up there though haha
Its just chemistry and physics combined with individual personalities of individual deer on individual days.
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Edit...stupid Tapatalk didn't show all my post. I completed my post on the forum site...just in case you care to read it all.
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BigAl
Well-Known Member
That's why I posted the question earlier......milkweed has taught me alot also. No.....I agree that it is not a coincidence!
The premiss of my statement (define downwind), was that wind does crazy things. A high pressure windward slope will tend to have an updraft as it compresses an struggles to flow over the ridge, but as soon as it clears the ridge it and enters the low pressure leeward side, there will be a downdraft. The turbulence of the up currents, down currents, and eddies dilutes our odor. Terrain and other structure makes wind do tricks and the tricks change as wind speed and thermals change. Its so frickin dynamic.
All due respect to you "just hunt the wind" guys...at what point do you consider it still being "downwind"? 100 yards on a dry, breezy day? How about on a humid, calm day? 400 yards? 200 yards with crosswind behavior? 300 yards in a low pressure eddy that dilutes odor?
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Hunting using the wind to your favor some days are obviously better than others. Just like some of the places we hunt. The bottom land near me along the river. Only a few days out of the year are really huntable in that location. It holds really big deer for a reason. It’s our problem to figure it out in those spots. If you have ever hunted river bottom land you know the wind goes crazy swirling . Some places and days are actually not worth hunting.its an average your dealing with. I know from this thread some guys don’t hunt the wind and believe in their system to overcome a deer nose. So with that I’ll ask so you have a suit of carbon to cover your body. That’s great let’s say it really works 100%. So I carry a bow, tree stand/saddle , steps , ropes etc. how does the suit cover that up? Maybe you use the wind to hunt also . But you don’t call it hunting the wind you call it a good day in the woods seeing deer movement.
Ye
Yes I have. I’ve used up two pods this year. I plan to plant some next year so eventually I may have a big supply. This is the first year I’ve used milkweed. It’s definitely interesting. I’ve been using cat tail fluff for several years. It’s amazing how much air currents are affected by small things. Of course we don’t know if our scent follows it to a t. Our scent could catch the air more or less even.
