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Weird question about scent and showering

Romulan

Romulan

Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2020
Messages
57
Location
Tejas! (aka: Texas for non-Texicans)
As the title says - this is going to be a bit of a weird question - How many of you feel like you have to shower with scent free soap each morning hunt? Or, is it that some just shower after the prior day's hunt and not shower in the morning?

I ask this question due to my work schedule and location - I sometimes can't take the full day off to hunt - often I start my hunt mid-day or later. I understand that no matter what scent covering or "eliminating" product we use - we'll never truly be scent free and as always be downwind of animals.

My question is really the scent we radiate walking through the woods to our hunt location(s). Should I really be this concerned with religiously showering with scent free soap every hunt? What are your experiences?

Thanks
 
Hunt the wind. They're going to smell you no matter what you do if the wind blows from you to them.
If I get up early (3am) to get into the woods, I sometimes skip a shower. I've still killed deer. When I hunt in the afternoons after work, I don't think I've ever taken a shower prior, and still have killed deer. I've gotten critters while smelling like BO (although that was a coyote, so it could be said that I smelled like something it wanted to eat!)
 
I hunt a lot of afternoons/evenings and I shower every time with non-scent soap. I used to be a lot more crazy about scent control but got lazy with it and have not noticed a difference. Where I hunt a deer can come from any direction at any given time. So I play the wind as much as I can but most of its luck on where they come from. But I still don't want to smell like gasoline, etc. when I am hunting. So I try, a little.
 
Hall17 said:
I hunt a lot of afternoons/evenings and I shower every time with non-scent soap. I used to be a lot more crazy about scent control but got lazy with it and have not noticed a difference. Where I hunt a deer can come from any direction at any given time. So I play the wind as much as I can but most of its luck on where they come from. But I still don't want to smell like gasoline, etc. when I am hunting. So I try, a little.
Click to expand...

I hate when I forget to get gas the day before and have to get it on the way to hunt.
 
It’s good to be as scent free as possible, but as far as scent emanating from the body. I feel it’s extremely hard to keep down, to a level where scent free soaps makes a meaningful difference. After a short while and little bit of a hike, we’re right back to where we were, when taking into account, the capabilities of a deers nose.

the area of scent reduction, that I think really matters, is the elimination of possible contaminants, that can linger in the environment for long periods of time, after we’ve left our hunting area. It’s easy to pick up something on our boots, or if someone uses scented fabric softener in the dryer, that leaves a flowery scent trail, behind us.

watching where we walk, by using the areas that deer normally don’t, and avoiding brush that holds our scent, are more of a concern, because, when a buck comes across that area at night, he’ll make it a point to avoid those areas during daylight.
 
Romulan said:
As the title says - this is going to be a bit of a weird question - How many of you feel like you have to shower with scent free soap each morning hunt? Or, is it that some just shower after the prior day's hunt and not shower in the morning?

I ask this question due to my work schedule and location - I sometimes can't take the full day off to hunt - often I start my hunt mid-day or later. I understand that no matter what scent covering or "eliminating" product we use - we'll never truly be scent free and as always be downwind of animals.

My question is really the scent we radiate walking through the woods to our hunt location(s). Should I really be this concerned with religiously showering with scent free soap every hunt? What are your experiences?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Shower when you can and use scent free soap. It’s easy and the same price as other stuff. Use scent free detergent and dryer sheets for your hunt clothes and boots. Take all your clothes and put them in a scent proof storage container and put some pine or whatever trees where you hunt in the container also and leave it all in there ready to go. Get some scent free wipes and spray and wipe down your bow and whatever with the wipes. Spray yourself and clothing and boots down at the truck/vehicle and off you go.
 
I use scent free soap in the shower, and all of my laundry is done with scent free soaps. I also use Arm and hammer scent free deodorant . I prefer to be an Axe man, but a few weeks before season everything goes scent free. Don’t know that it helps anything except my self confidence, but that’s enough to make me go that route. On my Kentucky trip, I was given an ozone generator and I have no doubt it works. My cousin gave me one and I just have to supply the battery. I ordered one and when the battery shows up, I’ll never go without it!
 
I am typically a shower once a day guy.

I like starting a day with a shower to wake up. But I also like being clean when I get in bed. If I don’t sweat or get dirty, it’s usually showering in the morning for me. At the expense of cleaning sheets more often.

one thing to consider, is you will have to wash your clothes way less often if you’re clean getting in them. Even if you sweat. I have pieces of clothing that I won’t wash until end of season.

stuff lasts longer. Less effort. Less anxiety. Plus it’s nice feeling fresh heading out for a hunt.

as far as scent control goes, I’d say the only thing I’m really worried about is controlling the scent I smell, for my own well being. I shower with whatever soap is available.

don’t touch stuff near your set with sweaty ungloved hands. Don’t put bare feet or socks with sweaty bare feet in them, on the ground. Don’t hunt when there’s no wind, or light and variable wind, without a strong thermal to control airflow.
 
I'm a firm believer that we cannot become odorless. If deer get a full nose of us, they will bust us. But there are nuances to the odor bust scenario. A few examples are "diluted odor" on the fringes of our scent cone, ground odor on access trails, and residual odor which remains during and after our presence. These odors can be reduced to the point that busts become far less intense or even non existent.
I'm going to assume a deer that's within close distance, centered in my scent cone is gonna wind me regardless of what I do. But I also realize that my regimen has practically eliminated my ground odor to the point that I no longer worry about crossing deer trails near my stand. My ground odor busts are almost nonexistent for me.

I insist on showering in the morning before a hunt. I've even showered a second time during a lunch break, but I rarely leave the woods for lunch so it's not very often that I shower twice during a hunt.

HOW you shower is something seldom discussed. Usually, guys just mention the soap but how you shower is even more important.
Think about how a surgeon scrubs before an operation. They soap up and SCRUB for miutes in order to kill bacteria. Bacteria is the main cause of odor.

I wet down, turn the water off, soap up, and scrub with something like a luffa sponge. I use a dish rag with a nylon netting type material on it. The idea is to exfoliate AND allow time for the soap to kill bacteria.
Scrub every nook and cranny. Corners of the nose, around the eyes, ears, pits, crotch and crack and of course feet and in between each toe. Don't rinse until you've been thorough.

Quality deodorant antiperspirant goes on select areas, not just the pits.

Boot care is critical.
I run ozone inside each boot while in a tub before every hunt. Boots are getting O3 inside and out.
Boot bottoms are never touched with bare hands and I never use a bare foot or stocking foot to push off the 2nd boot. Use a boot jack if you need to.

Make every effort to avoid touching or brushing up against weeds or brush during the final approach to the stand. Carry hand pruners and clip anything that you otherwise cannot avoid contact with.
I often use my pruners to steady and balance myself as I pass trees. It allows me to sneak much more quietly.
I also use the pruners almost like pliars. I'll use them to pick up debris along my final approach to preset stands. I constantly maintain and groom my entrance trails which reduces noise and odor. The longer that I use pruners more more uses I'm finding for them.

I'm in my 2nd season of experimenting with a bee smoker. Deer do show reaction to the smoke but it isnt a reaction of alarm. It's more of curiosity or confusion which is better that a true odor bust. The jury is still out for me as to whether or not smoke adds to the effectiveness of an odor regimen.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
I'm a firm believer that we cannot become odorless. If deer get a full nose of us, they will bust us. But there are nuances to the odor bust scenario. A few examples are "diluted odor" on the fringes of our scent cone, ground odor on access trails, and residual odor which remains during and after our presence. These odors can be reduced to the point that busts become far less intense or even non existent.
I'm going to assume a deer that's within close distance, centered in my scent cone is gonna wind me regardless of what I do. But I also realize that my regimen has practically eliminated my ground odor to the point that I no longer worry about crossing deer trails near my stand. My ground odor busts are almost nonexistent for me.

I insist on showering in the morning before a hunt. I've even showered a second time during a lunch break, but I rarely leave the woods for lunch so it's not very often that I shower twice during a hunt.

HOW you shower is something seldom discussed. Usually, guys just mention the soap but how you shower is even more important.
Think about how a surgeon scrubs before an operation. They soap up and SCRUB for miutes in order to kill bacteria. Bacteria is the main cause of odor.

I wet down, turn the water off, soap up, and scrub with something like a luffa sponge. I use a dish rag with a nylon netting type material on it. The idea is to exfoliate AND allow time for the soap to kill bacteria.
Scrub every nook and cranny. Corners of the nose, around the eyes, ears, pits, crotch and crack and of course feet and in between each toe. Don't rinse until you've been thorough.

Quality deodorant antiperspirant goes on select areas, not just the pits.

Boot care is critical.
I run ozone inside each boot while in a tub before every hunt. Boots are getting O3 inside and out.
Boot bottoms are never touched with bare hands and I never use a bare foot or stocking foot to push off the 2nd boot. Use a boot jack if you need to.

Make every effort to avoid touching or brushing up against weeds or brush during the final approach to the stand. Carry hand pruners and clip anything that you otherwise cannot avoid contact with.
I often use my pruners to steady and balance myself as I pass trees. It allows me to sneak much more quietly.
I also use the pruners almost like pliars. I'll use them to pick up debris along my final approach to preset stands. I constantly maintain and groom my entrance trails which reduces noise and odor. The longer that I use pruners more more uses I'm finding for them.

I'm in my 2nd season of experimenting with a bee smoker. Deer do show reaction to the smoke but it isnt a reaction of alarm. It's more of curiosity or confusion which is better that a true odor bust. The jury is still out for me as to whether or not smoke adds to the effectiveness of an odor regimen.
Click to expand...

Lots of …interesting imagery in this post

Tom your system is impressive but I get tired just reading it all much less doing it!
 
For me it depends of the hunt and conditions. If it's going to be light winds and close shots then 100% I take every precaution I can. If its blowing 20+ and I have my 300 Win Mag then it doesn't matter as much.
 
BackSpasm said:
Lots of …interesting imagery in this post

Tom your system is impressive but I get tired just reading it all much less doing it!
Click to expand...
I was just trying to address the OPs question about ground odor and showering.

It's hard to make the point without going into a detailed description.
There's a lot more involved than whether or not someone should shower.
A lot of what I do sounds more laborious than it really is.
And sure, none of it is an absolute requirement. But it can improve your situation. I notice the improvement in the quality of my hunts since I've been employing this stuff so for me it's worth the extra effort. I hate busts from ground scent because I know it's something that can be addressed.
 
What I do is similar to Allegheny, slightly lazier tho I must admit. I pay attention to my boots, and will definitely google a "boot Jack".
John Eberhardt emailed me his scentless package. I try to follow that also.
I treat all my clothing with ozone, either in a closet, the ozonics hanger or a modified grow hut.
This year I added a NFuse and I fill it with rainwater. I feel it has made a huge difference. I had deer directly downwind and in my scent. They knew something wasn't perfect, but they were not afraid and never left. Granted these were small does and small bucks. I was very impressed as this never happens to me.
 
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Allegheny Tom said:
I was just trying to address the OPs question about ground odor and showering.

It's hard to make the point without going into a detailed description.
There's a lot more involved than whether or not someone should shower.
A lot of what I do sounds more laborious than it really is.
And sure, none of it is an absolute requirement. But it can improve your situation. I notice the improvement in the quality of my hunts since I've been employing this stuff so for me it's worth the extra effort. I hate busts from ground scent because I know it's something that can be addressed.
Click to expand...
Do you use scentlok clothing also?
 
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