Another Hunting clothes thread

[Buckmaster7600]

I am reading in a couple other threads all the prep work that others are doing with their hunting clothes.

Am I the only one that does nothing? My clothes are washed with tide they are hung above the dogs kennel in the mud room. I don't use any sprays. The only time I do anything is I put them in a plastic tote on my way to camp because I have a regular cab truck and want them dry in the bed. Anyone else like me?

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[adkhunter71]

I wash my clothes in scent free soap and try to keep them in a vacuum sealed bag to keep as much odor off of them as possible, but in the end I don't think that it matters much.  It seems like guys like you have just as much if not more success than the ones who are fanatical about scent control.  

You know how to hunt, period.  There are no shortcuts, and unfortunately I think that a lot of people give in to the whole "scent control" craze instead of paying attention to the wind as much as we should....

 

[Doewhacker]

18 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

 

I am reading in a couple other threads all the prep work that others are doing with their hunting clothes.

Am I the only one that does nothing? My clothes are washed with tide they are hung above the dogs kennel in the mud room. I don't use any sprays. The only time I do anything is I put them in a plastic tote on my way to camp because I have a regular cab truck and want them dry in the bed. Anyone else like me?

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That's how I am too, all my stuff hangs up in the mud room all year long. I do the same with the totes too. 

 

[coonhunter]

All I do is put my clothes in a garbage bag with a box of baking soda. My boots too because I have had deer come and smell my boot tracks. Just put the stuff on when I get to where I am going.

 

[Lawdwaz]

I've got some unscented laundry detergent I use for everything but my wool.  The wool gets done fairly often by Mother Nature, that is all.

If I had a place to air it out adequately during the season that'd be about all I'd do.  Since I don't, most of the time they hang in my basement.  Sometimes they just are in the back seat of my truck during the season.........

 

[The_Real_TCIII]

I wash them in All free and clear and keep them in plastic totes. I change at the truck


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[wolc123]

I don't do anything about it, and just hang my hunting outerwear in the basement until hunting season, then bring it up for the season and hang it in a back room of the house or throw it in a footlocker for trips up to the northern zone.  I don't even make a point to wash it every season, unless it gets real dirty.  

I do believe that scent control can be effective, based on an experience that I had at about this time of year, roughly 10 years ago.   There were a pair of camo coveralls that I had forgotten about, hanging in an old grainery out in the barn, where no human had entered in over a year.   I put them on after work and walked back to the pond, for a little goose and bass action.  I had my shotgun in my left hand and my fishing rod in my right.   It was extremely hot that afternoon, and a doe and fawn were cooling themselves off in the shallow water.  

The doe noted my approach and charged right at me, showing none of the usual caution that old mature doe with fawns normally have.  I am convinced that she had no idea what I was, and probably thought that I was another deer.   She did not make contact, but ran at me snorting, coming within a few feet, several times.   The fawn stood by watching and I just ignored her charges and went about my business.  I laid down the gun and made a cast into the pond.  The doe kept up her intimidation tactics.  On my second cast, I hooked into a nice largemouth.  When it broke water, the doe and fawn finally high-tailed it into the brush.

I don't believe that a deer can smell me if it is upwind of me, but it is not always possible to get there, and there are always a few calm days.  Someday, if I get desperate enough for meat, I might make a little effort at clothing scent control again.  I don't see that happening too soon, based on the deer populations, and the ease of filling tags right now.  

 

[grampy]

I wash everything in scent free detergent, even regular work clothes. I don't like the "fresh perfume" smell of regular stuff. Keep all my hunting clothes in totes, just so they are all together. Get dressed at home, have a smoke as I go out, and another on stand, wear my clothes till they NEED washing! Kill deer every year with the wind in my face.

[sethf11]

Ozone closet


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[Tughill Tamer]

I wash my hunting clothes in dead down wind detergent and hang them out back to dry then put them in a big plastic tote

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[nyslowhand]

The scent-free industry is a multi $1B/yr market. They try to make a science out of it and tell the hunter exactly what a deer sees and smells. I'm a little confused as to how they know this!??! Personally hooked on being as scent-free & non-UV as possible, to a point w/o being OCD about it! If you hunt in your work or street clothing, store your gear where the family pets frequent, smoke, eat or drink in the stand, etc and it's been working, by all means keep doing it that way!!!!

I'd be willing to bet you'd have more up close encounters if you simply stored your gear in an old corn feed bag then as if you used all the scent-free products on the market!

Really think it has more to do with what scent the deer have encountered and view as a threat. If you frequent your hunting spots during off seasons and the deer smell you w/o perceiving a threat, your chances of being less scent-free & having encounters during the hunting season are much better. If you only enter your hunting area during the season, your "smells" become much more alarming or threatening to the deer. Believe a lot of you land owners can attest to this...

Edited September 18, 2017 by nyslowhand

[Swamp_bucks]

I wash everything beforw bow in a scent control product let it hang up to dry outside, then into a bin.  Wind swirls alot on my lease so any little bit extra helps. Gun season i just play the wind. Lease doesnt produce during gun so i hunt stateland. If i play the wind there i can usually see deer daily.

[Robhuntandfish]

i am def into the scent control.  My hunting buddy isnt ( til this year) .  I got three deer last year and he got none, same hunting spots.  Have a lot walk right under the stand all the time.  He never does.  Passed on a lot of small ones as well.  I think its def worthwhile.  Have seen deer catch scent and stop dead put nose in the air and run tails up when downwind.  

 

I wash all my clothes in non scent soap, spray them down and hang them outside in a little side shed. My buddy had his wife wash his clothes in "mountain fresh" soap.......no deer 

[MPHunter]

Wash in scent free soap, hang outside to dry, spray with a scent killer then into a plastic bin that gets left outside or in my truck for the season. Long johns, socks come in the house with me but get left out on our 3-season porch. .

Edited September 18, 2017 by MPHunter

[Jeremy K]

Don't forget about the smell your breath spreads as well.

[chas0218]

15 hours ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

 

I am reading in a couple other threads all the prep work that others are doing with their hunting clothes.

Am I the only one that does nothing? My clothes are washed with tide they are hung above the dogs kennel in the mud room. I don't use any sprays. The only time I do anything is I put them in a plastic tote on my way to camp because I have a regular cab truck and want them dry in the bed. Anyone else like me?

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Yup but I use the one without UV brighteners. And usually just throw my clothes into a non scented garbage bag because I take them in my car to work. Now I will just hang them in our enclosed patio. No special sprays for me, never bought into all that hype.

[turkeyfeathers]

Wash our clothes with scent free soap or last year with no soap as out of scent free soap. Hang in cold storage room. Spray with permethrin . Put on morning of hunt, come home , throw clothes on couch in basement. Wash next season again.   Deal with thermals where we hunt. Try to play the wind as best as possible  I'm sure the deer can smell our Tim Hortons on us

Edited September 18, 2017 by turkeyfeathers

[The_Real_TCIII]

Ive sprayed "scent killer" sprays on lots of odors and they dont do a damned thing so I stopped buying them. Get some garlic or onion on your fingers, organic smells they claim to kill, they do nothing. Ive tried Scent Killer, Primos Silver and Scent a Way. I wash my clothes in the All and keep them in bins, and shower with whichever scent free body wash is on sale. Also use scent free deodorant. Other than that I try to play the wind as best I can

[Jeremy K]

I'm gonna try the ozonics on my clothes this year.

[Fletch]

I keep all my stuff washed with non scented UV free detergent and it hangs in my sports den/ office/ hunting room all year. I cycle out base layers regularily and don't wear anything into a gas station or store.....boots included. I hunt just about all locations that border houses and such and I believe you get a touch more leeway. Now if I'm hunting the big woods I tend to be more careful.

Edited September 18, 2017 by Fletch

[dbHunterNY]

I never used to until I started bowhunting. Busted is busted but I do it all and feel it's helped. It's made to deer hesitate and bought me a couple seconds more, long enough it was too late for the deer in some cases. It's like when thinking if you smelled something versus somebody shoving an open gym bag in your face. Reactions are significantly different. Still hunt with wind in my face but many of the bigger deer I've seen or taken have come with, from my perspective, marginal wind that they were using to their advantage.

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[JRod 8G8H]

I know a lot of guys that do absolutely nothing and just play the wind... but I personally wash all my clothes in UV free/scent free detergent and spray with UV killer and keep them in a tote.  I have a tree in my yard that gives off some strong scent, idk what kind, after hunts my clothes hang there before putting them back on.... During gun season I get very, very lazy

[jjb4900]

I wash my clothes in plain old baking soda, air dry and store in a container. After a hunt I air dry as well before storing. I would think storing damp clothes in a container must promote some type of odor, so try to avoid that.

Edited September 18, 2017 by jjb4900

[thphtm]

60 + years ago never did any sent control , in camp a lot of stogie and cig. smokers., just piled our clothes in the truck, camper, cabin or where ever we were staying and put hem on in the morning. Saw and had a shot at the biggest buck to this day back then. (got buck feaver and blew the shot) . Later on spent a good amount of money on scent control products,camo clothes and special bags , quit smoking and did not see any more deer then in the past. Now that I just hunt my own property I will put on what ever is handy with my orange hat, vest or coat depending on the weather and get out there, And I still see deer every day close enough for a shot. In fact I had a buck I called big spike that would be in the same spot every year till he was a 10 pointer , I would just walk by give him a whistle and a wave he would just lie there , 2 years ago he was not there I guess some one else got him. 

It's all in how you play the wind.

[Nomad]

I do wash clothes in scent free soap , and store and  transport in a tote. I use the tote mostly because I hunt out of a car, so I need to have warm/cold and extra gear with me , but frankly the top is off it most of the time .

No scent loc clothes ( well one jacket but it was just a good price) no sprays,ozone stuff, magic beans or voodoo spells .

Gun season I hunt mostly in street clothes with light weight camo pants over them, makes it easy to go to town for lunch . Bow season I still go eat in my base layers with jeans and a sweat shirt over them .

most of my bow buck kills are under 20 yards, farthest gun one in recent memeory was 60 , most are in bow range though.