Scent Killer Question

[TProGuy]

I have several bottles of scent killer for bowhunting, some are about a year old, while a couple others might be more like 2 years old. Are they still going to be any good? What about if they have been left in the garage and allowed to freeze over the winter? Just trying to figure out if these bottles will still be effective or if I should pick up some new ones.

Thanks!

[Froggy4371]

Sent Killer Recomends that once you open a bottle you should use it with in 12 months. I read that on there web site.

Froggy

[DonBo]

Sent Killer Recomends that once you open a bottle you should use it with in 12 months. I read that on there web site.

Froggy

That's what I'd say too if I wanted to sell more product. Personally, I'd use it.

[Bear55]

I've used it after freezing and really couldn't tell a different between some new bottles and old.

[mabr]

All this brings up a question that comes up every year in here.

Does any of it really work? I have it all, expensive scent lock outer clothes, shower with scent blocking body wash shampoo, the sprays, rubber boots, etc etc. But does any of it really work?

1.5 weeks ago on the land where i took a doe a week ago. I hunt the morning and we had a pretty good dew on the ground. My route in is right through the food plot I put in this year. As expected the doe I was trying for that morning comes into the plot from the woods and crosses my route. I could see my path as clear as day from my stand because i disrupted the dew. The minute she hit my trail she immediatly went on alert and proceed to follow it right to the edge of the woods I was sitting in at 30 yards away. No shot from where she was and she would not come any further. She stood there for 5 minutes just looking into the woods but would not come any closer.

I ended up going home and getting another stand and relocated it and did harvest her 3 days later. But it makes ME wonder if all of this isnt just a ploy on us and we buy into it. Mind you I had Rubber boots (2 years old stored outside used only to and from the stand) on with everthing tucked inside them so not to touch any foliage and she still smelt me. I honestly dont think we will ever be able to evade their sense of smell unless we can wrap ourselfs in an air tight bag and transport ourselfs to our stands.

But Ill probubly keep doing the same old routine year after year cause you just never know. Does anyone know of any scientific studys that have been done to say yeah or nay.

[sticknstring]

I'm guessing she probably was just keyed in on the disturbance. She knew something passed through there and it wasn't a deer and she went on alert or followed your tracks out of curiosity.

[mabr]

So SNS your thinking it was a visual thing she seen the trail vs smelling it. Could have been I suppose.

[Bear55]

mabr I think it works a little but it depends what you are after. I have been scent locked, showered, washed clothes, sprayed down, rubber boots, and even a face mask and been busted by mature bucks and even some old does. If you are just after deer sure it kind of works, they still probably smell you but it reduces you scent enough that they aren't scared and you can shoot all the does and young bucks you want.

I had finally had enough this year, I wasted all this time and $$$ trying to be as scent free as possible only to get busted. I could have spent that time scouting and those $$$ on better gear that I know works. Heck sometimes I would sit home because I didn't have enough time to get home and shower before going in the woods. It was even taking the fun out of hunting because I had to go through this giant routine each time I hit the woods. Too much of a hassle but I am sure the scent free industry is loving it.

Now I pay much closer attention to the wind and do more scouting. When you know where many of the deer in a given area bed its easy to work a location where the wind or even a thermal is in your favor. Old school hunting. I still wear the rubber boots because many of the areas I hunt are wet but now for me its all about beds, wind direction, and setting up as quiet as possible. Many times I am close enough to hear the deer get up out of their beds and move my way, sometimes as close as 50 yards.

[sticknstring]

Quote:

So SNS your thinking it was a visual thing she seen the trail vs smelling it. Could have been I suppose.

Probably some of both. The disturbance leaves scent that normally wouldn't be there. Broken up vegetation, dirt kicked up, etc. By disturbance, I meant the smell of the disturbance that was left by you. I would've had to see her reaction to know if she was alert or just curious. I take precaution to keep my clothes clean & I'm pretty religious about spraying the heck out of my boots and shins before I walk in. I smear my boots in every pile of deer dung I see. Like Bear said, you can take all the precautions in the world but if your scent stream is getting to a mature deer's nose, you'll be busted. Every time. Pay very close attention to the wind and hunt accordingly.

[matchset]

scent killer was proven 99% effective!

i use it; can't hurt right???

[mabr]

Pay very close attention to the wind and hunt accordingly.

Thats the whole point I was trying to make.

Like I said Ill continue doing what I know "CANT" hurt. But getting way up in a tree and hunting the wind are the most important regardless what anyone claims IMO. Ive got lots and lots of tree time in over many years and have seen many deer react to many different scents including attractants. And Im like your boar the years have taught me good old fashioned smart hunting is the only thing thats consistant.

Funny but true story. Back in my younger days I hunted with a group in East Georgia and there was one guy who was a banker. He was never a dedicated hunter. The guy would wake up while we were all getting ready to walk out the door. He would then take a shower as normal, put on his normal colgne and everything else he did on a daily basis. I mean he smelled like he was going to work to meet all his banker buddies. And it never failed in the 3 years I hunted with them. He always killed the biggest buck of the season. Im not talking little deer either, deer anyone up here would be happy shooting in the 140-150 range. But his stand was positioned where the prevailing winds made for you to be able to wear anything smelly as long as you were on stand plus it was in a good escape route.

[musky hunter]

Does scent killer really work? Hardest question for all us hunters to answer because we can't smell ourselves when we reak let alone after spraying up to cover our aroma up. I'm not a biologist or a researcher and nothing in my resume suggests I am an expert on this. But I do have an opinion. Odors are produced both by bacteria and by substances we secrete. Scent killer probably holds down on the bacteria produced odors chemically, those little silver ions are toxic to bacteria, as is hydrogen peroxide, if it hasn't evaporated away. So I spray up and slowly walk to my stand, I think I'm reasonably ok. Start wrestling with the self climber and I work up a sweat. Produce a lot more sweat than applied scent killer, well, there you go. Busted. And unless you use scent killer mouthwash, busted again. So it helps, until some certain point. Just my $0.02.

[Bear55]

I agree with the rest of you, it really can't hurt and it probably only helps to be as scent free as possible. For me I was tired of the whole routine so I am more focused on the wind this year. It also might depend on how and where you hunt. If I had a big chunk of private ground that I hunted many times throughout the year I would try and stay as scent free as possible. However when I am on public ground, which I often am, I usually go in and hunt a spot close to a bedding area and I am usually after a mature buck. In this case I feel no amount of scent control is going to help me and that buck is either going to smell me or smell that I have been in the area so I hunt it and then move on to another spot and hunt another buck to keep the pressure as low as possible. If I think I have a good buck patterned I might get after him a little harder but more than likely I am turning him nocturnal.

I also think about where I am hunting, suburban deer or even some farm deer might smell humans more often than a remote bigwoods buck so then maybe a some serious scent control will help. A remote bigwoods deer might react 100% different to any kind of human scent an move out of the area or become nocturnal after one encounter.

I have had some mixed results with scent control during the rut and rifle season but I will probably go as scent free as possible this year. The mature bucks have always busted me but being scent free has fooled the does and that can often be enough to get a shot off. I did get a nice 10 pointer one year after fooling some does I was able to get a shot off just before or as he was winding me. However there has been many more times that I do fool the does but the buck ends up busting me and gets away. The one time the big guy stood just out of view and blew at me about 15-20 times, he basically made the does turn around and follow him away from me. I did get one quick look at him, very big body but I never saw the rack. I wonder what could have been but that is hunting. Shot or no shot its always a great experience and lots of fun.

mabr just to add to your banker story, my dad shot the biggest buck of his life with his 4 wheeler parked under his stand, he had the wind in his favor and the deer never knew he was there. Every year the smoking in the stand thing comes up, its like people just go out and hunt and don't even consider what way the wind is going when they shoot a deer, they don't understand why that deer didn't smell them this time but they do smell them other times. I do think that we never even see most of the deer that smell us, they just head the other way and we are non the wiser.

Good discussion guys lets keep it going.

[Gus]

I know that stuff really does kill scent. Now, if it actually kills enough to be effective on a human who is constantly making more odors for him/herself I do not know. I think it's probably best to practice a good scent control of your clothes, boots, self, and ALSO play the wind. I think your boots are the most important. I never let my hunting boots come inside the cabin, and I always drench the heck out of them with scent killer. I'm not a rubber boot guy because my feet sweat too much, but If I could wear them I would.

I know that stuff works and kills scent, because I use my leftover bottles of it to deodorize my garbage cans and diaper containers. Trust me, it works! Since I use my leftovers, I always buy a few new bottles every season. I have had some of it freeze before, and it still seems to kill the garbage can funk. But it's still usually not more than a year old.

[Meat-Run]

I don't know if its me or what but when I apply scent killer or any scent remover product right before (wet) I walk in the woods I get winded. Now i've been experimenting with spraying my clothes and boots right after I get out of the woods and before I box or bag up my clothes for the next days hunt. It seems that the product needs time to dry and kill or smoother the bacteria etc in order to work better.

Again this is just my observation.

mr

[Bear55]

One thing to remember about scent is it sticks better to moisture so by spraying right before you head out you could actually be hurting yourself unless your boots are stunk up anyway then I would probably spray down. When a deer has trouble smelling something they will always lick their nose to help collect more scent.

I know trigger has noticed that when the ground is wet his trail in always seems to get sniffed out by the deer in the field that evening. If the ground is dry they don't seem to smell him so moisture does play a big role.

[Musky Buck]

I believe very little in scent killer, your feet/boots are leaving scent, your breath, when you grab your tree etc. I walk through a 1/2 mile of water in chest waders and the deer still peg my tracks 9 times out of 10. But, if you trick a trophy bucks nose 1 time scent killer is worth every penny, I hunt farm country so I go into the barn for a 1/2 hour or so before hunting, best scent masker I've ever tried, but they still stop dead at my boot tracks. My theory was my trapping buddy wears chest waders to be scent free while setting fox traps so I assumed the same about deer but that hasn't been the case.

[eyeguy 54]

I bought the small bottles for years an finally bought a gallon bottle 4 or 5 years ago. probably 2/3's gone and still works dandy. allthough this year it will sit in the bottles. 2011 I'll be back in my tree Lord willing.

[96trigger]

Quote:

I know trigger has noticed that when the ground is wet his trail in always seems to get sniffed out by the deer in the field that evening. If the ground is dry they don't seem to smell him so moisture does play a big role.

Ha, funny you should mention that, I was just reading this post and getting ready to comment. I know when that smart doe crossed my path, she smelled ME, not just my trail, she blew the warning blow that we all know so well. I used to keep an earth scent wafer in the tote with my boots, after that day, I threw it away, took some wet leaves and threw them in the bottom of the tote (musky, I was extremely colse to throwing in a whole cowpie, but tried the leaves instead), I haven't had a problem since, however, it has been a lot drier also. I do all the scent free stuff, spray, shower, scentlok, rubber boots, get dressed in the field etc..., sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I have started doing something this year that I have never done before, and is a good tip for anybody that wants to try it. I went on google earth, or whatever progarm you want, and get aerial photos af all my hunting locations and put markers where all my stands are, I also put a compass rose on the sheet. During the day, I go to a weather HSOforum for the hourly forecast and see where the wind is going to be during the evening and if it is going to change at all. I then line it up the wind with my stands to see which ones will be best for that wind. It has worked pretty good so far, I have not been winded that I know of yet. Took me about 10 minutes to make that sheet with arial photos and I use it every time before I go out.

[mabr]

I wont leave the house without checking the W channels online detailed hourly forecast. Only thing I have to complain about it is it cant take into account thermals.

Sunday evening we had steady south east diminishing right near sundown. Held good until that last 1/2 hour and then the thermals carried everything right where they should have been traveling from.

Check out tomorrows!!! there going to be every direction on the compass depends on the hour. Until later in the day then its looking like a good NW wind

[Bear55]

mabr I really starting paying attention to thermals this year too, actually used them to take a doe about a week back. The wind was doing crazy stuff that day so I said I would give it a try. Well I sat at the bottom of a hill in the woods across the road from a feeding area. Sure enough the wind was doing all the wrong things early in the hunt but in the last hour the wind stopped and the thermal kicked in and I had a doe and another doe/fawn come right in on me with the thermal blowing my scent safely the other direction. I figure they were using the thermal to scent check the road/field before going up to feed for the night. Kind of opened my eyes a little.

[Bear55]

trigger I do the same thing, always hit the computer and check weather/wind direction and aerial photos of my spot before I go out, its a very effective tool.

I should also mention that using the wind or thermals (so far) seems to be more important than scent control. I still wear my rubber boots because I often hunt in wet or cross wet areas to get into my hunting spots but three times this year I have had deer cross my trail into the stand and none of them seem to spook too bad. They might get a little nervous but they put their nose up and check the wind, then go back to their business. I am not sprayed down with anything, haven't showered and my camo usually sits out in my garage or in truck when I'm not hunting. Now these aren't mature bucks or anything but a couple of them appeared to me older does and while they were a little concerned they didn't take off or even blow at me, I was actually amazed.

[Musky Buck]

I hear that trigger, lol. My scent killer theory, 1 place I rifle hunt, there are 4 guys that get to bow hunt it and have for 25 years. I don't know but I'd bet they are religious about scent killer, after a week or two of bow hunting the deer totally abandon there area. They then leave it for a few weeks and go in again, they tell me the deer have left the farm etc. I know better, there's about a 20 acre grassy,willow,cattail slough in the farmers field, that's where they go, it doesn't look like much until you walk up to it and realize it's way thicker than it looks from afar. There are some fawns that hang out where they bow hunt but most of the seasoned deer bail out. To test my slough theory a few years back I had to walk through it during rifle season, they bow hunted right up to the friday night before season, I drove 23 visible deer out of it, 3 bucks(nothing worth shooting, 1 was likely a 8pt) and the rest baldies, I don't think I got to see all the deer I kicked up and each year the same thing is happening. Hunting alone I hate to spook them out of there. But, is it a scent thing, a bumping them thing as they walk out, likely a combination of a lot of things, but the mature deer sure bail on them and I know where a lot of them go, but the big bucks don't like from my observations being caught up with the herd, they seem isolated off with a doe come rifle season and are likely in the night searching that herd for the next possibility. So a big scent question is do you hunt a place alone or with others etc. More bodies more scent.

[Bear55]

Musky on a lot of public land I bow hunt on there are many areas like that, the pressure gets turned up and these little thick areas get filled up with deer. I am really starting to believe the deer are becoming smarter or at least quickly adapting to the pressure that they are constantly under. All those hunting tactics you see on TV don't work to often for us commoners any more. I don't know how many times I have jumped 5-10 deer out of a tiny little island out in the marsh after a little bow pressure or especially after the rifle season.

[pulleye16]

I've switched from scent killer to EARTH SCENTS which actually have a "pine dirt" odor and it "seems" to work. I have used old bottles and you can still smell the earthy scents. Sticking your clothes in a container with pine branches does just as good!