Outdoor Logic with BioLogic

CAN YOU BE SCENT-FREE TO A DEER?

A WHITETAIL "NOSE"

BY TODD AMENRUD

Their sense of smell plays a role in all aspects of a whitetail’s life. It is so strong and sensitive that is difficult for most of us to understand. Most hunters don’t go far enough to battle this “olfactory offense.” (Photo Credit: Paul Tessier)

We all know a whitetail’s sense of smell is a force to be reckoned with. To an “olfactory offense” so strong, it’s probably impossible to be “totally” scentfree. However, it’s a proven fact that it is possible to reduce odors to minuscule, trace levels that even mature bucks will tolerate in close quarters. Are you doing enough to reduce these alien aromas so you can get closer to whitetails? Do whitetails think you stink? Follow these steps to have more close encounters with deer. 1) It all starts with washing your clothes in a quality hunter’s detergent. Besides our body, we need to be concerned with everything else we’re bringing into the woods, our clothes being one of the most important.

Some feel they must also treat their clothes with a product to remove the UV from the garment. There is no need if you use a “hunter’s clothing wash” like Scent Killer Gold Laundry Detergent because it doesn’t contain optical brightening agents (OBAs), or fluorescent brightening agents (FBAs). So besides removing all UV from the garment, it doesn’t add any back. If you are a numbskull and wash your deer hunting clothes in Tide or Gain, you will add back the brighteners just like most commercial detergents do. 2) Dry your clothes outside if possible. If you live next to a gas station or greasy restaurant you’re defeating the purpose, or if it’s late season and cold temperatures would freeze them solid, it’s OK to use your dryer. If you do, remove all fabric softener bars prior to drying. Before storing them, it may be a good idea to let them “air-out” outside, too, if possible. 3) Once your clothes are dry, store them in a container so no odors have the possibility of contacting them. Make sure the clothes are totally dry! If there is any moisture in them once they’re sealed in the container, you will begin a chemical reaction and odors will start to develop. This is the same reason it is best NOT to include leaves, dirt, pine boughs, or other natural items in the container with your clothes. Even with our “limited human sense of smell,” after one week in the container the difference in the smell of fresh pine boughs compared to the ones you had sealed in your container will be obvious. Instead, insert a Scent Killer No-Zone Tote Tamer in with your clothes. It will fight and absorb odor and moisture in the container. 4) Shower in Scent Killer Body Wash & Shampoo and don’t forget unscented deodorant. In nearly all regions of the whitetails’ territory we (humans) are their major predator, so “human scent” is the most feared odor they can experience. Reducing these odors by showering is extremely important.

Brush your teeth! Yes, most toothpaste has a minty odor, but it’s better than the bad breath of a human carnivore.

Do not pass through where any odors may cling to you or your clothing. If you’re going out for a morning hunt, shower directly before. If I come in to eat lunch, I will remove all hunting clothing before I enter any building and shower again before heading back afield. Try to plan ahead – make sure you have your vehicle filled with gas and eat any meals prior to showering and brushing your teeth. In addition, be picky about what you eat directly before you head out. Onions, peanut butter, garlic … if you can smell it, guess who smells it 1,000 times better than you? 5) Don’t put your hunting clothes on until you get to your hunting area. In fact, don’t even remove them from their protective container until then. It’s amazing how many hunters put on their hunting boots at home and then stop to fill up with gas, or they put on their hunting clothes and stop at a café for breakfast … then they proceed to try and fool a nose as sophisticated as a bloodhound. These hunters usually have a vacant trophy wall and an empty freezer.

If you have a long walk to your ambush site, carry your clothes until you get close to the location to

Do not put your boots or clothing on until you get to your hunting location. In fact, if you have a long walk to your ambush site you may want to carry your clothes until you get close to avoid sweating. Rubber-bottomed boots will help to reduce scent transfer on the trail. (Photo Credit: Todd Amenrud)

avoid sweating in them. Sweating not only causes more odors, but it’s a sure way to become cold. 6) Treat your boots and clothing with a quality scent elimination spray like Scent Killer Gold. Spray your clothing the day before and allow the spray to dry into your clothing and then return your clothes to their container. Scent Killer Spray molecules adhere to odor molecules making them too heavy to form a gas. Spray down each layer of your clothing, concentrating on your high sweat areas. With the spray dried into your clothing, it seems to me like I’m wearing a “scent elimination suit.”

I believe in this product so strongly that I would list it in my top two most important hunting tools. I must have my bow, and I must have my Scent Killer Gold. I make mistakes just as often as everyone else and I’ve seen this product protect me countless times. 7) Pay close attention to “scent-transfer.” We have taken care of the greater share of smells we may carry into the woods on us, but what about the smells we may be leaving behind? It’s difficult for us to understand much of this because of our limited olfactory sense (when compared to most big game animals), but

this is important. Every time you touch an object it’s like you’re pushing your smell into it. So even small things like leaning against a tree, or your pants leg brushing against a piece of brush can be all it takes. How strong the smell will be and how long it will linger will depend on temperature, humidity and numerous other factors, but why telegraph your presence to the herd? Wear rubber-bottomed boots and don’t touch anything with your bare hands. Pay attention and be sneaky. 8) When the hunting season is over for the year, where do you store your tree stands and other gear? Hopefully you don’t amass them in your garage or other area where foreign odors will perforate and cling to the objects. Just think; during the winter when you start your car to warm it up before you take it somewhere, where do you imagine the exhaust fumes are collecting? I promise you a whitetail will smell that! Pay attention to this detail and store your equipment in a spot where minimal odors will be able to contact them. An outdoor shed or even covered by a tarp under an awning is a good place to store tree stands. The above tasks are ways we can prevent odors from entering the whitetail woods. We still must learn Scent elimination sprays like Scent Killer Gold work when applied like you see here, but actually work best when you treat your clothing and then let it dry-in all that we can about playing the wind and thermal current. But when you combine playing the air curahead of the hunt. It can last for days dried into your clothing. rents and the plan above, I promise you will improve (Photo Credit: Todd Amenrud) at closing the distance on deer.

Playing the air currents is important, but everyone makes mistakes and whitetails do things you don’t expect. The steps outlined in this article will help protect you if either happens. Here’s the author with a buck that was directly downwind of him for several minutes before he was able to take the shot. (Photo Credit: Todd Amenrud)