As October winds down, archery hunters are gearing up for one of the prime times to pursue white-tailed deer — the rut. It’s a time when bucks become more visible during daylight and often throw caution to the wind as they go on the hunt in search of receptive mates.
Speaking of the wind, when it comes to deer hunting — especially with stick and string — there are few things as important as scent control. While the vast majority of hunters know to set up their stands downwind of trails and areas of prime deer activity, many archers are also avid practitioners of scent control, taking additional steps to prevent wary does and bucks from detecting their odor.
“You want make sure that you are keeping yourself as scent free as possible, both in terms of how you prepare to head out to the field and what you do in the field — just practice comprehensive scent control measures,” said Christian Berg, former Hellertown resident and Morning Call outdoors writer who’s now editor of Petersen’s Bowhunting magazine. “The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.”
Pennsylvania Game Commission Marketing Division Chief Matt Morrett, who spent 25 years working for a company that was a leader in the early years of developing scent control technologies, agreed that scent elimination should be one of the main considerations when pursuing whitetails.
“I do believe that it can be a game-changer, especially when preparation — keeping everything as scent-free as possible — meets opportunity and things aren’t perfect,” Morrett said, “when you are in a deer’s bubble at the moment of truth and he or she knows something is wrong, but through your regiment they do not quite pick up on the human odor and give you maybe an extra few seconds for an opportunity.”
Today, the hunting industry offers numerous scent control products, sprays and clothing lines designed to help hunters better conceal human and household odors. Preparing for the hunt starts long before you ever enter the woods, with the steps you take to wash and store your clothes and gear, as well as the products you use when showering or bathing.
Placing your clothing and gear in an ozone generator bag or bin like the SCENT CRUSHER Ozone Tote helps eliminate the impact of human and household odors while in the woods. (Allison Mackenzie) (Allison Mackenzie)
“I know that sometimes guys will feel like they are being very extreme in terms of their scent control, but I don’t think you can really put too much effort into it because that can really be the difference between getting an opportunity or not getting one,” Berg said. “I wash all my clothes in the scent-free detergent and use a lot of products from Wildlife Research Center like Scent Killer products. I [also] like to take showers on days that I am going to hunt with scent-free shampoos and soaps.”
A strong believer in the properties of ozone, Berg regularly utilizes totes and gear bags, such as the SCENT CRUSHER line, that come with ozone generators. He said ozone, which is used regularly in the remediation of buildings that have smoke damage or mold contamination, is a powerful oxidizer for neutralizing odors. The SCENT CRUSHER Ozone Tote is especially noteworthy, as it’s a large 40-gallon, heavy-duty container that offers plenty of room for both clothing and gear like backpacks and boots.
“Every time that I am done hunting for the day or for the morning, I’ll put my clothes into that [gear] bag and run that ozone generator for 10 or 15 minutes and those clothes are completely neutralized,” he said.
The Tamaqua-area resident also runs an ozone unit while on the stand.
“I can’t tell you that it’s a silver bullet, that it will always protect you from being detected by deer that get downwind, but what I can tell you is I think it really makes a demonstrable difference,” Berg said. “On a quite a number of occasions, when I have had deer directly downwind of me, when I’ve been using the Ozonics [device], they haven’t been alarmed.”
In addition to preparations for the hunt, another important aspect of scent control is paying attention to how you approach and leave your stand, trying to leave as little impact on the landscape as possible. This includes avoiding crossing over trails or areas that deer might use and touching as few branches and leaves as possible in the woods to minimize your scent in the immediate vicinity. Some hunters go so far as to wear rubber boots or spray scent control products on their boots to help mask their odor. Whenever possible, it’s a good idea to hunt different stands on different parcels since overhunting a stand can quickly alert deer to your presence as traces of your scent build up.
Another thing to consider when it comes to human odor and scent control is that wind direction is rarely consistent throughout the entire day. Morrett said it’s important to take into account how terrain affects the predominant winds in your hunting area.
“Here in Pennsylvania this is crucial, as the mountain nooks and crannies can change a predominant wind direction 180 degrees,” he said.
Thermals, rising currents of air caused by temperature differences on the landscape, can also have an impact on the winds in the immediate area. Berg noted, for example, that ponds, creeks and rivers that are colder or warmer than the air, will create thermals.
“In the fall, if you have a pond that’s warm relative to the air temperature, even in the morning when the air is cold — you’re going to have a rising thermal off that pond versus sinking thermals throughout the rest of the woods,” he said. “Scent control is a must. You have to do as much as you can.”
Mark Demko is a freelance writer for The Morning Call