Hi I’m Adam Lewis and welcome to Deer IQ and our High IQ TOPICS series. This is different than our normal, curriculum podcast episodes, and are stand alone topics that go along with our High IQ videos on YouTube. They are shorter, and supplement our normal podcast in this way with direct tactics to help up your deer hunting game. In this episode we’re going to look at the question - can you be scent free? What does that even mean? Well, we are going to dig into that and I thin if you’re willing to listen to this highly debated topic ( I know soo controversial right), I think these tips in my scent-free regimen will really help you gain an edge on whitetail deer, so if you dare, listen on - I encourage you to do so because I believe it can be a major factor in future success for anyone. Before we get into that, a couple things real quick, especially if you’re new here.
And, stay to the end because I have a few takeaways and challenges for you that you’ll really benefit from - you won’t want to miss that.
Ok and now, to the scent-free regimen.
Success and failure in the world of whitetail hunting often comes down to ninja-like stealth. Those that are consistently successful on the most wary game animal have learned to pay attention to little details that make all the difference. In another article I talk about how being dead-silent is one of these big keys to success. You can read it HERE if you haven’t, as it is an extremely important aspect of stealth that cannot be overlooked. And,as most hunters know, so is being scent-free.
Tests show that whitetails can smell 1000 to 10,000 times better than humans, making any scent we leave a possible hunt-buster. A scentless hunter therefore, is indeed a deadly hunter, but being scent-free is not an easy task and some argue it’s impossible (and therefore pay no attention to it). In my opinion, and from 30+ years in the woods, this is denying science and literally shooting yourself in the foot before you walk to your stand. If you want to be a great hunter, and have greater success especially on mature deer, you simply must pay extreme attention to your scent and being as scent-free as possible. Just “playing the wind” doesn’t cut it and is probably why these hunters haven’t seen success (it’s much more complex than that and this saying has led many astray, as it allows for a huge component of scent, that which you leave by touching, or contact). From my experience you can effectively “beat” a deer’s nose, and with some methodical practices make huge gains that help notch more tags.
So why do so many hunters throw the pursuit of being scent-free out the window? First, I believe they mistakenly define “scent-free” as being able to completely eliminate all odors in the universe instead of defining it as the “ability to eliminate enough scent odors that deer won’t’ detect you, or adversely react.” This is indeed a difference, and an important one. I operate by the second one, which is all a hunter needs to do. I also think other factors are that being scent-free requires much effort, they’ve been led astray by others who don’t fully understand the idea, or sheerly due to the fact that as humans we are prone to being lazy. But if you can set these things aside and want to up your game and Deer IQ, you can beat a deer’s nose, and here’s how I’ve had success.
THE SCIENCE: It’s important to first understand the basic science of odors, how they work, and how deer smell if you are thinking about defeating this defense. I say defeat, because it is indeed an intense battle and good to think about it that way (you must continually fight to keep odors at bay when it comes to hunting). First, odor molecules are mostly organic molecules given off by most everything, that take to the air and then enter the nasal passages. They are also left or transferred by contact to garments, skin, and hair. I’ll emphasize this again – they can be airborne and/or left by contact, or touch (key to remember as we talk about how to keep them out of a deer’s nose).
Their chemical composition triggers a response from olfactory receptors in the nose which the brain interprets as scent and categorizes to differentiate odors. Scientists don’t really know how many olfactory receptors deer have, or how their brain exactly interprets different scents, but they do know it’s definitely at minimum thousands of times greater than ours and much more nuanced (If we smell soup, they may smell each ingredient and know how and what time each was added and by whom – you get the point). These molecules are everywhere, but the important thing to know is if we can minimize or eliminate them on or coming from us, then deer do not have the ability to smell us and know we are hunting them. This has huge implications, and should be our goal. I’ll state our goal as:
GOAL: eliminate odor molecules on or coming from us, or keep deer from detecting them.
There are several steps to do this:
PRE – HUNT PREP: When it comes to scent, I have a no tolerance attitude. You cannot allow outside scents to contaminate your hunting clothes, gear, hair, or skin. I wash clothes after every hunt in scent free detergent, and dry them in a room closed off to outside odors. This is important – DO NOT dry them outside or with other clothes in a dryer that uses scented dryer sheets for other loads of clothes (I only use a scentlock head covering for my breath odors. I’m not discounting the effects of a full activated carbon suit, but I just buy regular hunting clothes and with my regimen this works – more on activated carbon later). You can get scent-free and dye-free regular detergents for regular clothes or undergarments, and should wash all clothes, towels, and sheets in this. Think about it, if you wash regular clothes like towels and sheets in scented detergent, then take a shower and dry off, or get into bed in these sheets with odors, these odors are now transferred to your body. Even if your hunting clothes are scent-free, you aren’t. Everything in your house and vehicle must be scent free. Also included here should be washing of all gear with cloth on it – backpacks, hats, gloves, you name it.
Totes are a great way to seal clothes and gear and keep scents from contaminating them. Clothes should also be in bags (not shown here)
Both garbage bags and lid should be sealed immediately after use or wash.
Once your hunting clothes are washed and dried in a scent-free environment, I then put them directly into garbage bags and into a sealed tote. These are not put on until I get to my hunting location (I never wear my hunting clothes in my truck), and are always removed and returned to this storage system before I leave and get into my truck. Being OCD about this, as well as all aspects of scent are key. If you cut corners, the deer will let you know.
When I can’t wash in between each hunt or if the clothes include coats I don’t want to wash every time I use them out of practicality, I douse everything with ozone from an industrial strength ozone generator (this includes all clothes, gear, and backpacks, just nothing rubber or with elastic as it will destroy these). There are a couple reasons for this. First, I’ve found some of the deer hunting specific ozone generators to be weak and not emit enough ozone to destroy all odor molecules. The ozone needs to penetrate into the cloth fibers, and a high pressure/output unit is needed for this. Second, a large unit is much cheaper if found elsewhere online. I’ve found having scent free clothes, or clothes completely doused with ozone, negate the need for an ozone unit on stand.
Deer regularly get downwind of me with little to no reaction when I do this. Also, I’ve found the ozone units used on stand are clunky and potentially noisy, making the risk bigger than the reward for me. One has to be very careful and ozone their clothes/gear in a ventilated space because it can damage the lungs. I simply throw the clothes/gear in a tote or big industrial garbage bag (usually in the garage) and let it soak for 5-10 minutes. Thats it. I then put this immediately back into their respective garbage bag and tote and am fresh and ready to go scent-free for the next hunt. Any gear I don’t or cannot ozone like rubber boots or elastic bands should get wiped down with scent-free wipes or dusted with activated carbon.
BREAK: Like this podcast so far? If you do I invite you to subscribe and leave a review, and maybe share this with a buddy who may benefit - that really helps our podcast grow and its greatly appreciated. Also, do you know your Deer IQ? do you think you’re “deer smart?”.. Why don’t you take our Deer IQ test and find out. It’s fun and easy, and is linked below - check it out. And are you a public land hunter? We have a Free, Pressured Public Lands hunting guide with 8 new approaches to beat the crowds and find success - from experts I interviewed recently. Check it out also linked below. Ok and now back to the no scent regimen.
Vehicles should also be treated. Ozone the vehicle to remove odors, and if needed several times throughout the season. Never eat any odorous or greasy foods in the vehicle (like hamburgers, pizza, or fries) as these tend to leave strong fatty scent molecules. Also consider not drinking smelly drinks inside, like coffee, tea, etc. If I have to stop for gas, I will wear disposable latex gloves when handling the fuel nozzle and gas cap, then throw them away when done. Again, being meticulous and not allowing any contact with odors molecules is important.I keep these gloves in the truck, along with scent free wipes for if I need to wash my hands. This is a bit extreme but worthwhile – if traveling, take a small pocket-sized bottle of unscented soap for washing your hands in a gas station or restaurant, as their soaps usually reek like ocean breezes or lavender meadows.
Gear such as weapons, stands, climbing sticks, rattling antlers, hooks, and anything else should be washed to remove scents or wiped down with scent-free wet wipes. Surfaces like metal or plastic don’t hold odors as well as fabric does, but they still can, so be sure not to overlook this equipment, especially those that may be ground level with the deer (like a bottom climbing stick a deer could smell).
Your diet needs to be analyzed as well. Since your body creates organic odor molecules, what you eat literally becomes what you emit, or smell like. This should really make us think about what we are eating, and make a fairly strict diet that we can keep to at least two weeks before season and will adhere to throughout the entire season. This is where you need to know your own body and what can affect you – AKA give you gas, a nasty organic odor molecule that will not only scare deer, but clear out deer camp pretty quickly too. I’m lactose intolerant, so I am very strict on staying away from any chocolate or dairy. Raw veggies can also be a problem. Also consider what your body exudes out through your pores. Foods like onions, garlic, and curry based dishes need to be eliminated at all costs, as this scent literally pours from your pores.
DURING THE HUNT: Those scent-free baby wipes I mentioned earlier are cheap and can be found at stores like Walmart – no need to buy name brand ones in the hunting aisle. Before hitting the woods I wipe down hair and exposed skin with these no scent wet wipes. This is especially helpful if you cannot take a shower beforehand, which I suggest, and of course always with scent-free soap. I will also use the wipes once I get to my stand, when I’ve walked in if I feel I have sweat or as an extra precaution. The face, neck, hair, hands, and armpits are key areas to hit. Take them in your backpack in a ziplock, and put them back into it when done.
Something to remember is that deer can smell both airborne odors and those left by contact. Our bodies are also generating odors continuously, which is another problem to solve. By doing the above you’re helping in a big way – as the clothing now infused with ozone tends to retain this and continues to destroy new scent molecules your body makes (for a time). To eliminate odors left by contact, carefully prune your approach and exits so only your feet touch anything as you walk. Wear rubber boots, not leather or other fabric based boots which can absorb and remit scents – causing you to leave a literal trail of stench. If you cannot prune a clean path, avoid touching trees, branches, anything as much as possible with your hands or even brushing on it with your clothes. Every chance I can (when its above 40 degrees or so) I will wear rubber hip boots. These keep any scent I may have on my clothes or that my body is generating off grasses and brush that a deer could smell. This practice contains scent my body makes or emits from my skin within the boots, and keeps much of my clothing from touching anything, both going in and coming out of my hunting location. I’ve had many instances where deer travel an exact path I took through waist-high grasses, and have no idea I traveled it.
Now about activated carbon. Carbon is an interesting element since it easily bonds to itself and other elements and makes up all living things (Organic Chemistry). When living things are reduced, what is left is carbon – its raw form which is charcoal. It naturally attracts other organic molecules to its slightly polar surface which is called adsorption (not absorption), and is basically a weak bond also known as Van der Waals or London Dispersion Forces. Carbon has long been used as a filtering agent for water and air. Charcoal is used along with activated carbon in bio spills and environmental hazard sites to remove dangerous organic chemicals. Activated carbon is just regular charcoal or organic material that has been heat-treated to gain extra pore and adsorption space for grabbing organic molecules – like scent molecules ( 8 grams of this has enough pore space to cover 1 square acre). These tend to attract odor molecules which adhere to its surface – the basis for scentlok and similar garments. I do use a Scentlok mask to eliminate where most human odors occur – your head, but not other garments, though science would support using them. I also use activated carbon in a different way.
Granular AC can be bought online and in pet stores as it is used in fish tank filters. I take this and put it in pantyhose bought at a department store for mere pennies. These scent ‘vacuums’ can then be put in storage totes to suck up any extra odors, or my favorite – boots. When boots start getting stinky, putting one of these inside and giving it a shake immediately removes all odors. Also, you can spot “dust” clothes like the brim of your hat or armpits of clothes you suspect have accumulated some odors during a hunt. Just be careful of the dust, which is the same dust that causes black lung in coal miners.
With this regimen I regularly get deer downwind, or crossing my backtrail, that do not scent me. When I make a mistake, however, they let me know. I’m convinced through years of data and observations that paying strict attention to these details gives an added advantage that leads to shots instead of busted hunts. I’m sure I’ll continue to make progress on my system, but the basic idea is being meticulous about any scent that could accumulate on your body or gear, having a system to eliminate it, and keeping contact scents off anything a deer could smell at ground level.
Example: This year I shot my biggest Michigan buck to date on pressured public land. In a high deer density and hunter density area, one has to be very careful of scent. Deer are on extra high alert, and with many of them typically around, you have to remain undetected by ALL their noses, which is not easy. I’ll tell the full version in a later episode and break down the hunt, but a key component was my strict scent control regimen. At one point about 4 deer got directly downwind of me and were nosing the air for several minutes. About a dozen other deer were in a field at this point, and if these deer would have blown it would have signalled for the others to exit the field. They did not and regurned to their feeding, which gave the other deer the all clear and it was safe, and all in total 35 plus deer and 12 plus bucks entered the field. In addition, the buck I shot, estimated at 4 years, was with a subordinate buck. He allowed this buck to come downwind of my tree to check a scrape, and when that buck did not wind me, he then thought it was safe to approach. My 25 yard perfect double lung hit sent him to the ground about 30 yards later. Without strict scent control, this wouldn’t have happened I’m fairly sure. It truly can be a game-changer.
And now, your HIGH IQ Takeaways and Challenges: