Bought any high-quality arrows lately? Need to stock up on broadheads before the season opener?
If the answer is yes, then there’s probably not much left in the wallet for that set of fancy scent-control camo clothing you’ve had your eyes on all summer.
Get More Serious about Your Total Scent Control
Well, you’re in good company, since the same bug has bitten us more years than not. But that’s okay. There is a solution that will let you save money (a LOT of money) and still get the job done. In short, you can transform your existing hunting clothes into a scent management tool. Some may call it the “poor man’s scent suit.” We just call it a practical strategy for fooling whitetails while saving money for essential hunting hardware. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1
Whether your camo clothing is fresh off the rack or is a multi-season veteran, it all begins with a thorough washing. We like to start by adding a half-measure of Scent Killer Gold Laundry Detergent (also available in Autumn Formula) to the washing machine and running it without clothes for a short cycle. This is to remove any residual scents, bleaches and UV brighteners that may be in the washer from normal use, leaving the washer ready for the next step.
Step 2
With the washing machine thoroughly clean and scent-free, it’s now safe to wash your hunting clothes. This includes not only your outerwear, but also any mid- or base-layers that you plan to wear while hunting. For this, we like to use Scent Killer Gold detergent for several reasons. First, it comes in a concentrated formula, so one bottle goes a long way. Second, this detergent eliminates odors in clothing during the wash cycle and contains no UV brighteners. The UV brighteners found in most laundry detergents can cause camo dyes to fade, and it is well established that deer see clothing that has been treated with UV brightening detergent as practically glowing. Obviously, that’s something every hunter wants to avoid.
Best Tactics for Deer Hunting Scent Control
Follow the garment manufacturer’s instructions for washing as far as time, temperature and duty settings are concerned, and use the recommended detergent quantity for your load. While your clothes are washing, you should prepare for the drying process.
Step 3
Write a “DO NOT USE” note and stick it on the clothes dryer. Why? A dryer will reintroduce odors into your freshly washed and scent-free clothes. Standard detergent odors, scented dryer sheet odors, and who knows what else abound in a dryer. Some of those odors will inevitably transfer to your hunting clothes, if you use it to dry them.
Instead, you’ll want to hang your clothes outside to air-dry. Assuming you don’t live beside a fried chicken joint or a pig farm, letting your clothes dry outside will ensure that no obscene odors attach to them. Set up your clothes hangers, clothesline or whatever means you intend to hang them with. Wherever you put them, make sure the clothes can’t be grabbed by critters or sprayed on by stray cats.
Odor Control Tips for Better Deer Hunting
Step 4
Wear a pair of latex or nitrile gloves when you remove your hunting clothes from the washing machine and while you hang them outside to dry. No need to reintroduce human scent to your clothes when it’s not necessary.
Step 5
Keep your freshly washed and dried clothes in a scent-free bag or container until it is time to wear them. An old-school method is to put them in a plastic bag stuffed full of dead leaves and grasses common to your hunting area.
Step 6
It’s pre-game day. Time to armor-up your hunting clothes before hitting the woods the next morning. Think of this as the “sealing coat.” While wearing protective gloves, re-hang your clothes and apply a liberal dose of Scent Killer Gold odor neutralizing spray. This spray contains Wildlife Research Center’s proprietary HUNT DRY® Technology Plus +™, which is an advanced formula that works both wet and dry—and continues to work for more than two weeks with a single application. A Rutgers University test, in fact, showed that the Scent Killer Gold formulation was 99 percent effective at stopping replicated human odor for up to 20 days after drying.
Wildlife Research Center also makes its standard Scent Killer spray (lasts up to 10 days) in an Autumn Formula that adds an “earthy” scent to your clothes. This is ideal for a little added cover scent on those warm, early season hunts.
By following these steps, you can effectively make your own scent suit that will last for several days to a couple of weeks, depending on the hunting conditions. If you find yourself sweating a lot, touch up your clothes inside and out (especially around the sweaty areas) with Scent Killer Gold or the lower cost Scent Killer for maintenance purposes. Also, a little pre-hunt misting of your clothes, boots and pack is good insurance. Of course, showering with Scent Killer Gold body wash and shampoo will further reduce your scent footprint and allow your treated clothes to perform better for longer.
Now that you’ve saved hundreds of dollars by making your own scent suit, those new arrows and broadheads are calling…
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