Be Scent-Free Before the Season Starts - by Carl Drake

We talk a lot about scent elimination during the process of chasing big deer, elk or whatever the quarry be. We preach on the many ways to eliminate nasty odors and bacteria that cause those odors, from washing our cloths to our bodies and so on. But, what we’ve got to remember is those big deer’s noses don’t just work during deer season - scent elimination has to begin before the season even starts!

I know you think I am crazy, but let me explain. Say you are out there starting a mineral site (where legal) and just got off work from the gas station. You go out there with the smell of gas all over your boots.  Think about it – you’re leaving that odor at the mineral site.

Here is another example - you’re out setting trail cameras but you’ve got a date in an hour, so before you head to the woods you smack some of that Brute cologne on your face and forget to wash your hands. How much of that odor are you leaving at the camera sight?

Scent elimination begins way before you climb in the stand for the first hunt. Every time I go into the woods to do something where I know I may be hunting I take the steps to keep myself scent-free and make sure not to leave any odor that could tip off a big buck I am in the area. That is why I keep a hardy stock of Scent-A-Way spray with me at all times. Yes, I spray down filling feeders, freshening mineral sights and hanging/checking trail cameras. I don’t want to give that big buck any advantage of knowing I am there. An ounce of prevention is worth its weight in gold.