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ScentLok

Creamer

Active Member
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81
Athens
I'm curious to hear what other folks' experiences have been with ScentLok. I had full ScentLok clothing for the last month of the season, my first experience with ScentLok. I approached it like this: I needed new camo anyway. My predator camo was over 10 years old and lived a good life. I got the ScentLok on sale at a pretty fair price, not much different than just buying decent camo gear. If it works, great. If it's not what it's cracked up to be, I still needed new camo. I'm using the Savannah head covering, a medium weight jacket (can't remember the model name), light weight base layer top, Savannah pants, and I even grabbed a pair of their medium weight wool socks.

I refresh the ScentLok in the dryer per their recommendations (time/hourly use intervals), and use an ozone unit to kill any odor on the outside of the clothing (which they also recommend). My underlayers get cleaned in Dead Down Wind detergent and also ozone'd. All of my layers get kept in tight totes. I also clean and ozone my towels that I use after scent-free showers, and periodically ozone my boots. On any hike in, if I anticipate sweating, I pack as many layers in on my back in my pack, and dress near the stand. I also spray down my pack after those long hikes with scent killer. My pack and saddle, also kept clean and ozone'd periodically. My routine does not change. I keep things clean, always shower, and use an ozone tote.

What has not been consistent has been my results with deer downwind. I have had sits where I undoubtedly think it works and works great. My first sit I had a pair of 1.5 year old bucks inside 20 with the thermals dropping right to them. No issues. My second sit I had a bunch of deer downwind within 70 yards, no issues. When I anticipated issues was on my long public hikes in. Going over a mile, I will sweat a lot no matter how much I strip down. One of those long hikes, I had three does downwind inside 30 yards. The first deer walks through calmly. The second got something and snorted, bounced 30 yards, and snorted some more. The 3rd walked through and never got alarmed. I swear the two that didn't bust were looking at the other deer like "WTF?" I had a big doe straight downwind inside 20 in the brush after a 1.6 mile hike, not alarmed. The big buck that I encountered the last weekend got nervous when the wind swirled to him at 40. He never blew, but he got something and walked away. The worst encounter I had with it was the last night of season. A doe fawn snorted and blew out after getting to 30 downwind.

I'm not sure what to think about it so far. I've felt like it has worked some, and not worked at other times. I'm also not sure why the results have been inconsistent when my prep has stayed the same. The biggest head-scratcher was that last doe because that was an easy walk in, short in distance, and I was clean. I didn't sweat getting in, but damn she had my ass. I'll continue to try to hunt the wind as best I can and hope for the best when deer end up downwind.

Curious to hear what others have to say, and what others have experienced.
 
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Sgt Fury

Sgt. Spellchecker
I use it under the premis that anything I can do to keep my scent down will help. When I was younger and would hike far in, I’d wear the minimal amount of clothing and would place the sweaty clothing in a trash bag, then bury it deep in the bottom of my backpack. Spray down with scent killer and put on fresh clothes. Sometimes no matter what you do, a deer will wind you, but it sure is nice when one moves directly downwind and never knows you are there. On the flip side, many deer have been killed by hunters wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. Playing the wind is the best insurance you can have.
 
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Spencie

Senior Member
5,051
145
Constitution Ohio
I have never used scentlok. Sorry I can't offer any help there. I don't use scent killer sprays either. Or smoke....I tried that and it was sketchy at best until the last day I tried it. 5 different bucks busted me that morning so I went home, washed everything and went back to my old ways.

I have my own system that works really well for me and Tyler. But it is a fulltime commitment during season. I am also fortunate that I don't sweat much so there is little odor emitted there. If you are interested in the way we do it shoot me a pm.
 

Creamer

Active Member
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I figure it can't hurt, but you're playing a losing game. They will either smell the gun oil on your rifle or your breath. Better off to just hunt the wind.

The head covering is for that purpose, supposedly. It covers up your head/nose/mouth.
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,691
177
Ohio
I do not believe scent proof clothing works any better than being as clean as possible and keeping your clothes as clean and free of human odors as possible. accept the reality that you are going to get smelled by deer sometimes even in the best of circumstances, even in the most clever ambushes you can muster. my hunting clothes stay outside all season. I only bring them in the house to wash them, then they go back outside. everything including socks, base layers, boots stays outside. only thing that doesn't is my boxer briefs, lol. I am pretty sure that I get smelled by deer every time I go into the woods. sometimes I know it, sometimes I don't. sometimes they don't smell me before it's too late.

I honestly do not understand why deer hunters always want to try to take the deer's nose out of the equation. since none of us are subsistence hunters, the essence of deer hunting is outwitting them on their terms, not ours, isn't it?
 
I bought a ScentLok head to toe outfit many many years ago and several years later a set of Scent Blocker. With the ScentLok I felt it worked very well the first couple years. There were times when a deer or two would get nervous but I can't recall a deer that tore out of there. Around the 3rd year is when I started noticing deer spook more often, that was when I picked up the Scent Blocker. That outfit was hit or miss from day one. I recall at one point (wearing one or the other) having a group of deer coming my way and the lead doe stopped and stuck her nose in the air. They were I'd say 50 yards out and I thought in a crosswind but she got my scent. What bothered me the most was that all those deer, thinking around 6, turned and went back into the corn without making a noise. Had I not seen them I would have never known they were there. As years went on I kept doing the dryer thing, spraying everything down and hoping they would still work but more and more I was busted, especially when I started hunting Ohio more and learned the hard way about thermals. No way could I afford a new set of any of those at that time in my life. Now I get ads from them with great sales prices and a lot of their clothing is really made for bowhunting so I would still consider getting it but couldn't guarantee I won't add a little smoke.

When I was getting frustrated in Ohio with getting busted it was about that time I learned about the Scent Smoker and had so many questions. That first year of smoking up my Scent Blocker outfit was eye opening. My first true test of it came when I went in to hunt a bedroom on the ground. I had smoked up heavy that morning and snuck in well before daylight. I sat at the end of a deadfall and right at daylight I had a doe and two fawns coming up the hill right where I had walked. Soon they were directly downwind of me, a mere 8-10 yards away. The doe did the head bob, she blew a few times but then slowly settled down and walked another 30 yards and bedded down right out in front of me. I've been sold ever since. Do I occasionally get busted using the smoker? Yes, most often a deer smells something and if they are curious they look to investigate. A couple times they have spotted me, blew and took off. But for the most part I am very confident when I use it, way more than I was with the carbon clothing. Everything has it's ups and downs and nothing is a guarantee I guess.
 
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Creamer

Active Member
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I do not believe scent proof clothing works any better than being as clean as possible and keeping your clothes as clean and free of human odors as possible. accept the reality that you are going to get smelled by deer sometimes even in the best of circumstances, even in the most clever ambushes you can muster. my hunting clothes stay outside all season. I only bring them in the house to wash them, then they go back outside. everything including socks, base layers, boots stays outside. only thing that doesn't is my boxer briefs, lol. I am pretty sure that I get smelled by deer every time I go into the woods. sometimes I know it, sometimes I don't. sometimes they don't smell me before it's too late.

I honestly do not understand why deer hunters always want to try to take the deer's nose out of the equation. since none of us are subsistence hunters, the essence of deer hunting is outwitting them on their terms, not ours, isn't it?

I can only answer for me. I consider it an insurance policy, if it works. If you knew and hunted with me, you'd know that I base where I am hunting by wind direction. Time of year obviously plays a role, too, but I won't hunt a public area on a bad wind forecast. The majority of the setups I hunt are pinches or funnels in one way or another. Knowing where deer "should" be, I do what I can to make sure deer don't get downwind of me. But, shit happens. Deer end up where they aren't supposed to be. The wind swirls in these hills like a SOB, too. One setup in Nov, hunting within 50' of the ridge top where wind is usually more consistent, I was expecting a South wind. Deer should be on the South side of my tree, so upwind. The thermals, early in the morning, were rising up the hill because the South wind hadn't really started yet. That acted like a North wind. Once the wind did start blowing, it swirled from true South all the way to true West. At various points in the morning, deer could be anywhere except from the West could be downwind of me. Couple that with the mile and a half hike in, and how do you expect that downwind deer to react? Ain't good.

Like I said, I didn't expect the ScentLok to be a miracle cure. I was just curious if others had a similar experience to what I have had so far with it.
 
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Jamie

Senior Member
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Ohio
lol, I'm surely the most unsophisticated deer hunter on this forum, so take my experience with scent control/elimination in that context.
 
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Fletch

Senior Member
Supporting Member
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I'm not a fan of any of the scent gimmicks out there today... IMO such items as Ozonics, Ozonics storage containers, Scent Lok clothing are just that..gimmicks... Someone is making big money off these items.... How did are Grandfather's kill deer wearing jeans and a flannel shirt??? I can see smoking up like some of you guys do as there's plenty of woodburners working in Ohio during deer season... Would it work up in the mountains of Maine??? Don't know... Myself I try to stay as clean as can be and store my clothes in a plastic container.. Playing the wind is never much of a concern for me as I hunt mainly big woods where deer come from all directions... To answer your question: If mentally, wearing Scent Lok helps you... Then go for it...
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
I will be in the market for new gear this off season. I am going to spend my money on comfort and quality. I feel the money will be better spent towards something that will last. I know I can do all I can to try and fool the nose and some deer will still get me. So I will be putting my money towards quality and comfort.

#sitkafanboy
 

Bigcountry40

Member
4,555
127
I bought all my stuff on sale like 70% off, I activate it keep it garbage bag with leaves and pine needles then put it in a plastic tote that stays outside. I spray my face and hands with scent removal spray then put on my clothes right before I hunt. I wear a scent lok mask and don’t dress until right before I hunt outside, Not wear it in the truck or house. I wear it 90percent of the time rarely get winded and feel like it makes a difference. I don’t wear it gun hunting or when hunting with my kids
 
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Creamer

Active Member
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If u buy it on sale on Black Friday or this time of year when stores are trying to get rid of it, its the same as regular camo
That exactly when I got mine. It wasn’t noticeably different from just buying new camo. I got the jacket 50% off, I think the base layer was also 50% off. The pants were on sale, also, but I don’t think they were quite 50%. Might have been like 30% off.
 

Creamer

Active Member
1,584
81
Athens
I'm not a fan of any of the scent gimmicks out there today... IMO such items as Ozonics, Ozonics storage containers, Scent Lok clothing are just that..gimmicks... Someone is making big money off these items.... How did are Grandfather's kill deer wearing jeans and a flannel shirt??? I can see smoking up like some of you guys do as there's plenty of woodburners working in Ohio during deer season... Would it work up in the mountains of Maine??? Don't know... Myself I try to stay as clean as can be and store my clothes in a plastic container.. Playing the wind is never much of a concern for me as I hunt mainly big woods where deer come from all directions... To answer your question: If mentally, wearing Scent Lok helps you... Then go for it...

Mental edge? That does nothing for you when a deer gets downwind of you. Confidence won’t save you. Clearly people have been killing deer a long time without it. They were killing deer a long time ago with no wheels on their bows or triggers to pull to make their arrows fly, too.

I will say this, for those who have listened to John Eberhart talk about this stuff. I never fully believed his testimonials on ScentLok. Now I’m as convinced as possible he’s completely full of shit. Like I said above, I’ve seen the stuff work some. No way it’s 100% effective like he claims.
 

Tipmoose

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
2,678
85
Grove City
Just a quick note...you can't reactivate "activated charcoal" by putting it in the dryer unless your dryer gets up to 1700 degrees F. I know ScentLoc is tight lipped on their Carbon Alloy/Fusix stuff. But if there is activated carbon involved, it will eventually saturate.

 

Tipmoose

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
2,678
85
Grove City
I own several Scent Loc suits...coveralls, and face mask. I hunt with them because I like how they are made and they keep me warm in the early season when its too warm for the heavy stuff. Does it help? I don't know. I wear it because its comfortable. After 10 years of wear, Im pretty sure the carbon is all saturated.
 
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An impervious suit, like the ones the astronauts wear would be scent proof...other than the scent of the actual suit itself. :unsure:

I do absolutely nothing for scent control, other than standing by my fire ring, while I'm burning some wood. I play the wind as much as possible. I wear camo patterns that are "mix & match" to break up my outline and blend in as much as possible.
A deer's nose can be fooled on a fairly regular basis.
If you want a real scent test, try fooling a coyote's nose. :rolleyes: It ain't gonna happen. I've called and killed my share of coyotes and they are ALWAYS trying to get downwind of the call/decoy, as they're coming in to the set up. As soon as they're downwind, they're GONE!

Do what the critters do, play the wind. :cool:
Bowhunter57