I've heard of washing your gear with an odorless soap and air drying it for a day or so. I've also heard of placing it in a burlap sack with some sage. What else should I use other than sage for my area, South Carolina.
Any other tips would be appreciated. Tips for general game but specifics would be noted as well.
Thanks.

Nope, don't believe in that stuff, ask the hunters from 500 years ago, did they have that stuff??.......Nope, A recent hunter mag debunked the theory of using chemicals.

Here is a brief note from Field & Stream:

One of the hunting industry’s most successful marketing strategies in the past decade has never passed my sniff test.

But sportsmen have spent millions of dollars buying manufacturer claims that deodorizing soaps and clothing fibers impregnated with carbon can mask a human’s scent from the discriminating noses of deer and elk.

Sure.

The worst part of this madness isn’t that hunters’ money would have had higher odds for success buying mega-millions lottery tickets.

The worst part is that hunters fell for it.

Short of locking yourself, weapon and gear into an air-tight capsule, how do you think it’s possible to sequester the odors from your unclothed face, not to mention your breath, sweat and farts?

I’ve watched my English setter track quail over scabrock where nothing but little, leathery feet met the basalt.

Bloodhounds can follow the route of a fleeing prisoner hours later from the residual scent left from hard-rubber boot souls and the brushing of pants in the grass.

A ton of science is cited to document the odor-eliminating properties of Scent Blocker, Scent-Lok, No Trace and other clothing product brands.

But all the hype never really addresses the bottom line: Wild animals have evolved to have olfactory sensors effective beyond our comprehension. Their lives depend on it.

Serious doubt about the value of scent-inhibiting clothing and other products for hunters has been documented by writers and scientists, albeit those whose publications or income isn’t tied to advertising by major hunter product companies.

Perhaps that’s why I’ve smelled some meat in the several hard looks at the issue by Field & Stream magazine. Even though it’s a publication that could not survive without hunting advertisers, one of the nation’s top sportsmen’s mags took the bold step of publishing another revealing product test in the August issue.

Of course, few people who’ve worked with bird dogs or hounds would waste their money on clothing touted to block human odors from reaching the highly sophisticated noses of elk or deer or other big game and predators.

But writer Scott Bestul put his misgivings to a test. To help out, he recruited a sheriff’s K-9 deputy and a seasoned German shepherd trained to find contraband drugs as well as missing persons.

The study involved three experiments:

1. Full-blown B.O. – An unbathed hunter wearing street clothes is hidden in one of six wooden boxes in a field. All of the boxes have residual human odor.

Result: The dog was brought out. As soon as he was released, it ran downwind of the boxes and needed 20 seconds before he zeroed in on the box with the hunter and barked.

2. Showered and sprayed – For the second test, a hunter showed up showered with no-scent soap and dressed in camo clothes washed in a no-scent detergent and stored in a plastic tub. He also wore high rubber boots to keep his walking trail clean of foot odor.

Result: The dog found his hiding box in 18 seconds, with no hesitation.

3. Compulsively clean – In the third test, a hunter used every scent-control measure the Field & Stream editors could think of, including two layers of activated carbon clothing, scent killing spray and chewing a wad of gum designed to eliminate breath odor.

Result: The dog found his hiding spot in 13 seconds with zero hesitation.

Field & Stream concluded that a hunter is barking up the wrong tree if he thinks deodorizing products allow him to ignore the wind.

They even nosed around for these enlightening details to help sportsmen understand:

• The German shepherd’s sniffer contains about 220 million olfactory receptor sites.

• A deer’s nose has several hundred million receptor sites.

• Yours? A paltry 5 million.

yes well lets just hunt into the wind.... oh hang on a minute ....we already do!!!!
the soap powder for your hunting cloths should not contian fabric brighteners is another theory. I reakon if you are worried give it another rinse or two before hanging it out to dry.
I have been known to throw my hunting coat in the bottom of a deer pen before going hunting. yes I shot my best stag that day but he got down wind of me about 75yrds away and the game was up he way running away when I plastered him.

Elvis wrote:

I have been known to throw my hunting coat in the bottom of a deer pen before going hunting.

Elvis, you have a deer pen? why do you need to go hunting to get venison? (Aloys, chime in here)

Don't believe in camo or sent proofing !!!

What camo I do have was bought cheap ...... I do use a hunters laundry soap only for the UV killers !!!

Bolderdash!!! Put some clothes on, a coat, hat and grab your rifle and go hunting. AND... Hunt into (facing) the wind (breeze)...

I always believed gillihsuits were for the army... I still believe the dark green is hunter's colour. Sometimes you see these camogear and then some orange added for safety... or is this camo just to show the money?

I think our way to hunt roedeer is very close to farming, only we have much more unforseen things. And for our roedeer one doesn't need camogear, but when you feel comfortable in it: go ahead. For me facing the wind and only moving when they don't look, brings enough fun. The closest a deer passed me was about 1 m. Me standing still on the side of a 3 m wide sandroad and a young female deer passing in the middle of this road. She didn't notice me, but her brother following 5 m behind did see me and was doing all kind of funny things to draw her attention. That's also hunting and a hunting-memory to keep.

And if I should use something of these modern stuff, it might be that thing to keep away these little thing like thicks and so.

And no SJ, I don't go hunting in the chickenhouse, I still prefer them wild and moving a little faster rather have (or even miss!) 1 turbo-pheasant than 100 coloured chickens...

EDIT: SJ, when you were refering to the fallowdeer I shoot with the .22 Hornet every year, that's no hunting, that's just shooting and helping collect them. I's like a soccergame where someone has to kick a penalty, there's no honour in it, just dishonour when you miss...

I do not think that eliminating all scent is as important as not bringng in foreign odors. the gresy cheesburger wrapper or you girlfriends sweet perfume that is still on the seat the truck can get transferred to your clothes too.

That said - plenty of deer have been killed by old guys in jean jackets with a cigaratte and a cup of coffee in the tree stand with them. (why do I picture Bushy with his jackhandle 30-30?)

Aloysius hit the nail on the head though, can you sit still in a good vantage point that keeps the wind from blowing any scent to them you will be successful. Motion will bust you faster than scent if you play the wind right.

want to mask your scent?
your best bet are
1. Rub the dung of the animal on you or your clothing.
2. Splash their urine on you.

either are disgusting...

unless you are planning to use your kitchen knife to kill em, neither are necessary.

I've never tried any of the anti scent washes or sprays, I do however use cams.
Hunting into the breeze, not standing out like dogs balls and moving slowly usually works for me.
Deer apparently see in the blue/ultra violet end of the spectrum so avoid wearing blue clothing, and dont wash with the "brightening" type of washing powder.
I wear cams because the govt gave them to me, they are comfortable, they blend in well with the aussie bush and as I'm from northern european stock allows me to cover the glaringly white skin I'm blessed/cursed with.
Nothing stands out in the aussie bush like a white face and hands when everything else blends in.
I also dont worry about getting dirt, mud, blood on them and the way they blouse around your boots keep the ants ,leaches and ticks out. The best way of keeping these off you is hunt with a kiwi, ticks and leaches just love them

I read somewhere that a dog can differentiate smells in concentrations of as low as 1 part per million. A pig is even keener and they say bears are the best. I think marketing execs must be laughing all the way to the bank. Only time I scented anything up was bear bait and then it was with Aunt Jemima table syrup. The wasps loved it but the only bear we saw was guided missile distance away across a lake.

I should also mention that when you finish your hunt, change your hunting clothes to whatever you wear around your camp.
This will leave your hunting stuff smelling of you, but not the woodsmoke, cigarette smoke, beer, garlic waft, cooking smells that occur around normal domestic human activity.
And as everything we hunt is much better equiped in the nose, ear and eye department than us, we need to use the few superior abilities we do have to the best advantage, even though these days we mainly just do it for fun.

Marketing is a wonderful thing, ever wonder how people achieved anything without 2 to 3 tons of expensive stuff we need these days to do the same things our ancestors managed with a dilly bag and a musket that weighted at most 10lb.

Thanks for the info guys. I am a newbe to hunting but I have the itch now so this site helps a lot. Its great how everyone chimes in with their experience.
At least now I know not to waist money and time on masking sent. What everyone said makes since.
The reason I was asking was from what I had read form a post here on coyote hunting. What do you guy think about the comment about the Ben Gay on the shoes from the post I linked to?

All of the comments above are pertinent to hunting...from the "no scent masking" to the changing clothes back in camp. Probably the one that makes most sense to me...other than keeping the wind in your face...is DawgDad's comment of "not bringng in foreign odors". A dog has a brilliant sense of smell. I have seen drug dogs, Customs dogs, Quarantine dogs and Army Tracker dogs (air sniffers) working and they are amazing...a deer is infinitely better than a dog in the sniffer dept. The comment about fabric brighteners and the way deer see UV is interesting as well...not the first time I have heard of this.

I have been able to pick up the smell of a smoker from maybe 50 metres in the bush, and that is just from the smell on his clothing, and as for the fancy schmancy deodorants and "gay bar loiterer" body sprays guys seem to like wearing these days...they are even stronger and more evident in a natural bush setting.

As Bushy says, get dressed, grab your rifle and go hunting. Ensure you keep the wind in your face move carefully and use all of the hunting skills you possess. If nothing else, you will have an enjoyable time in the bush.

Cheers, Vince