Camo vs Scent
Article originally published at GreatAmericanWildlife.com October 2019
Many of us have, or have seen a photo of our dads, grandpas, or other family member showing that they shot a deer whilewearing a flannel jacket and blue jeans. They may or may not have been smoking a cigarette and I bet they didn’t bother with scent away spray either.
This might just be the clothing some of us wear to this day when we go hunting, but it certainly isn’t the norm. It seems we are all sharing or reading articles on what camo pattern is the best for what environment or what scent free everything product is the best on the market.
Should you get dressed in your home or trailer before you go out or should you dress at your vehicle after you park and head into the woods? Concealment is important, but regardless of what you’re wearing, how you treated the fabric, or where you got dressed, if your wind is wrong, you’re busted.
Science has shown us that deer hear about the same as humansbut they are extremely astute to determine what is a normal sound in their environment versus human footsteps or a Snickers wrapper that triggers their flight response.
Eyesight varies across species, but what we do know is that animals do see us and they see blue spectrum light many times better than humans allowing them to feed in dawn and dusk hours when humans cannot see well and before or after legal shooting light when we get busted moving in on them.
The slightest movement, regardless of what you’re wearing will also give you away. Your choice of camo may break up your body as a whole, but you’re still shaped like a human and not a rock, bush or a tree.
Let’s talk about odor. Humans have approximately 5 million olfactory receptors, dogs, just over 200 million and animals in the cervid family (deer, elk and moose) have close to 300 million. Cervids also have a larger portion of their brain reserved for identifying scents than humans do. Their long noses and large nostrils allow them to sort out scents, determine what direction they are coming from and how old a scent trail is.
Those cover up scents you’re using? That is all well and good, but the deer can still smell you since they sort out and separate the odors involuntarily. This doesn’t mean you can just go home and start washing your hunting clothing in mountain breeze detergent since they are going to smell you anyway. You still need to be mindful of the scent trails you’re leaving in your desired hunting environments.
While it may not be as important to rifle hunters since they can shoot longer distances especially in the West, but knowing which way the wind is blowing is crucial to being successful as an archery hunter or anyone that needs to get close due to their hunting environment.
The human body sweats. Sweating releases toxins and odors into the air. The more garlic, onions and beer you consume, the smellier you get. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on scent removing products, simply switching to scent free options of your regular routine products will have the same effect. Be mindful of where you store your clothing, boots especially, that you’ll be wearing while hunting.
Your feet leave a scent trail everywhere you go and can be detected a week or more after you’ve walked there, so don’t walk on game trails if you can help it. If you’re heading to a stand, be aware of which way the wind is blowing and which direction game come and go from the area and approach in a manner that you’re relatively sure won’t be the same as your quarry.
This is also why you never relieve yourself in the immediate area or without burying it. And last but not least, the smelliest part of a human is their breath. When we breath, we exude sulfur molecules that smell like rotting flesh (if you’re a meat eater) fecal matter (your intestines are connected to your stomach, esophagus, mouth etc…) and any food or drink you consume that is simply an odor that doesn’t occur naturally in the wild.
These sulfur molecules are heavier than air, so even if you’re up high in a stand, they drop in elevation right below your stand.Don’t bother with the mouth odor removing sprays, remember you can’t cover it up. Be mindful of what you eat and drink on your hunting trip and it is a good idea to use a face mask that will help cut down the dispersal of your open mouth breathing in the heat of the moment.
You can take every precaution known to man, but since deer, elk moose etc can still smell us, the slightest shift in breeze can still give us away. Hunting is a little skill and a lot of luck.
Recently on an archery elk hunt, I was cautious to keep my hunting clothing separate from any other clothing. When we returned to our camp trailer I changed into other comfy clothingso I wasn’t adding fried eggs and sausage to the odor mix. We also had our dogs with us so I didn’t want their scent on my camo either.
I think the wind blew daily, so we tried to use that to our advantage when chasing bugles and calling in bulls. Arizona’s vegetation is scarce so concealment is sometimes impossible. You have to use the wind and move in the shadows and when the animals aren’t looking your direction.
Twice we had elk walk into and feed within 6 feet of us. We were standing. I could have reached out and touched them. We were as motionless as a body can be being caught in the wide open with bow in hand and arrow nocked. The lucky part? The wind was directly from the animals to us.
And once, the largest bull I’ve been on the ground face to face with was a mere 10 yards away with four of his cows between us. There is absolutely nothing you can do in this situation but marvel at these creatures.
That mass amount of hunting luck wasn’t on our side that day to harvest, but it is an experience that will not be forgotten. Had the air been still or blowing ever so slightly towards the elk, this encounter would never have happened.
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you wear to hunt. And plaid breaks up your outline as good as any camo. But if you choose high quality performance products that take a while to save for, or if you pick up your camo at the thrift store, your cousin’s closet or a garage sale, know that you can wash it in scent free detergent and walk into the field just as equal to everyone else with a tag that season if you do your homework.
Avoid leaving scent trails weeks prior to season opener and use the wind to your advantage even if it makes you a little uncomfortable. Make sure you use your skills to the fullest and let luck do the rest of the work.
