Did anybody really believe........

[PierBridge]

Scent-Lok or ScentBlocker actually blocked human scent before they purchased it I didn't necessarily believe it but I still bought some because I liked the look and fit so I don't think I'll be joining the class action Law suit against the makers of it if it turns out to be true that it doesn't do what they advertised.

http://www.startribune.com/531/story/1438361.html

[sodajerk]

Never bought their line for a minute. Activated carbon does work to control odors, but only to the point at which it becomes saturated with odors. It takes temps far hotter than a household dryer can generate to "reactivate" activated carbon to be able to "adsorb" more odors.

By the time the clothing gets to the retailer from which the unwitting customer will buy it, it has already become odor-saturated by "adsorbing" all the scent it's ever going to "adsorb". The odor has come from warehouses, the insides of semi trailers and the air in the store it's displayed in.

I have one piece of Scent Lok gear; it's a combo cap/face mask. I didn't buy it because it's Scent Lok, but because it fits my face and eyes better than any other I've run across, it doesn't block my peripheral vision at all (a problem with most face masks I've tried on) and is of good quality construction.

[96trigger]

One thing is for sure, we will find out if the stuff really does work after this is all over. I have scentlok and I believe it works. I also follow a fairly strict scent regimen. Lots of hunters swear by it. I'm actually interested in the findings. There are a lot of people who get their information from the internet. That is NOT a reliable source of information. I could publish something that sounds real intelligent and people would believe it. This lawsuit should get multiple independent parties involved and the truth should come out. I wouldn't feel bad either way, if it didn't work, I bet there would be some real cheap camo for sale at the local retailers.

[sodajerk]

Actually, I don't think we'll know anything for sure, we'll just know who the jury believed. That is, whoever baffled the jury with enough scientific-sounding mumbo-jumbo to win them over to their side.

The jury system is flawed to say the least.

What I'd like to see is an independent study paid for/done by some hunting or consumer organization that gets no advertising or promotional money from Scent Lok or Scentblocker.

[bergie]

I don't try to mask or block my scent, a deers sense of smell is just too good, besides if you were going to do it you would also have to hold your breath the whole time you were out in your stand. I know some people who use skunk scent but I believe that just makes you smell like a guy who got sprayed by a skunk, I just make sure I am downwind of the area I am watching, if the wind changes I change stands, it has worked for me for many years now.

[Piker]

I couldn't agree more.

[Hammer Handle]

Same here. Or, visit your deer stand a few times a year and the deer will get "used" to a human scent being there....

A local news channel did an experiment with a dog. They had a person hide with or without scnet blocker spray on them...and the dog found them immediately with no difference. It is a gimmick to catch the hunter.

Just like most fishing lures. They are made to catch the fisherman, not the fish.

[charliepete2]

If scent blocker actually worked the columbians would be the biggest buyer...of course they'd cut up all the coats and make them into duffle bags. I've posted before..I tried fooling my dogs nose with a coat and a bird, he still pointed it solid.

[Harmonica Bear]

Ditto

[bergie]

I know I am in danger of sounding like a know it all old fart here but after 45 yrs, of deer hunting I have come to the conclusion that the big old bucks don't ever get used to your smell, also I think if they see you in your stand they will look for you there next time they are in the area before they come out where they can be seen. The more credit you give them the better your chances of getting that good shot.

[jabug]

if the stuff works so well then how do all them moquitos find you. hunt the wind.

[anyfishwilldo]

I don't do any scent blocking, in fack I sit in my stand and smoke cigarettes all day. Every year I shoot 3-4 deer, and watch 10-15 walk by so they can grow up some more.

[jabug]

marlboro light seem to be the smoke of choice for deer in my area. 4 on the wall 160class,150 140 130class.

[GoggleEye]

The Mosquitos find us through the carbon dioxide we exhale, not our smell. So if you don't want to get bit, stop breathing!

[BobT]

One time I came across an old-timer that had a small fire going and was smoking cigs. I asked him if he thought he had a chance. He replied that I would be amazed at how successful he is. Deer are curious animals and they come around to satisfy their curiousity.

Sometimes I think we try too hard. They seem to know when they're being hunted and when they aren't. I've had deer stand and watch me as I worked during my logging days. Take out the rifle to hunt the clear-cut and they vanished into the night. It's like they have a sixth sense.

Bob

[RogersMN]

man, everyone is an expert on activated carbon. who'd have guessed.

[LuciandTim]

Quote:

---

One time I came across an old-timer that had a small fire going and was smoking cigs. I asked him if he thought he had a chance. He replied that I would be amazed at how successful he is. Deer are curious animals and they come around to satisfy their curiousity.

---

Thats funny you say that....

Up north where we rifle hunt there is an old-timer that has been huting deer his whole life. I can recall coming in after a long day in the woods complaining about how uncomfortable in the stand I am. He says I am doing it all wrong. He goes out and finds a comfortable spot on the ground and gathers some wood. he then lights a fire and keeps it going all the while he is out there and then to top it off he always has a few hot dogs to roast over the fire. Here i am taking every (Contact Us Please) precaution I can think of and he is out there roasting hot dogs over an open fire with a rifle. The guy fills his tags every year. Not only does he fill his tags doing this but he brings his grandkids with him and they shoot'em too. Actually his grandaughter about 3 years ago shot a monster. They put it on the wall and it was the biggest around town! Shot over a campfire

He also says the same thing about them being curious. There are a lot of companies out there making a killing!

Please tell me you have not bought Gum-o-Flage!!!!???

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Quote:

---

It is a gimmick to catch the hunter.

Just like most fishing lures. They are made to catch the fisherman, not the fish.

---

EXACTLY!! Most of the products on the market for hunting and fishing are just that. Gullable humans

[vister]

my scent lock gear, and the girlfriends as well was chewed up by mice over the off-season, so we bought the cheap stuff instead. just regular run of the mill camo. The both of us have yet to be winded this year. So why even bother to buy the 300 hundred dollar suit. I have even already tagged a nice 8 pointer this year with the bow. If you want to spend that kind of money on camo that is the same color as mine, be my guest, it didn't impress me!

[vister]

By the way, scentlock doesn't eliminate odor, it absorbs it. A leaky faucet will eventually overflow a sink sometime!

[Nova]

say what you want, but I have proven to myself over a dozen times that scent lock clothing works. The thing most people don't think about is that it only blocks your odor from coming out. If you wear the stuff by a gas pump and get it on the outside of the clothing it's worthless. If you keep it scent free on the outside it will keep your odor in. I always spray the outside with scent killer and keep it in a bag, then put it on when I am out in the woods. As far as hunting the wind, that's crap. We all try to do that, but everyone knows that a mature deer with a couple years experience will always circle down wind, that's how they get that big. I am not saying it blocks every trace of scent from your body, but it blocks a lot more than a fleece jacket. Again say what you want, but I have had bucks chasing does come directly down wind of me, does that are very nervous come down wind of me and NOT ONCE since I bought my suit have they busted me.

[BobT]

Quote:

---

a mature deer with a couple years experience will always circle down wind

---

Downwind of what? If you're referring to your position they must already suspect your presence or they wouldn't have the slightest clue about what to circle around. A common misconception is that a deer takes flight just by scenting you or seeing you or hearing you. In most cases that is NOT TRUE! They need to validate their suspicions by at least one other means whether sight or sound. I can't begin to count how many times I have walked up on bedded deer only to see them take off when I got within eyesight. Trust me, they heard me long before I was in view. Or how often when we make a noise they suddently stop dead and look to see what it was. They don't just run. They look and sniff the air for verification.

They detect scents, movements, and sounds all the time. It's when they put two together that they can determine the nature of what they sense.

Bob

[Wanderer]

Right on, BobT!

Thats about the most iron clad reply I've read on this thread.

I don't know the chemistry of activated carbon, much the same as most of us who did really believe Scent Lok worked. I still believe it offers a benefit but maybe not as strong as advertised.

My first year with a suit? I thought I was undetectable. I had deer down wind of me on the ground and they didn't run. But I was also wearing a new leaf suit. Maybe they could smell me but just couldn't see (recognize) me.

I was totally convinced it worked when the farmer's dog wouldn't get near me while I wore it. She would circle down wind of me as I passed through the yard, growling and barking. When I didn't have it on, we played.

Many years and many mistreatments of the suit, its shot. I know it doesn't work like it used to, but I still put it on--until this year.

[96trigger]

BobT,

I'm going to disagree. If they go off of more than one sense, why do we worry about smell at all if we are well camouflaged. I should be able to stink to high heaven and as long as they don't see me, I should be good to go. I think its a bogus statement.

Go out some time on a calm day and pay no attention to your scent. A deer will quite often get close enough for you to see it, maybe even shoot, but then the old nose will go straight in the air and it will sit and sniff and sniff. 9 times out of 10, your busted and the deer will usually exit rather quickly, even if it doesn't see danger, it still knows its there.

I've also just about stepped on deer before, but the deer are not stupid, they know where I'm at and probably wouldn't have moved had I not walked on to them. I can't remember the study, I think it was in OLife, but it was on a buck with a tracking device that would often let people walk within ten feet of it and never move, the people never knew it was there. You can't compare walking on to a deer to trying to get one to come up to you. In one case the deer knows you are there, in the other, they don't or shouldn't.

I would love for this lawsuit to lead to some answers. I would like to see data that it does or doesn't work. Not data like a dog finding someone that is wearing it, or a deer smelling someone in the woods, there are too many variables. They need to use actual monitors that detect scent, in a lab and give hard data. I'm sure that they can do this, it shouldn't be very hard. Maybe then this discussion can die and we can either all go buy scentlok, or burn the suits we have.

[Stratosman]

I agree with trigger,

The biggest buck I ever saw on the stand came from a position where I never expected to see a deer, he was about 60 yards away, got downwind and soon as he caught my scent, he froze in his tracks, did an about face and dropped his head and literally snuck away into some tall CRP. One sense is all it takes. And most mature deer will circle downwind, of scrapes, other deer, and doe bedding areas to name a few.

[96trigger]

Deer know what we smell like, just like we know what bacon smells like. Only they run from us, and we run to bacon.

[vister]

i was born and raised on a farm. after chores i would go out in my barn clothes, no camo or nothing. let me tell ya how close deer get to you then, as long as they don't see ya. To some of ya city slickers who don't mind a little odor, rub some manure on ya for a cover scent. never again will you be winded, they just have to see ya. THEWP

[Wanderer]

Yeah, I'm probably just another knuckle headed follower of the pack but what BobT said holds alot of water. I've experienced it MANY times.

But then again, I may have to retract my earlier "iron clad" statement. There's alot of experience here with the FM crew and alot of scenarios presented. With alot of the general habits of deer hunters we see alot of "general" deer. Does, fawns, young bucks, and occasional unlucky big dudes.

Hunting is a sport that will forever frustrate control freaks. It is not controllable. Ahh, but it can be steered to tip the odds.

I bought into Scent Lok because I wanted to. I don't think I'll try to claim my $.17 if they lose.

[bigbucks]

I can't agree with Bob T's comments either. The other night I had a young 7 pointer at less than 10 yards upwind. The wind swirled, it had been doing that. He wasn't nervous at all prior to that. His head came up, he paused for 2-3 seconds, then turned around & quietly ran off. He never tried to find me, he had no idea where I was, other than TOO CLOSE. Normally that age deer, I'm sure he was a yearling, will pretty much ignore a little scent unless they see you, but not this one. Now it was very windy, so he may have been more jumpy because he couldn't hear I'm not sure, but it was obvious he got a whiff. He never blew, just locked up & then left. I could have killed him before that if I'd have wanted to, but I didn't.

[DonBo]

Okay, here's my 2 cents worth. I think scent loc works to a point where if everything else you take with you is clean, the suit may just block enough of your odor that a deer downwind of you may think you are farther away then you really are, therefore not an iminent threat. Obviously there is no way that the suit can stop every single bit of your scent, but like I said, if it blocks most, then it has done it's job.

There are just too many of us who have had good luck with it to say it doesn't work. For the rest of you who have not had good luck with it, you may want to recheck how you clean yourself and everything else you carry into the woods with you. How about your bow, release aid, binoculars that you used all summer with sweat and bug spray on. How about your backpack that was stuck to your back with sweat last time you went out? Ever wear your boots in the truck? This list could go on and on.

My point is, the stuff isn't perfect but helpfull. Some deer may still bust you, but not all of them. All deer are different. It is still smart to play the wind, but for the times a deer sneaks up behind you you may get by with it and you will be better off for having worn it.