24 Nebraskaland • August-September 2020
A Scent Control Regimen
My scent control process starts well before I climb into a
tree stand. Several weeks before bow season opens, I hang
my hunting clothes, which I store in a sealed plastic tub, on
a clothesline outside. I spray them with a hose until they're
soaking wet and let them air dry. Once they are dry, I leave
them outside until I am ready to use them. Along with my
hunting clothes, I also hang a T-shirt, socks, sweatpants,
sweatshirt and a towel on the line. This is the clothing I
wear in my vehicle on the way to hunt. One precaution,
make sure your clothesline isn't downwind of your grill, your
neighbor's fire pit or anything else that might add scent to
your clothing.
I store my clothes outside exposed to the elements during
hunting season. The reason I do this is based on the concept
of off-gassing. Think of your clothing like a sponge that
absorbs and releases scent. When you buy it from the store
it smells like the materials and dyes it's made from. I hose
it down to help release these smells and as the clothing
continues to hang outside, the smell of fall air replaces the
unnatural scent. After a day of hunting, I hang them back on
the line to begin releasing my human odor and replacing it
with the scent of the ambient air.
I use two pairs of thermal underwear that I rotate. One
hunt I wear the first pair, and the next, I wear the second.
The clothing touching your body will take on the majority
of your scent, so after I'm finished hunting, I hang it on the
line, hose it down and let it dry. By rotating and airing them
out between hunts, I bring less human scent into the field.
I've had friends ask why I don't wash my clothing with
Bowhunters must pay particular attention to scent and wind in order to go undetected.
