Human scent can quickly destroy early-season deer hunts. Warm weather and the newness of the season can easily forecast your presence, even to deer that haven’t been hunted for many months. Most hunters take a shower and cover the basics, perhaps spraying the bottoms of their boots and “spraying down” with scent reduction sprays, which feel very refreshing in the hot weather. After climbing into a stand, I regularly sprayed both hands until they were soaking wet and completely washed my face and hair. Since much of a person’s heat escapes through the top of the head, it makes sense that human scent is broadcast the same way.
What Are You Missing
One of my favorite scent stories occurred when an archer sneaked close to a bedded buck in a high wind storm. The big buck was facing away, and the archer tried to maintain his control as he squeezed off the shot. Unfortunately, the arrow flew just high, causing the buck to burst from its bed and stop 50 yards away. The hunter was devastated yet kept his cool, and the buck began walking back to its bedding spot. As it approached, the savvy animal saw the arrow buried in the ground, sniffed it, and exploded.
Gear Stinks Too
Think back over the summer and estimate how many times you have pulled arrows from a target with a sweaty palm. The same goes for your bow, vertical or horizontal. Our body perspires to keep cool and everything you touch has a sweat deposit, which turns to bacteria and human odor.
The same process can contaminate your tree stand, backpack, release, and a host of other gadgets that will broadcast scent with the wind. And what about your clothes, especially your hat and boots? The prospect of de-scenting such gear causes many archers to give up and say, “The heck with it… I’ll just watch the wind.”
Crush Human Scent with Ozone
I’ve relied on washing and scent-reducing sprays for many years, yet I’m now convinced there is a better way. Ozone destroys human odor at the molecular level so that once it’s gone, it won’t return or reactivate. Here’s how it works: Human perspiration creates bacteria, which turns into odor. Ozone attack bacteria, changing it to regular oxygen and eliminating odor. Converted back to standard oxygen, it’s now scent-free and sanitized. Scent Crusher makes an ozone gear bag in which you can put all of your gear, even your bow or crossbow. Once inside and zipped up, you turn on an included ozone generator, which spreads the odorless gas through the bag, sanitizing everything within.
Better than Washing
If you have owned camouflage clothing before, you know that washing often fades the colors and reduces its ability to blend with the environment. If done as part of household laundry, it can also pick up brighteners and “smell good” odors designed for casual attire.
Additionally, hats can shrink, and who wants to wash their boots? Even stinky ones? For the first time in my life, I will go hunting with all of my gear being scent-free thanks to the Scent Crusher Ozone Gear Bag. I’ll put all my boots in a bag along with arrows and my bow.
Easy Operation
The Ozone Gear Bag comes with an ozone generator that fits handily in the end of the bag, or you can remove it during travel. Aside from a great scent elimination program, you also get a cool-looking duffle for hunting trips.
Before departing, put your gear inside the bag, plug the generator into a wall outlet or cigarette lighter in your truck. The generator pumps ozone through a small tube into the bag in increments of 5, 10, 20, or 30 minutes depending upon how much gear and how big of a stink you need to erase.
The generator shuts off automatically at which time you open the bag and allow the oxygen to escape. There is no wear or tear on your gear except the human odor is gone. If you have young athletes in your home, it doesn’t take rocket science to see how helpful this Gear Bag can be. Imagine all of those stinky sneakers suddenly sanitized… just don’t let the word get out or it may end up at Coach’s house.
Early Season Success
Early season can be a magical time to hunt deer. If you know a buck’s travel pattern, it will likely continue until acorns begin to fall or crops are harvested. The key is to be in the right spot and to control your scent. The lush vegetation can fool its eyes, yet your human scent must be at the absolute minimum. The Ozone Gear Bag doesn’t mask human scent, it destroys it.
