My average archery shot distance is 7 yards. I use unscented laundry detergent, unscented soap, shower before going Afield, keep my outer layers in an unscented plastic bag and spray Dead Down wind on my boot soles for the trail in. Had an old long faced doe walk my trail, nose in the leaves, sniffing my foot prints at 5 yards ..never even flagged...on heavily hunted public land. Mark Kenyon is spot on. Scent control is a process, and using a consistent process will boost success. I buy my scent spray in February after the season to save money. Still works in October.

Well balanced talks like this are why I really enjoy listening to Mark.

Most of these things are designed to separate you from your money. In the end, if hunting around dogs has taught me anything, it's that a dogs nose and a deer's nose have capabilities that we barely comprehend. Dogs are capable of being trained to detect smells based on the volume of the substance present in a vehicle, inside what's thought to be a sealed cannister. Over a gram of substance, alert. Under a gram, don't a alert. Most folks would argue that a deer has the same scenting capabilities as a dog at worst. There's a good argument to be made that they can smell a whole lot better than a dog. The only thing this leads me to believe is that playing the wind is maybe the single most critical thing you can do.

After bow hunting for more than 55 years I've learned that one will very very seldom fool an animals nose. Yes, once in a while you may get lucky and have an animal approach from what you think is downwind. That will not happen very often especially in areas where the animals are spooky because of so much human traffic in their area. I AM a firm believer in the original Scent Killer spray product. I know it's not perfect but I have had animals get well within bow range even downwind before smelling me. One thing I do is liberally spray my boot bottoms and pants before walking to my hunting spots. I've had deer, coyotes and pigs walk down the same track toward me I just walked in thirty minutes before. Other than that I don't go nuts over sealing clothes in bags etc etc. And killing a deer isn't a problem, it's killing that one really good buck that takes forever for him to show up in daylight in bow range,lol.

The Swiss cheese analogy was top tier my guy

I agree with this video, but would go further. Deer are using predator sent to judge danger. They may still be able to smell the coyote that was on the field edge two days ago, but they don’t treat it as a threat. The same applies to determining how far away the threat is. Scent control can make the hunter seem less of a threat

Awesome points, and great presentation. I often think about when my brother says just play the wind. We had a outside fire for my family this last weekend and I can tell you the smoke goes every witch way. So I think your opinion is spot on. Do what you can do and what still makes it enjoyable for you!

Ron burgundy knows a lot about deer.

Awesome video, I agree with all of this. Love the analogies

Mark this was a very respectable video, but you have had John Eberhart on your podcasts many times. I use his method. I haven’t been winded since. I play the wind in the early season when it’s hot, but for pre rut and the rut I go hunt where I need to and don’t worry about it. This method helped me to take a 7.5 year old buck on public land in Pennsylvania last fall.

Thanks, for a thoughtful video.

Hey buddy do you. Have fun stacking all those Swiss cheese slices. I'm getting up, putting on my clothes and going hunting lol.

In addition to the ozone machine/bag, I add a refrigerator box of baking soda and a charcoal bag in my clothes and boot totes after the ozone treatment...It works. My hunting buddy on the other hand smokes in his stand!

I’ve used just about every scent elimination sprat there is and I’ve sprayed my boots down completely then had my dogs trail me through swamps through water to my stand and then circle the stand looking for me. It’s Crazy how good animals can smell. Ozonic’s works definitely but it’s not a 100% either. I Still shower and spray down also use ozonics clothes eliminater where my clothes are covered in ozone for 15 minutes spray in the stand use a ozonics above me in the tree and still had deer bust me but not nearly as much as they use to. Had lots of deer directly down wind and smell the ozone but couldn’t figure out what it was then calm down and feed.

Honestly nose jammer works on deer, maybe not mature bucks though. I’ve had a ton of deer within bow range downwind and they were confused enough not to blow. I also wash all my hunting clothes and keep it in a tub outside the house. I’m a believer in nose jammer and will continue to use it.

It’s both. Scent control going to and leaving from your stand or blind is imperative. But, so is being cognizant of wind direction going to and from your stand and determining which stand or blind is appropriate for the wind direction or thermals. It doesn’t make any bit of difference how much “scent control” you use or apply while on stand if the wind is wrong for that sit. Deer are going to go where they want to go and getting busted even if sitting the wind is going to happen every once in awhile. But minimizing those chances by doing your homework and setting stands to take advantage of that homework goes a long way in minimizing those chances of being busted. So I believe it’s somewhere in the middle of those two extremes you talked about

Well said Mark

I've been a scent control fanatic for the past 30 yrs. I know for a fact that what I'm doing works because I routinely have multiple deer directly below my stand and the last 7 bucks I've killed (all P&Y) have all come from downwind... including last season's 173 3/8" 12 point that came at me from 150 yards, downwind all the way.

That mustache tho!!! Dads need mustaches. I explain this to my mustache hitting wife all the time.. good luck to mark and all the other hunters this season!

I found that worrying too much about scent control took the fun out of hunting. I leave my main garments and boots outside or in a sealed container and pay attention to wind.

That's the best thing I have heard yet

The groin contains a large number of sweat glands. Usually, excessive sweating between the legs is a normal bodily response to heat or physical exertion. However, a person should see a doctor if they sweat excessively, especially if other symptoms are present. . Apocrine sweat glands are specialized scent glands. They are concentrated in the axilla, groin, and anogenital area. SO UNLESS YOU WEAR AN ADULT DIAPER, THE ANIMALS WILL SMELL YOU , AT LEAST THE ODOR FROM THE GROIN AREA .

Well said 👏

Generally good, balanced video. However, it blows my mind that Mark calls a hunting tactic used for thousands of years "trendy." From Xenophon to Daniel Boone, nobody used scent control until recently. That's the antithesis of trendy.

playing the wind is probably 90% of the battle. that being said deer density is also a factor. i live in a state with low deer density. i was 8 yards from a mature buck last fall with his vitals behind a tree.we stared at each other for 5 minutes. no scent sprays, no camo, on the ground, just no wind that day.

Let me start by saying I'm very new to hunting. But I can tell you this a ground blind and smoking in it works. Shot my first deer ever and at 15 yards with a bow. He had no idea I was their and he was down wind of me as well big 8 at 220 lbs field dressed. Smoking in a ground blind works.

play the wind, play the weather/temps and sometimes the moon........

Exactly!

Yes. Yes they are. I don't use any of it. I just watch how I access an area and only hunt spots where the wind is to my advantage.

perfectly stated

I used to subscribe to scent control mania. Now I only do two things. Nose Jammer and smoke. Both overpower a deers olfactory ability to isolate other scents like human odor. If it was good enough for the Indians to get close enough to kill with primitive bows it’s good enough for me.

Well balanced argument. Thanks!

I have more luck using scent cover. H and s. Pine or oak and earth cover scent wafers. I put them inside my pop up blind and deer walk past me and don't know I'm there

I can't use hunting soaps and sprays because I'm allergic to them so I use only Neutragena Rainbath Body Wash. I also use it for my regular laundry and my hunting clothes. At first I thought this ain't ever going to work and I'm telling you I have big bucks and mature does right under my stand and I do not get winded. I know it sounds unbelievable but this is a fact. Don't let the wife use those stinking dryer sheets and use an Ozone Device and plug it into your vehicle. I let the Ozone sit in the vehicle over night. I also leave my hunting jacket in the vehicle with the Ozone. Just air the vehicle out for a little bit before jumping into it because you don't want to breath in the ozone. Works like a charm.

I know people that drink coffee and smoke in the stand, Deer are curious Creatures!

Scentlok.

Dogs aren't just trained to follow scent but also the disturbance that is left behind from someone or something. So they may follow tue freshly disturbed dirt. Comparing a dog scent trailing someone to a deer meandering through the woods and scenting you is an extremely poor representation of scent control. Scent control is similar to bug control to me. Spraying for bugs may not kill them all but it kills a majority and that makes it worth it to me.

Do what you can with what you think works or help & that you can afford, both money & time spent

I TRY TO MAKE MYSELF SMELL LIKE WHAT THEY ARE USED TO, LIKE SMOKE . EVERY ANIMAL IN THE WOODS KNOW WHAT THE SMELL OF SMOKE IS , EITHER FOM NATURAL FORREST FIRES TO A FARMER BURNING OFF A FIELD .

How did our ancestors survive without scent control? Oh yeah, they used the wind and therms

Well it works in red dead redemption 2 so it has to work in real life

Double down, ten toes down BS I actually listened to gain a new prospective Something new in scent control logic but only heard Swiss cheese unconventional BS

Until you have a conversation with a deer Who cares cover scents or not I’m playing the wind every time

I smoke my clothes. Works just fine.

NO! You have to pick a side! How dare you use thought and reason to come to a rational decision! And as always, the truth is somewhere in the middle, lol

Tell me you’re anti 2nd amendment without telling me you’re anti 2nd amendment

The Swiss cheese 🧀 logic is dumb

Sorry, but pretty lame argument for using these products.

Wasn’t even worth watching