I enjoy the change of season. The air and smells take on the slightest reflection of the winter to come. For lots of us it begins a ritual. In my house and countless homes across the Southeast, folks are getting prepared for hunting season. It doesn’t make any difference if you are a bow hunter or a gun hunter, it’s all the same preparation. I spend countless hours preparing gear, clothes, tools and the areas I will hunt in anticipation of time in the woods. First and foremost is the clothing I will wear. Here’s what I do to get ready for opening day.
My first task is to pull out all my clothes, shoes and gear. Deer and hogs have a keen sense of smell and do not particularly care for the scent of a human. To be successful in the woods, you must do everything you can to totally blend in.
I first sort all my camo into piles for washing. I prepare the washing machine to do my camo by filling it on soak cycle with a small amount of unscented detergent. This removes the flowery scents we all have in our units from washing normal clothes. Let it soak for and hour or so. When that is done, continue to cycle the washing machine thru to remove the water.
Next, wash your camo in unscented detergent. When that is done, hang them to dry in your yard on a clothes line to sun and air dry. Once they are done, I like to spray them down with an earth-scent cover spray to be put away in air-tight containers. We all hunt over dirt, trees and leaves. This scent blocker reminds me of the woods and provides a little extra bit of cover.
I like to separate clothing into outfits for individual hunts before storing them, this saves me from rummaging around and depositing unnecessary human scent on my carefully laundered clothing. When doing this, pay attention to your temperature needs. This makes it easy to grab and go when time avails itself.
Next I check my boots to look for wear and tear. I like Muck rubber boots and will check them for leaks. Rubber is really effective in reducing scent. I spray my boots down with scent blocker.
These are a few extra steps. But they are ones I believe make a world of difference. Remember the extra effort pays off in the long run. Hunt hard and hunt safe.
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