Scent Control Questions for Safari Concession Owners/Managers

[StickFlicker AZ]

I have hunted South Africa seven times, and I've hunted at a number of different safari concessions and locations over the years in multiple provinces. Almost without fail, the concessions furnish soap/shampoos that are VERY heavily scented with perfume, as if we are going to a pub and not into the bush to hunt game. Also, the laundry detergent used on our hunting clothes has also been heavily perfumed. I am strictly a bowhunter, so perhaps I'm more sensitive to scent control than are rifle hunters, and perhaps it's the fact that many of these concessions (that claimed to be experts at both rifle and bow hunting) were really just rifle concessions that only occasionally catered bowhunters? Are scent free detergents, soaps and shampoos not readily available in South Africa? It's a question that I've always wondered about, but I have never asked. In the U.S., scent free soap products of all types are easily purchased wherever groceries are purchased. While there are archery-only concessions, and I've hunted one or two of those as well, they just don't act like they think the African game will be alerted by the strong perfume scents, although they are probably a little better than the "all weapons" concessions.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I bring my own scent killing bath soap and if I had access to a washing machine, I'd do my own clothes as I do here in the states, even if I'm hunting groundhogs or other varmints. Same goes for blue clothing and the camo that's made from fiber that shows up in UV light During hunting season, starting the beginning of September until mid February, I have a couple big Walmart tubs that sit outside. My hunting clothes are stored there. Those clothes are washed with this detergent that has no whiteners, brighteners or other chemicals.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L8NJY8W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I suspect a lot of busted stalks in Africa are the result of the wrong detergent, bath soap and aftershave lotion.

 

[JimP]

One thing that I have found with animals is that they are inquisitive. They will search out and find the source of a new smell in their area when they come across one.

In my bow hunting days I'd keep all of my hunting clothes in a bag along with pine, cedar, or oak limbs depending on where I was hunting.I then found out that deer and elk really didn't care. Even when I was cutting firewood during mid dI would keep my bow and arrows close because of the ones that would want to see what all the noise was about.

The places that you needed to worry about were where they had been chased or scarred off by someone that they came to investigate and associated that smell with danger

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

How about cigarets .I know I can smell cigarets. Scent is scent everyone need to pay attention.

Our trackers swear that it is gun oil scent that gives the hunter away

Lon

 

[JimP]

How about cigarets .I know I can smell cigarets. Scent is scent everyone need to pay attention.


Lon

Smoke is naturally occurring in nature, I would presume that they could associate cigaret smoke for some other weed.

I've seen mule deer and elk bedded down in areas that had recently been burnt over with the smell of smoke all over the place.

 

[Hammergun]

My PH said he never worried about animals scenting us because we always hunted and stalked into the wind. We did not sit in any blinds. We got very close to some animals. No long range stuff.

 

[StickFlicker AZ]

Much of bowhunting in South Africa is done from hides, and there are many days when the wind is swirling and you can't control your ability to stay downwind of the animals. I would think that if the animals are hunted from hides very often, they would quickly learn to tell when people are in them or not by the perfume smell associated with getting shot at!

 

[HookMeUpII]

Much of bowhunting in South Africa is done from hides, and there are many days when the wind is swirling and you can't control your ability to stay downwind of the animals. I would think that if the animals are hunted from hides very often, they would quickly learn to tell when people are in them or not by the perfume smell associated with getting shot at!

Warthog hunting (and likely other pigs) is the worst. However, you controlling your scent doesn't do you much good unless the PH and tracker are controlling theirs as well.

We went through hell trying to get a good pig in close. My PH was burning cow pies around the truck and our blind when we hunted them. They would still wind us. We missed out on a really good shooter male that got our wind from 100 yds away in what seemed like a matter of seconds. This was actually the day we hunted a mud/stone pit hide on the PH's property he used for bowhunting.

Didn't seem to matter with anything else. The wildebeest, if anything, was the other animal besides the warthog that was really good at grabbing scents.

 

[Ridge Runner]

How about cigarets .I know I can smell cigarets. Scent is scent everyone need to pay attention.

Our trackers swear that it is gun oil scent that gives the hunter away

Lon

Smoke is naturally occurring in nature, I would presume that they could associate cigaret smoke for some other weed.

I've seen mule deer and elk bedded down in areas that had recently been burnt over with the smell of smoke all over the place.

Cigarette, cigars and pipe smoke is a double edge sword sort of speak.

Back when I was a smoker and smoked all three forms: deer would often come in to check out what the smell was. Then again a heavy smoker, not necessarily a chain smoker, that has a stronger essence of smoke in their clothing deer 100 yards away would blow a take off in an instant. Like people some enjoy the smell some just totally frown on it.

Campfire smoke seems to cover human scents and deer could careless about it.

Low monotone conversation can also draw deer in closure.

Unfortunately NA deer are NA deer and not European deer, nor African PG.

I take my own scent free soap, deodorant, and such.