Hunting whitetails is tough, especially with a bow. The art of getting close to animals or getting them close to you can come at quite an excruciating price, up to and including your sanity. Even firearms hunters endeavoring to close the distance for easier, quicker kills face challenges, especially scent — controlling it, suppressing it, mimicking it or eliminating it altogether.

Indeed, when it comes to hunting, winning by a nose can mean the difference between meat in the freezer and never-had-a-chance. Or, in the words of that famous fictional NASCAR driver, Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last!”

Here are a dozen scent-creating and scent-controlling products you can offer to help customers win big this fall.

Buck Bomb XTRUS Certified Doe ‘N Estrus

As retailers working with hunters and guiding them in their product choices as well as their strategies it’s important to take time to test as many products as possible. Buck Bomb is another product I have used extensively and with great results, both as an attractant and a cover scent, and my best results over the years have been with Doe Estrus. Of course, the only constant is change, and fortunately for Buck Bomb, the latest result is XTRUS Certified Doe ‘N Estrus.

As the product name implies, Buck Bomb’s biologically enhanced XTRUS Doe N’ Estrus scent is certified to contain optimum levels of whitetail doe estrogen. According to Hunter Specialties, Buck Bomb XTRUS is guaranteed to contain “peak estrus urine” captured by a patent-pending collection method. Buck Bomb XTRUS Doe ‘N Estrus cans features an NVERTR valve to enhance dispersal and long-lasting scent. According to Buck Bomb, dispersing scent via the lock-down or burst method can result in scent detection up to a quarter of a mile away on a 3-mph breeze. www.buckbomb.com

 

Code Blue Doe Estrous

For years, Code Blue Doe Estrous has been touted as a top natural urine attractant, and like some of the other products in this roundup, I can personally attest to it — this stuff works! Code Blue differs from many producers in that the urine in each bottle is sourced from a single deer. In Code Blue’s words, “One deer to one bottle.” The advantage is simply that bucks lock on to the urine scent of a single deer. In addition to the benefits of single-deer collection, bottles are composed of amber glass to retain freshness and potency and to increase the lifespan of the urine’s effectiveness. Each bottle also includes a registration number denoting the specific doe from which the scent was collected. www.codebluescents.com

 

Cover My Scent Be the Tree

Cover scents can be tricky. Product lines are sold from coast to coast and land in the hands of hunters in every region. This can be problematic if consumers are using scents that are not familiar to the game they are hunting. An easy fix is to employ cover scents like Be The Tree. Be The Tree is specifically designed to incorporate odors from a significant array of tree species common to most hunting environments.

While a cover scent like Be The Tree is a different approach to scent control, covering rather than attempting to eliminate, it has proven to be quite effective in my own field testing. Of course, I used Be The Tree after following a scent suppressing/eliminating strategy — I have yet to use it to simply cover unmanaged scent. Retailers serving hunters from the bottomlands of the Southeast to the high mountain black timber overlooking the Northwest would do well to leave a little shelf space for Be The Tree. www.covermyscent.com

 

Dead Down Wind Evolve 3D+ Field Spray

For 15 years, Dead Down Wind has been touted by avid bowhunters as one of the most popular scent-elimination sprays on the market. Unlike ION or Ozone technologies, Dead Down Wind focuses on what the company calls Enzyme ScentPrevention (ESP) and the manner in which enzymes work at the molecular level to prevent production of odor-causing bacteria. Like Dead Down Wind’s other products, Evolve 3D+ Field Spray works on the premise that enzymes prevent odor at the source — bacteria. The spray is safe for skin contact and is perfect for on-the-go scent suppression, including re-treatment while on the hunt. This is especially important for active hunts or while hunting in warmer temperatures. If customers are looking for a single brand offering a complete scent-suppression strategy, Dead Down Wind products belong on your shelves, and I can personally attest to positive results through years of active use as an avid bowhunter. www.deaddownwind.com

 

ElimiShield Hunt X10D

One of the biggest problems hunters face in their pursuit of effective scent control is eliminating odor locked in fabric — this is where ElimiShield Hunt X10D wins by a nose, at least semi-permanently. ElimiShield X10D eliminates human odor from fabric fibers through up to 50 washings. Even better, scent elimination, including what ElimiShield refers to as “souring,” also is ensured while hunting clothing and other fabrics are stored. Hunting aside, ElimiShield Hunt X10D’s technology makes it a worthwhile bit of liquid-tech for household uses.

ElimiShield Hunt X10D is available in a 10-ounce bottle, enough to treat 10 pounds of laundry in just 10 minutes. Of course, treating garments once means hunters shouldn’t have to worry about treating again until the next hunting season rolls around. The bottom-line benefit for your customers is clear. They can effectively manage scent control without buying high-priced, high-tech hunting clothes. www.elimishieldhunt.com

 

Hunters Specialties Detonator Retractable Scent Wick

Speaking from years of personal experience, the Detonator Retractable Scent Wick is tough to beat for manual scent dispersal. As one might guess, the Detonator Retractable Scent Wick is composed of a molded plastic cylinder, O-ring sealed side-port and 12x1-inch wick. To employ, your hunter simply pulls the wick out and wets it with a preferred scent. The Detonator can be laid onto a surface or hung. After the hunt, the wick is simply retracted into the canister and sealed by the O-ring to prevent leaking. www.hunterspec.com

 

Scent Blaster

Scent Blaster takes on dispersal with quite an effective three-pronged approach. First, wicks dry out, and as a result, effectiveness may be compromised. Scent Blaster’s system keeps the wick saturated with the fresh scent throughout the duration of the hunt. Second, the Scent Blaster employs a silent fan to blow scent into the air, thus, according to Scent Blaster, improving reach, up to 15 times the distance of a traditional hanging wick. The third prong is simple — more scent.

The Scent Blaster includes a reservoir capable of holding quite a bit of attractant or cover scent. The Scent Blaster’s wick actually sits down into the reservoir, in front of the silent fan. Moist wick, more scent, fanned out; the right components certainly are there. If you’re looking for something just outside the norm with a lot of promise and a decent price point to offer patrons, a Scent Blaster just might be a great solution. I sense Scent Blaster may add more dollars and cents to your bottom line. www.scentblaster.net

 

ScentLok OZ Radial EZ

For nearly 30 years, ScentLok has been recognized as the premier producer of carbon-activated scent control products, from inner and outer apparel layers to scent-containing bags and containers. While carbon technology created ScentLok’s empire, the company continues to push the R&D envelope in additional technologies, including ozone scent elimination as recently demonstrated in the OZ Radial EZ. ScentLok’s OZ Radial EZ is positioned just upwind of the hunter and converts oxygen to ozone in order to eliminate scent. Of course, the side benefit for your hunting customers is the bacteria- and virus-eliminating power of ozone production in homes, vehicles, offices, etc.

ScentLok’s OZ Radial EZ boasts CycleClean technology for maximum performance and longer battery life, 360-degree ozone generation, eight-hour rechargeable battery, four operating modes and a USB charging port to charge a smartphone, tablet or other device on the go. A flat base and included tether strap allow the OZ Radial EZ to be placed on virtually any flat surface or hung just about anywhere. www.scentlok.com

 

Scent Thief Trophy Pack and Wafer

For deer hunters who want to stay undetected through every stage of the hunt — from truck to treestand — Scent Thief has introduced the Trophy Pack to their scent elimination product lineup. Featuring Scent Thief’s No Smell technology, which the company says relaxes an animal’s olfactory epithelium so it can no longer detect odors of any kind, including human odor, the kit contains Scent Thief’s Body Wash and Shampoo, Field Spray, Laundry Detergent and a bonus field wafer. The addition of the wafer allows hunters to create a “No Smell Area” by placing one or two wafers upwind of their stand location. The wafers come in a resealable package and last up to two days. MSRP: $39.99. Contact: www.scentthief.com

 

Tink’s #69 Doe-in-Rut

Developed by legendary bowhunter Tink Nathan and brought to market in the early ’70s, Tink’s #69 Doe-in-Rut Buck Lure remains the most popular, most comprehensively field-tested doe-estrous buck lure in the industry. Even after 47 seasons of use, Tink’s #69 still gets the big boys close, and while it’s worth sharing the good news with your customers, chances are good that they are already well aware.

Offered in both synthetic blend as well as 100% natural doe estrus, Tink’s #69 is designed for most effective use during the pre-rut and pushes sexual attraction into overdrive. Tink’s #69 is available in three sizes: 1-, 2- and 4-ounce bottles, as well as in Tink’s Scent Bomb. With a reputation for success for nearly a half a century, Tink’s #69 Doe-in-Rut most certainly should claim some of your retail shelf space. www.tinks.com

 

Wildgame Innovations Zero Trace PureION Field Generator

True to the Wild Game Innovations’ name, the company’s focus on innovating hunting products has been a staple of its success — case in point, the Zero Trace PureION Field Generator. WGI’s PureION is reportedly the industry’s first field-ready ION generator. In a nutshell, the Pure ION Field Generator deploys millions of ION molecules into the air to bond with atoms. The bonding results in deactivating impurities that produce scent.

The Zero Trace Pure ION Field Generator includes a rechargeable six-hour battery and features large forward-facing digital controls for easy operation, even with gloves, a rugged TRUBark molded plastic housing for reliable performance even in adverse weather conditions, and Wildgame Innovations’ new magnetic mounting system. Once the mount has been installed to tree or other platform, the ball-joint style system allows the PureION to be perfectly positioned at nearly any angle. The result, according to WGI, means hunters can hunt their favorite spots regardless of wind direction. www.wildgameinnovations.com

 

Wildlife Research Center Scent Killer Gold

From the late 1950s and clear through the ’60s, the curiosity of brothers John and Brian Burgeson, along with their passion for hunting, evolved into their first product, Trails End #307 attractant, and soon after, Scent Killer. Rutgers University conducted testing on Scent Killer and found the product to be 99% effective in eliminating replicated human odor, and it gets better. R&D improved upon Scent Killer and unveiled Scent Killer Gold Spray.

Not only does Scent Killer Gold Spray stop human odor for up to 20 days after drying, but it also works on both wet and dry skin, as well as clothing, footwear and equipment. Scent Killer Gold Spray also lasts longer than the original offering, and the high-output spout allows for spraying while the bottle is held upside down. Like Dead Down Wind, Scent Killer Gold is available in a full spectrum of scent-eliminating products, including laundry detergent, deodorant, soap, field wipes, shampoo and more. Retailers looking for a single brand offering a complete odor eliminating strategy should consider Scent Killer products. www.wildlife.com