You should do what makes you feel like improves your odds while hunting. But, that truly sounds insane to me. If I thought it necessary to go to that trouble, I would not hunt.
It's really no trouble at all. I buy one of the Dead Down Wind kits with unscented versions of the hygiene products that all of us use every day. I simply swap one for the other. Purchased at the end of the season when it's marked 50% off and saved until the next year, I'm out maybe $20.
I would love to see the scientific evidence and actual study that proved a toothpaste or mouthwash has any meaningful effect on any human odor other than brief relief of halitosis.
I think you misunderstand me. It doesn't have any effect on human odor, it just doesn't contain any added scent.
As for studies of human odor, Realtree has published several studies.
In a lab at Mississippi State University (MSU), researchers were working on ways to best collect and analyze volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from human body odor. Their goal was to use VOC detection to diagnose and monitor human diseases like diabetes. But their research led to a unique collaboration with the MSU wildlife department, which was studying and testing odor-reducing products for deer hunters.
Human scent is a complex mixture of hundreds of compounds given off by bacteria that live in our bodies and on our skin. Scent compounds also come from the human body itself when it breaks down molecules to make energy. The odors are emitted through the skin and breath. These substances — the VOCs — evaporate into the air and can spook deer when you're hunting.
Figuring out which specific ingredients of body odor spook deer is a challenge, the MSU researchers said. Each of us emits a unique scent, and that scent varies depending on what and when we eat, drink, exercise and sweat. To get a cross-section of scents, the researchers collected body odor samples from 65 people who for hours wore either an untreated T-shirt or a T-shirt treated with a spray designed to eliminate or mask a hunter's body odor.
The researchers tested four scent-eliminating sprays out of dozens on the market, though they did not identify specific brands. Based on analysis of the hundreds of VOCs emitted by the 65 people, researchers found that the sprays worked by greatly reducing the levels of 29 key compounds, either by killing bacteria, binding to the chemicals, or converting them into less volatile compounds.
There was an actual study done by the USDA in the early 2000's that demonstrated that scent blocking clothing had little to no effect on search and rescue dogs in either finding the human target or in the time it took. It was written up in one of the outdoor rags at the time. I am sure it can be googled. Of course the subjects of that test probably weren't brushing their teeth with a magic elixir.
I remember the study well. If we think about it, the test was not very scientific. It only proved that the dog could still find a test subject wearing specific clothing. There was no baseline of human scent, or control of variables, etc.
Mythbusters did several tests with Carbon odor elimination suits, and although fun to watch, it was less than scientific.
The scent followed by a tracking dog would come from the specific footwear the test subject was wearing, not an article of clothing covering the rest of the body.
Also, I've never claimed that any suit or scent blocking clothing works. To think that a suit alone will remove all human scent is not logical, therefore I've never used one.
I should note that all reputable studies of which I am aware indicate that complex prey animals like deer have more advanced scent sensory capability than predators like dogs.
That is 100% true, and I don't contest the fact.
I'm not likely to change your mind, and I respect that.
My contention is that by reducing odors, both human and those unfamiliar to deer, like artificial perfumes, you can stalk and kill Deer at archery ranges even when upwind. I will never claim that human odor can be eliminated, only reduced to a level that animals do not perceive an immediate threat.
