This is about the time of year when I start preparing my deer hunting duds for the upcoming season, and this is about the same time of year that I give y’all my Shamanic Baking Soda Rant.
Here it is:
Baking Soda -- The Shamanic Method Does it work? I’ve been using this regimen in one form or the other since the late 1980s. What I can tell you is that when I spend the time and make the effort, I really do get deer approaching right up close. When I’m short-cutting the process too much, I’ll get deer busting me at 200 yards. The basic moral is that a little personal hygiene goes a long way. Every year, I get a few more converts.
Years ago, I opined in an article that skewered the rise of Fartlok Suits and their ilk that the most useful part of scent-reduction clothing was the hang tag. If you read the instructions for the suits, it told you to shower in scent-free product, use scent-free detergent on your clothing and to shower and change your underclothes as often as possible. It still holds true. Baking soda is just a cheap alternative to all those other expensive scent-reduction preparations. It works in a variety of ways, but most importantly, it inhibits the growth of the bacteria that causes body odor. If you stink less, even a little less, a deer is less likely to take your scent seriously.
Does Baking Soda make you invisible to deer? Hardly. However, if you are like me and hunt amongst deer that regularly interact with humans, you’ll know deer get somewhat used to our smell-- otherwise, we’d never seen them. If you’re looking for a theory on how baking soda works, my guess is that it reduces it enough so that the average whitetail may guess you’re 300 yards away instead of 30. Your level of stench may be low enough for him to discount the threat.
I've taken heat here for mentioning baking soda. Some folks think that a deer's nose is infallible. I am going to agree with them up to a point. First off, the deer I deal with are somewhat used to human scent. We're out there, but not THAT far out there. If you go a mile or two in any direction you will find a house. This is not a tractless void. Some people hunt tractless voids, and I have little experience with them. Second, you have to look at this comparatively. Let say the Opener is on Saturday. You and I both go hunting on Sunday. I have been showering every morning and putting on fresh clothes, and you're still in the underwear you rode in on Friday and you're wearing the same coat you've worn hunting for 3 years without washing, who is more likely to get busted?
