THE TRUTH ABOUT ODOR

Killing or suppressing human odor is one of the most difficult problems that faces the whitetail hunter. Last week at Heartland Outfitters, Bob Robb of Alaska took a 180 B&C buck with his bow.

"The wind was coming from my back and going straight out in front of me," Robb recalled later. "The buck was coming from my right to my left. I knew that as soon as he got in front of me he would smell me, and the hunt would be over."

Before the buck got to the spot where his nose would intersect the odors of Robb and his cameraman, Robb drew his bow. When the buck smelled human odor, he immediately threw his head up to look right at the tree where Robb and the cameraman sat. However, Robb released the arrow, just as the buck started to bring his head up. The arrow hit the deer before the deer could determine Robb's location. Had Robb not understood the effect human odor would have on deer he wouldn't have had the opportunity to bag the buck.

The hunting industry has many myths about substances that kill, capture, suppress, eliminate, destroy and mask human odor. The truth is they all work to some degree. But always remember that the undertaker is the only man I know of who can completely eliminate human odor.

The best term that I've heard used to describe odor-killing chemicals and their effect on human odor is that they age the odor. If you use odor killers like N-O-Dor by Atsko, it eliminates a tremendous amount of odor. Therefore the odor that the deer smells may not be as strong as the odor your body normally puts off if you're not using some type of odor killer or odor suppressant. If you're upwind of a deer, more than likely he will smell you. However, if you're using an odor killer or an odor suppressant like N-O-Dor, the deer may not be able to determine how far away you are or how much time has passed since you've been in that place. And he may not be able to tell whether you're still around that parcel of land or not. Remember, your body continues to put off odor the entire time you're hunting. Therefore, you're wise to spray down with an odor killer like N-O-Dor two or three times during your hunt, depending on the temperature each time you're in your stand in the morning and the afternoon.

Odor control will have a major effect on your ability to find and take deer. While at Heartland Lodge hunting this past week, I met Roy Conine, the president of Flint River Outdoor Wear, P.O. Box 9105, Columbus, GA 31908; PH: (706) 562-0005. Flint River has some new designs in some hard-to-find outdoor clothing. If you, like me, enjoy the comfort of wearing a pair of blue jeans rather than camouflage pants, Flint River has solved this problem by producing camo blue jeans, some of the neatest hunting pants I've ever seen.

Too, Flint River makes a wide variety of what I call lodge clothes -- pants and shirts with an outdoor flare that you can wear to go to a neighbor's house to watch a football game or to a hunting camp or as sportswear. Flint River also produces a pair of blue jeans with what appears to be a briar-busting covering on the front of them, like chaps. The rough covering on the fronts of these blue jeans not only turns briars but also renders them snakeproof, making them every bird hunter and rabbit hunter's dream hunting pants. To get a catalog of all the new hunting fashions from Flint River, write them.

To learn more about odor control, not only the kind you spray on but the kind you wash in, write Mike Jordan at Atsko, 2664 Russell St., Orangeburg, SC 29115, PH: (803) 531-1820. To find out about hunting at Heartland Outfitters and the lodge's pay-as-you-go program that allows you to make monthly payments when you book a hunt for the next year, write Dr. Robert Russell at 480 South Meadowbrook Road, Springfield, Illinois 62707 or call at (217) 787-0050.

I had a great hunt last week at Heartland Outfitters. I missed the biggest buck I've ever shot at with my bow. If the good Lord doesn't come before deer-hunting season in 2000, I hope to go back again next year.

Check back each day this week for more from John's latest hunting trip...

Day One - Robb's Trophy Buck
Day Two - Why So Many Trophy Buck
Day Three - What A Hunt Includes At Heartland
Day Four - Talking Deer
Day Five - The Truth About Odor