Scent Smoker – Scent Elimination System

• The Scent Smoker uses the most basic tool known to the earliest hunters to mask human scent – smoke. More specifically, hardwood smoke. Smoke is a very common scent in the wild. From a forest fire in the Rocky Mountains, to wood-burning farmstead in the midwest, smoke is omnipresent and does not spook game. It is a naturally occuring fragrance, as common as wood itself.
• Hardwood smoke not only has a strong, lingering fragrance, it is full of bacteria killing anti-microbials. More specifically Phenol (commonly known as carbolic acid, the first anti-septic). In fact, there are over 20 phenolic compounds present in hardwood smoke. This is why smoke has been used for hundreds of years to preserve meat. By “smoking” meat, the outer 1/8 inch of the meat’s surface is protected from bacterial growth, and is therefore preserved from invading bacteria.
• Lignin is the real magic of hardwood smoke. It is the “sticky” substance that causes the smell of smoke to adhere to clothing and skin. The antimicrobial phenolic compounds are present in the lignin, and therefore adhere to garments, skin and equipment, thus killng odor causing bacteria and eliminating game spooking human odor. To beat prey-species’ sense of smell, it is imperative to kill the odor causing bacteria. The phenolic compounds found in wood smoke do this. In addition to killing bacteria, smoke is an over-whelming smell that will effectively cover other non-bacteria related odors, such as common laundry detergents, etc. For best results however, it is best to use common baking soda or other non-scented detergents, soaps, and personal hygene products.
• Smoke has been used for centuries in bee handling. Smoke works as a pheromone blocker, and keeps bees from attacking en mase`. It could work in a similar fashion in the hunter/prey relationship, but more research is needed to say for certain.
• Regardless of whether it is the anti-bacterial properties, pheromone blocking agents, or simply the over whelming cover scent of smoke that makes it so effective, the fact remains hardwood smoke enables knowledgeable hunters to beat prey species’ nose, and that is our main concern!