[nstrut]

Getting Ready for the Hunt - The Shower​

I may go to extremes with some things, but I believe there is a right and wrong way to get ready for a hunt. There may be some things that you are over-looking while taking a shower. Let me share some things I've witnessed and some "different" things I do.

Preparing the Shower
​

Don't over-look this step! You wouldn't wash you hunting clothes in the washer right after a load of clothes with flowery fabric softener,right? So, don't wash yourself in a shower that is covered in bath oils, bath beads, and cleaners. I always wipe out the shower with baking soda before I get in. I have three women in the house that love bath beads, so this is a necessary step for me.

Hair​

Guys, hair stinks! Not only does it trap your sweat, it holds all it's odors also. This may be a little extreme for some, but the only hair I have during the season is the hair on my head and my eyebrows. I really don't care what anyone thinks about it. Hair stinks and the 100% way to combat that is to get rid of it. If you can swallow your pride, try it. :embara:

Jewelry​

You guys wear your wedding band into the woods? Probably so. How about earrings? Ever take a second to smell those areas? Take an earring back off your earring and smell it. You'll most likely not like it too well. Same with your rings, necklaces, etc. Bacteria gets trapped in these areas. Try not to wear your jewelry in the woods, but if you do, make sure clean these areas really well while in the shower.

Washing
​

Bacteria breeds on dead skin cells. Make sure when you are showering, you are scrubbing and not just lathering. You want to use a bath brush or some sort of scrubber to remove the dead skin cells. Also, wash your hair first! You are defeating the purpose of washing your body and then your hair. All the soap from your dirty hair rinses onto your body making it dirty again. Wash well behind your ears and all the places "the sun don't shine".:zip: Get under your nails. Your skin has a million and on creases and wrinkles. Get them all!

Water Temperature​

The MOST OVER-LOOKED aspect of getting ready for the hunt. Hey, nobody likes a cold shower in the morning, right? Well, it doesn't have to be cold but you should get used to not taking a hot shower either. The hotter the shower, the more your body temperature rises. The more your body temperature rises, the higher the risk of starting to sweat. Yep, you can sweat right out of the shower and not even know it. I usually make the water a little cold and chill myself before stepping out of the shower. It works for me.

Finishing Up​

Once I'm all washed up, I also brush my teeth, tongue, and mouth in the shower with straight baking soda. It gets quite messy if you do it right and you'll probably gag, but that's okay.ukey: That's why I do it in the shower. You CAN NOT forget your mouth and teeth!

Now I am done and the water is off, I spray myself head to toe with scent killer. I personally use straight white vinegar and I soak myself with it, spray it in my mouth and all.

Drying Off​

Here is the one thing I see all the time that blows my mind. You've just taken a shower and spent the time to get scent-free and now guys pull a towel out of the closet and dry off. You know, the flowery smelling ones with the fabric softener?!?

Make sure you have your own towels that are scent-free to dry off with!

Well, that's my own way of doing things. Maybe I touched on some things you didn't think about. Maybe you think I take too much time thinking about it - OR- maybe you think I'm just psycho! If it helps me get closer to that big Pope & Young, I'm gonna do it!

Good Luck!

 

[Exit-Wound]

"Let me share some things I've witnessed..."
"Maybe I touched on some things you didn't think about"

WHOA...the scent free tips were good, but easy on the extra details!!
This is a family show.



Just kidding

 

[oktx]

So, you shave your junk?

 

[nstrut]

"Let me share some things I've witnessed..."
"Maybe I touched on some things you didn't think about"

That's funny! Maybe I could've worded it a little differently! :tongue:

 

[Storm27m]

More than a little extreme in MY opinion, but you do whatever you have to do to feel confident.

 

[nstrut]

So, you shave your junk?

Junk? Man, you get straight to the point, huh? :wink:

Well, if you must know, ...........

C-O-M-M-A-N-D-O ! :bathbaby:

 

[nstrut]

More than a little extreme in MY opinion, but you do whatever you have to do to feel confident.

Ya know, there might not be one other person that will agree with me on this, but I just feel it really needs to be done from a scent standpoint. Is it necessary? Probabaly not.

I think you said it best....do whatever it takes to make you confident in the woods.

To each his own. I'm sure others out there have their own way and do things I haven't thought about.

Please share.

 

[BuckmyBass]

Wow....

That is alot....I would never have enough time for all that. i take showers to descent before I hunt but thats all a little much for me IMO. I have a interesting fact about the entire scent free thing. Yes its the right thing to do but the past 3 years I have taken several deer including a ''150 buck without even taking a shower. I think that the wind is the best scent protection, Yes it can be a little tricky but it must be right for me to hunt any situation.
just my .02 LOL

JOHN

 

[nstrut]

Without a doubt, it all means nothing if you don't play the wind.

I also wear Scent Blocker, but I have always hated the slogan, "Forget the wind...just hunt."

 

[dressed2kill]

This is another thing people sometimes overlook, when you get in your truck how bad does a truck seat smell, cologne, spilled drinks, etc. And then your seat-belt that was rubbing on your nice clean smell good shirt yesterday. That's why I get dressed in da woods, and hunt the wind. You can think of a million things that retain scent that you could inadvertently carry with you into the woods, just make sure the wind is blowing it away from the game. :thumbs_up

 

[Obie]

Psychy Disorder Evaluation anyone????

 

[Allaround]

Your dedication and mind set is akin to that of a military sniper. I applaud the effort.
What do you do when you stay out on a hunt for days or weeks?
Also, what pre hunt preparations do you take as far as what you consume?

 

[RickH78]

Getting Ready for the Hunt - The Shower​

I may go to extremes with some things, but I believe there is a right and wrong way to get ready for a hunt. There may be some things that you are over-looking while taking a shower. Let me share some things I've witnessed and some "different" things I do.

Preparing the Shower
​

Don't over-look this step! You wouldn't wash you hunting clothes in the washer right after a load of clothes with flowery fabric softener,right? So, don't wash yourself in a shower that is covered in bath oils, bath beads, and cleaners. I always wipe out the shower with baking soda before I get in. I have three women in the house that love bath beads, so this is a necessary step for me.

Hair​

Guys, hair stinks! Not only does it trap your sweat, it holds all it's odors also. This may be a little extreme for some, but the only hair I have during the season is the hair on my head and my eyebrows. I really don't care what anyone thinks about it. Hair stinks and the 100% way to combat that is to get rid of it. If you can swallow your pride, try it. :embara:

Jewelry​

You guys wear your wedding band into the woods? Probably so. How about earrings? Ever take a second to smell those areas? Take an earring back off your earring and smell it. You'll most likely not like it too well. Same with your rings, necklaces, etc. Bacteria gets trapped in these areas. Try not to wear your jewelry in the woods, but if you do, make sure clean these areas really well while in the shower.

Washing
​

Bacteria breeds on dead skin cells. Make sure when you are showering, you are scrubbing and not just lathering. You want to use a bath brush or some sort of scrubber to remove the dead skin cells. Also, wash your hair first! You are defeating the purpose of washing your body and then your hair. All the soap from your dirty hair rinses onto your body making it dirty again. Wash well behind your ears and all the places "the sun don't shine".:zip: Get under your nails. Your skin has a million and on creases and wrinkles. Get them all!

Water Temperature​

The MOST OVER-LOOKED aspect of getting ready for the hunt. Hey, nobody likes a cold shower in the morning, right? Well, it doesn't have to be cold but you should get used to not taking a hot shower either. The hotter the shower, the more your body temperature rises. The more your body temperature rises, the higher the risk of starting to sweat. Yep, you can sweat right out of the shower and not even know it. I usually make the water a little cold and chill myself before stepping out of the shower. It works for me.

Finishing Up​

Once I'm all washed up, I also brush my teeth, tongue, and mouth in the shower with straight baking soda. It gets quite messy if you do it right and you'll probably gag, but that's okay.ukey: That's why I do it in the shower. You CAN NOT forget your mouth and teeth!

Now I am done and the water is off, I spray myself head to toe with scent killer. I personally use straight white vinegar and I soak myself with it, spray it in my mouth and all.

Drying Off​

Here is the one thing I see all the time that blows my mind. You've just taken a shower and spent the time to get scent-free and now guys pull a towel out of the closet and dry off. You know, the flowery smelling ones with the fabric softener?!?

Make sure you have your own towels that are scent-free to dry off with!

Well, that's my own way of doing things. Maybe I touched on some things you didn't think about. Maybe you think I take too much time thinking about it - OR- maybe you think I'm just psycho! If it helps me get closer to that big Pope & Young, I'm gonna do it!

Good Luck!

 

[hitman846]

Do you get up at Midnight for a morning hunt? :noidea:

 

[hoythunter719]

this is good stuff and i do mostly the same things except scrub my mouth with baking soda, my tooth paste is the baking soda kind with out mint so im set there. i also agree with shaving your body, i do jiu jitsu and have to cut weight reguarly which helps cut the weight but it serves a dual purpos helping to keep me scent free. all in all good stuff though

 

[NM_HighPlains]

Ditto- I was gonna ask that, too.

 

[ciscokid]

One more tip....

The indians actually fast for a few days before their hunt. They say that what you eat is excreted through your skin...


They also do a dance to praise the gods the night before! :dancing:

 

[GreggWNY]

One note about soap. To effectively kill bacteria, soap should be left on for a few minutes. Even soap with triclosin requires time. Lather up, leave it on for a while and then rinse.

 

[Valhalla 1]

Here is the one thing I see all the time that blows my mind. You've just taken a shower and spent the time to get scent-free and now guys pull a towel out of the closet and dry off. You know, the flowery smelling ones with the fabric softener?!?

I'm really hoping that this isn't something you actually see all the time...

 

[nstrut]

Your dedication and mind set is akin to that of a military sniper. I applaud the effort.
What do you do when you stay out on a hunt for days or weeks?
Also, what pre hunt preparations do you take as far as what you consume?

I do realize that I may go a little to the extreme to some, but that's okay with me. It works.

Great question about the lengthy hunts. I don't ever pack in anywhere for days or weeks. I hunt whitetails and I've always had a shower available. I can tell you that white vinegar would be #1 in my arsenal if I did pack in. I also have experimented with standing in a campfire with leaves and "smoking up" if you will. I rubbed the smoke all in my hair, skin, clothes without a shower and went on a late season hunt as an experiment. I had deer downwind all evening and while it may have peaked their curiosity a bit, they actually came closer to investigate rather than spook. I wouldn't hesitate using that tactic one bit if I was w/out a shower for any length of time.

As far as diet, I think I'm going to start another post about that. That's a whole different monster and I'm just happy somebody else commented on the subject.