Gun oil scent elimination?

manbearpig

manbearpig

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Hey folks,

What are you doing to eliminate the smell of gun oils, cleaning products, etc from your guns?
I'm well versed on eliminating scents on myself, clothing and gear but this is one area that's always eluded me.
Even I can smell it, so it must be an alarming smell to game - especially predators. Short of stripping them to bare metal, which will expose them to corrosion unless they're stainless, I can't think of any way to completely eliminate the smell.

I've thought of completely stripping them and then protecting them with some kind of natural-based oil instead?
 
That's gonna be a tough one, and likely the "juice isn't worth the squeeze" there... I use 5W30 synthetic to lube my guns, which is fairly odor free, but not to the extent you're looking for.

There's just no way to fully eliminate scent. Even if it comes down to the smell of your breath on the wind, or your rubber boot soles that smell like the floor of your truck, you will always smell like something that doesn't belong, especially to the keen nose of a predator.

Play the wind, don't try to kill the scent. No matter how sharp the nose, they still can't smell what's downwind :)
 
manbearpig said:
Hey folks,

What are you doing to eliminate the smell of gun oils, cleaning products, etc from your guns?
I'm well versed on eliminating scents on myself, clothing and gear but this is one area that's always eluded me.
Even I can smell it, so it must be an alarming smell to game - especially predators. Short of stripping them to bare metal, which will expose them to corrosion unless they're stainless, I can't think of any way to completely eliminate the smell.

I've thought of completely stripping them and then protecting them with some kind of natural-based oil instead?
Click to expand...

If you use enough Skunk scent it will over power the oil scent :)
 
I can typically smell motor from several feet away so I'd guess animals can smell it from much, much further. That said there are some common gun products that even I can smell from the end of the driveway.

Has anyone tried using natural oils on at least their specific hunting or predator hunting guns to keep smells neutral? If there's something that works and doesn't gum up parts I was thinking of keeping specific hunting guns totally separate and only using those scent-neutral products on them.
 
I stoped using scent elinators and camo altogether years ago. My kill ratio hasnt dropped a bit. Become a better hunter and throw all that other stuff away. You can never control scent well enough to make up for poor skill sets.
 
I use 0w40 synthetic diesel oil (because that's what I have jugs of for winter in the trucks)
and permatex ultra slick synthetic grease.
At least they both don't reek like ATF+4.
Light oil what pivots on a pin, light grease what slides.
 
I don't think it's possible to hide human scent in a way that matters enough to bother with. Been through that and did all the research.
 
Longwalker said:
I don't think it's possible to hide human scent in a way that matters enough to bother with. Been through that and did all the research.
Click to expand...

I agree .... I know a couple of successful traditional bow hunters who do not care about scent control .... Hey they even smoke cigarettes ... but they do care a lot about the wind direction ... ;)

Try to smell something from downwind ...
 
Longwalker said:
I don't think it's possible to hide human scent in a way that matters enough to bother with. Been through that and did all the research.
Click to expand...
True, hiding scent from creatures that are able to distinguish something like one part in a million, or more, is impossible.
But it can't hurt to try to minimize it, as useless as it probably is in most cases, play the wind as best you can.
Scent away sprays are a waste of $.
I do believe in removing UV from hunting clothes though.
 
manbearpig said:
I can typically smell motor from several feet away so I'd guess animals can smell it from much, much further. That said there are some common gun products that even I can smell from the end of the driveway.

Has anyone tried using natural oils on at least their specific hunting or predator hunting guns to keep smells neutral? If there's something that works and doesn't gum up parts I was thinking of keeping specific hunting guns totally separate and only using those scent-neutral products on them.
Click to expand...

Strange odors are everywhere ... but that does not mean that deer will spook ... There are tons of strange odors at my camp ... but the deer and moose love to check out my camp regularly .... and as shown on my trail cameras. Especially the moose ... they are very curious ...

Deer (and other wild game) have learned to associate the human smell with danger .... but they have not yet learned to associate gun oils with danger .... there are just too many different gun oils out there ....

I am pretty sure I could pour a whole bottle of Ballistol on a stump at camp ... and the moose and deer would still check it out when I am away .... Hey, they might even be attracted to it and out of curiosity ...
 
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I've never even thought about gun oil scent. I'm sure someone sells some gimmick scent free oil though. :)

Wind is the only way to fool wild animals noses.
 
Possibly something like coconut oil, or mink oil might be what you're after. I'm pretty sure it's not as good as the formulated stuff, but it's something. Curious now. While I am trying to be a bit more scent conscious, I don't think it's the be all end all. Been off scented laundry soap, and scented dryer sheets for years. Can smell that from 20 yards away sometimes.

Have snuck up on stuff pretty close, with the wind right. Close enough to touch a sleeping woodchuck once, and about 7 yards on a little black bear.
Have had badgers and skunks run right up to me. Close encounters with fox and moose, too.
 
Bare metal can be wiped with a Hoppes silicone cloth, and the action and moving parts could be sprayed with Remington RemDriLube which is teflon based.
 
manbearpig said:
I can typically smell motor from several feet away so I'd guess animals can smell it from much, much further. That said there are some common gun products that even I can smell from the end of the driveway.

Has anyone tried using natural oils on at least their specific hunting or predator hunting guns to keep smells neutral? If there's something that works and doesn't gum up parts I was thinking of keeping specific hunting guns totally separate and only using those scent-neutral products on them.
Click to expand...

There used to be an outfit in Sask that made gun oil from Canola. Not a good idea unless it's steadily applied. Turns into varnish in the Gun cabinet.
 
Go to the drug store and buy mineral oil. Its petroleum based without all the additives, can be used by humans both topically and internally. Comes in two grades, light and heavy. I use the heavy grade for rust protection and general lubrication.
 
I like Breakfree CLP because it's odour free, to humans anyway. I remember going to a sportsmans show in Montreal where a guy was touting gun oil that was scented with pine or cedar. Would it fool a deer? Dunno. The best solution is to be constantly aware of the wind direction and hunt upwind. That's also where game animals will be looking for trouble to come from, but at least you're not lighting a scent beacon that will carry 30 km downwind ahead of you- and I have the idea that game is a lot more scared of human odour than they are of mechanical ones. When I was stalking deer for fun in the offseason, I tied a very light thread to a walking stick and watched that, sometimes air movements in the woods can be quite surprising.
 
Hey, speak for yourself :d



My rationale for choosing more "neutral", unscented gun products is this:
Humans are vastly overpopulated at this point and even deep in the most remote wildlife reserve you'd be hard pressed to find an animal that hasn't smelled humans. We're animals after all, and human sweat/breath - while recognized as a danger - is not completely out of place in their environment. A strong-smelling synthetic gun product likely is. God forbid a hunter with that distinctive smell actually misses them: they've just educated that animal to associate that smell with danger and avoid it.
Even something as dumb as a pigeon - and they are stupid AF - can very quickly learn to associate sights, smells, sounds and other stimuli with risks or rewards.

If you're a skilled hunter you can bag game wearing jeans and red flannels and slathered in Old Spice.. but if you are taking the time, expense and effort to stack the deck in your favor via camo and scent elimination then it seems counter-productive to just grab a gun saturated with strong-smelling gun oils/preservatives out of the cabinet without a second thought.

Gun products are so distinctive that border services dogs are trained to locate firearms and components by the smell of gun oils.
 
- Well .... the two tables in the picture get soaked in motor oil every year.
- on the back table there is always a bottle of dish soap and a scented hand soap
- the bench was treated with wood preservative (stinky stuff)
- the post was treated/painted with roofing tar
- the front table is where I lay out the guns when I am shooting out there ... and I spray my guns with Ballistol before packing them away … there is probably Ballistol scent all over.
- I use scented candles in the evenings ... there is scented wax all over.
- to the right of that picture frame only a couple meters away is my fireplace and BBQ area …. and full of all kinds of scents from spices and oils and fats, etc. …
- to the left of that picture frame is my tool shed (2 meters away) … with all kinds of chemicals in there …. ant/insect spray … gasoline, kerosene, all kinds of paints … etc.

And do these moose care? They even sniff my motor oil / Ballistol table ....

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