Diggdug
Member
So last year I got a call from a friend who was raving about his Ozonics unit. He was telling me about some great encounters he was having with deer coming in from downwind of his stands. This guy is very frugal and I was shocked when he told me he spent $400 on an Ozone machine and he was actually recommending that I buy one…
My brother, who is also an avid whitetail bowhunter with several bucks in the CBM record book had informed me a few days earlier that he had an Ozonics unit and that it definitely worked if winds are steady and light, but not so well in swirling winds.
Based on these recommendations I bought an Ozonics HR300 unit from Northwoods Wholesale Outlet in Pinconning as they had the best price. It was the last week of October and the bucks were becoming more active. I took it with me that evening for a sit. My stand was in a Red Pine overlooking a grass field in Gladwin Co. Michigan on a 240 acre lease that had 10 members but only 4 had been bow hunting. I had been hunting this stand for over 3 weeks on and off depending on the wind. I had a small bait pile of corn and sugar beets about 25 yards from the stand in the grass field. The wind was light and blowing directly to the bait pile as confirmed by my windicator. About an hour before dark a 4 point buck came to the bait and walked into my scent stream. He started sniffing the air, head up and looking for me. He came directly to my tree, the whole time sniffing the wind as if he smelled something but couldn’t figure it out. He walked to the base of my tree and all around it, then, apparently satisfied that there was no danger, he headed out to the bait and fed for about 10 minutes before wandering off. The next evening found me in the same stand with the same light wind blowing directly to my bait. This time I had a nice 2 year old 8-point come directly to my bait pile from downwind. He was not interested in eating but he just scent checked the area around the bait as he would if it were an active scrape. I see this behavior more and more as there are so many bait piles in my area that bucks literally check them as they would a scrape for doe activity. Anyway, the buck could definitely smell the Ozone, but he did not run off with his tail up. Instead, he just walked off slowly and started to circle me. As soon as I could without being seen, I pulled my bow off my hook and released an arrow that luckily went right through his heart. He ran about 25 yards and piled up. Later in the season I had a similar experience with an adult Doe that also ended in a harvest of a downwind animal.
My opinion is that the Ozonics definitely gave me some shooting opportunities that I would not have otherwise had. As long as the winds are steady and not swirling, these machines are definitely an asset to have with you in the woods. I do not hunt without mine if conditions are right!
My brother, who is also an avid whitetail bowhunter with several bucks in the CBM record book had informed me a few days earlier that he had an Ozonics unit and that it definitely worked if winds are steady and light, but not so well in swirling winds.
Based on these recommendations I bought an Ozonics HR300 unit from Northwoods Wholesale Outlet in Pinconning as they had the best price. It was the last week of October and the bucks were becoming more active. I took it with me that evening for a sit. My stand was in a Red Pine overlooking a grass field in Gladwin Co. Michigan on a 240 acre lease that had 10 members but only 4 had been bow hunting. I had been hunting this stand for over 3 weeks on and off depending on the wind. I had a small bait pile of corn and sugar beets about 25 yards from the stand in the grass field. The wind was light and blowing directly to the bait pile as confirmed by my windicator. About an hour before dark a 4 point buck came to the bait and walked into my scent stream. He started sniffing the air, head up and looking for me. He came directly to my tree, the whole time sniffing the wind as if he smelled something but couldn’t figure it out. He walked to the base of my tree and all around it, then, apparently satisfied that there was no danger, he headed out to the bait and fed for about 10 minutes before wandering off. The next evening found me in the same stand with the same light wind blowing directly to my bait. This time I had a nice 2 year old 8-point come directly to my bait pile from downwind. He was not interested in eating but he just scent checked the area around the bait as he would if it were an active scrape. I see this behavior more and more as there are so many bait piles in my area that bucks literally check them as they would a scrape for doe activity. Anyway, the buck could definitely smell the Ozone, but he did not run off with his tail up. Instead, he just walked off slowly and started to circle me. As soon as I could without being seen, I pulled my bow off my hook and released an arrow that luckily went right through his heart. He ran about 25 yards and piled up. Later in the season I had a similar experience with an adult Doe that also ended in a harvest of a downwind animal.
My opinion is that the Ozonics definitely gave me some shooting opportunities that I would not have otherwise had. As long as the winds are steady and not swirling, these machines are definitely an asset to have with you in the woods. I do not hunt without mine if conditions are right!