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Ozone is the latest and greatest tool available to hunters and its popularity is growing to athletes, homeowners, car owners, businesses, and more. What is the reason so many people are turning to ozone, you ask? - That is the question that one intrepid hunting writer sought to test with a unique experiment of his own, a police dog test.

How does Ozone work?

Before we get to the experiment to reveal its findings, here is a quick refresher on how ozone works.

Ozone works like magic but is grounded in hard science. When you spray ozone, it releases extra oxygen molecules that attach themselves to other molecules in the air – including sweat, body odor, and other human-related scents that might tip off any game in the area. Releasing this extra molecule neutralizes the scents that may tip off game.

The Experiment

Skeptical of ozone’s new found popularity, respected hunting writer Scott Bestul, along with the help of some of his hunting buddies and an experienced police dog, ran an experiment to find out whether or not ozone could really eliminate odours.

Betsul ran four tests. In each test the police dog was instructed by a trained handler to find one of Betsul’s hunting buddies who hid in one of six wooden boxes. The test is an exact replica of the type of training that real police dogs undergo regularly.

Test number one was a simple control test. The police dog – Chance – took just 14 seconds to identify the correct box. According to Betsul, Chance, like most police dogs, checked all six boxes just to be safe, so 14 seconds was a bit longer than needed.

Test 2 put an old school method to the test: baking soda. The test subject bathed with unscented soap mixed with baking soda and wore clothes washed and powdered in baking soda. It took 19 seconds to for the sniffer dog to find the subject.

Test three combined a non-scented shower with clothes infused by an ozone-generating product. It took Chance a full 42 seconds to find the subject, three times longer than the control experiment.

Test four used an unscented soap shower and clothes washed with unscented detergent. The subject also carried a portable ozone generator designed to be mounted in a blind or tree stand. After running the ozone generator for a minute the test began. The ozone generator continued running throughout the experiment. It took Chance 50 seconds – nearly a full minute – to find the subject.

What we learned

According to Bestul, the test was the most shocking he has ever conducted making ozone the best product he has ever used to conceal smell.

A sniffer dog has approximately 200 million receptors, a deer has 297 million. Nothing will completely eliminate the scent of a human, but ozone is the best product currently available. Ozone will buy you enough time to line up the perfect shot without alerting any nearby game.

Clearly, ozone is a whole lot more than just a fad, it is the best product currently on the market for concealing your scent while hunting.

To read Betsul’s full experiment check out his blog post here: http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2014/07/does-it-work-ozone-scent-control-vs-drug-sniffing-dog