How to Get Deer Blood and Game Smell Out of Your Truck, Cooler and Pack

Quick answer: To get deer blood and game smell out of your truck bed, cooler or pack, clean the blood off first with cold water and soap (The Stink Solution is an odor eliminator, not a disinfectant). Then heavily saturate the area with Odorless Outdoorsman Unscented Odor Eliminator. It eliminates the leftover game odor at the source on contact, including in bed mats, seat fabric, pack straps and seams where smell soaks in.

Filling a tag is the best part of the season. The smell that follows you home is not. Blood and game odor soak into bed mats, carpeted cargo areas, coolers and pack fabric, and a few warm afternoons later your truck smells like a meat locker.

Here's how to clean up after a successful hunt so the smell doesn't ride along for the rest of the season.

Why game smell hangs around

• Blood soaks in. Rubber mats, bed liners with texture, carpet and fabric all have places for blood and fluids to settle.
• Seams and straps trap it. Pack frames, hip belts, drag ropes and tie-down straps hold odor deep in the stitching.
• Heat brings it back. A cleaned truck bed can smell fine in the cold morning and ripe by afternoon.
• It spreads to your gear. If your truck smells like game, so do the hunting clothes and boots you load into it next time.

Step 1: Clean first, every time

Odorless Outdoorsman eliminates odor. It isn't a disinfectant, so start with a normal cleanup:

1. Rinse blood with cold water. Hot water can set blood into fabric.
2. Scrub with soap and water.
3. Rinse again and remove anything that soaked up blood, like cardboard or old towels.

Step 2: Eliminate the odor that's left

Once the surface is clean, the odor that soaked in is what's left. That's where Odorless Outdoorsman comes in.

Truck bed and bed mat: Pull the mat out and heavily saturate both sides, plus the bed floor, tailgate and corners where fluid collects. For big areas, a gallon refill keeps you from running out halfway through.

SUV cargo area or truck cab: If you hauled a deer or elk quarters inside, heavily saturate the carpet, seat fabric and floor mats. It's safe on fabrics and won't stain. On a long Western drive home with meat in the back, treat the cargo area as soon as you unload.

Cooler: After washing it with soap and water, heavily saturate the lid gasket, drain plug area, handles and outside of the cooler, where odor tends to linger. Rinse the inside with clean water before food goes back in.

Pack and frame: After packing out quarters, focus on the shoulder straps, hip belt, load lifters and any seams that touched meat. Wash removable game bags separately, then saturate the pack fabric.

Drag rope, sled and straps: Saturate them fully before you coil them up and store them.

Why it matters for your next hunt

Most hunters don't stop after one tag. Whether you've got a doe tag left, a buddy to help or another state to hunt, the truck and pack go right back into the field. Odor left in your gear goes with you, onto your clothes and into the woods. 

Cover it up or eliminate it?

FAQ: Blood and game smell

How do I get deer blood smell out of my truck bed? Rinse with cold water, scrub with soap, then heavily saturate the bed, mat and corners with Odorless Outdoorsman Unscented to eliminate the odor that's left.

Does Odorless Outdoorsman disinfect? No. It's an odor eliminator, not a disinfectant. Clean blood first with soap and water.

Can I use it on my truck seats and carpet? Yes. It's safe on fabrics and doesn't stain.

Will my truck smell like something else afterward? No. It's unscented, so it eliminates the odor without adding fragrance.

How do I get the smell out of my hunting pack? Wash any removable game bags, then heavily saturate the straps, hip belt and seams of the pack.

Get ready for the next tag

Keep a 16 oz Unscented behind the seat and a gallon in the garage for cleanup day. Shop Odorless Outdoorsman and leave the game smell in the field.