Over the last couple of years, I have watched with ever increasing interest the story and the science behind ozone in the use of hunting. I will be the first to admit that I have not ever used ozone in any of my hunts. I have however consumed everything that I could get my hands on informational wise. I am going to be trying the Ozonics Hunting unit in 2017. I have been skeptical to lay out several hundred dollars for a unit that I was not sure would work. Two thirds of my hunts are on the open prairie and a third are in heavy timber with a swirling series of winds because it is always blowing here in Nebraska. I love new gear but I also like keeping a few dollars in my pocket just as much.
Last week, I had the opportunity to interview Buddy Piland with Ozonics hunting for HuntingInsider.com and it got me to thinking about how I personally hunt; If the Ozonics Hunting HR300 could give me just a bit more time with a big buck regardless of the wind, then I am willing to try it out. In doing my research I came across this article Does it Work? Ozone Scent Contol vs/ Drug-Sniffing Dog produced by the team at Field and Stream, and while the dog did finally choose correctly it bought them an extra 50 seconds of time. 50 seconds is a lot of time in the small plots that I hunt.
In our interview with Buddy we asked him:
Q: How does Ozonics work? What exactly is ozone? Is it safe?
I thinks it’s very important to note that ozone isn’t new—it’s been in our world literally forever. In fact, Ozone is a naturally occurring molecule created in one of two ways: When lightning passes through the air, the electric current produced passes through and fractures the oxygen to create ozone. Or, oxygen in the presence of 185 nm UV light creates ozone. Both methods separate the oxygen molecule to form ozone.
From a safety perspective, the U.S. government performs tests and develops safety standards for numerous materials and compounds—including ozone—and approves them as safe for human use. Ozonics designs, builds and tests its products to meet or exceed federal safety standards put in place by the U.S. government when used properly used both outdoors and in confined spaces, such as a ground blind.
When properly set up—in an open-air environment such as a treestand, or in a ground blind—you should not smell ozone. When using an Ozonics, it’s not uncommon to smell ozone occasionally … rarely … as the wind varies and swirls, but if you smell it often, the wind has switched and you need to augment your setup accordingly. You always want to focus the concentration of ozone on the downwind side of your setup, forcing the ozone to attack your human odor as quickly as possible as it leaves your body—not the odor directly on your body.
In short, when your HR Unit is set up correctly, you will not be exposed to ozone except when the wind shifts—and this is an indication to adjust or modify your setup.
Everything required to generate ozone is contained in the unit itself—you don’t need to add any powder or liquid. As long as you have a charged battery and the unit is on, it’s producing ozone. Ozonics utilizes a process called the corona discharge method to create ozone, which is the same method lightning uses to create ozone naturally. In an Ozonics Unit, oxygen from the air is pulled into the unit and forced between high-voltage plates to simulate the corona discharge method. The oxygen (O2) is broken apart and recombines to form ozone (O3). The ozone is then dispersed from the front of the Unit with a whisper-quiet internal fan.
We also took a look at this video:
Luke Hartle shows how this unit works in a tree stand:
Now we are not here to tell you whether or not to use ozone in hunting. We honestly have not tried it but it’s starting to look interesting and some big bucks are starting to fall to hunters with the Ozonics Hunting units. Even Will Primos is a fan, “When I heard about the innovation Ozonics was bringing to market, I immediately contacted them, flew to their home office in Texas and tried to buy the company. It was not for sale, but I was so excited I consulted with them and, that fall, I had so much more success than normal that Ozonics exceeded all my expectations. In fact, I used it to kill a great buck, and even though I had the wind advantage on that deer, I believe I killed him because a doe behind us—which was downwind—never smelled us and gave us away.”
I am personally looking forward to buying this unit and testing it out and we will keep you posted. Do your research and check these units out. If you have had success in the field with your Ozonics Hunting unit please write us in the comments and tell us what you think. We are always open to hearing hunting stories and we really want to know what you think.
