Downwind Scent

[camet5]

I have always wondered how far downwind from you can a whitetail smell your scent? For talking sake say a hunter with no charcoal suit, just scent free soap on him and his gear and no cover scent.

[BuckShotJon]

Welcome to the board.

As for scent I don't personally think there is a set number of yards that a deer can scent you. I feel it more depends on the wind speed. With a wind speed of 5 MPH versus a wind speed of 35 MPH the 35 MPH is gonna take your scent farther.

Wind is important but not crutial to me. I put on a cover scent and a doe scent. It seems to work well. But as a smoker I try to not smoke in the woods. Its usually a few hours before I will lite one up. However its odd because I still see deer when i smoke. Sometimes I actually see more when I am smoking. And on several occasions I have shot deer when smoking. So who knows really how much scent is of a factor.

Jon

[Swantucky]

         I agree with the smoking thing,  I can't tell you how many times I've had to put a smoke out to prepare for a shot.  I thimk wind direction has alot to do with it,  ie if they come in downwind you will not see them no matter what, conversly if they are upwind they will not smell you cigarette or not.  In fact if the action is slow I will fire one up as it seems they know when you are unprepared for the shot and show up then.(ha-ha)  I've had a few of my non-smoking buddies joke that they were going to take up smoking to improve their sightings.

[camet5]

What got me going on this was last weekend while hunting I had two does come into me and circled around behind & downwind of me, and at 15-20 yds out scented me and ran off. The next day same stand location & wind direction and (I think) the same two doe came into me again except this time they were farther out 30-40yds. They passed thru my downwind scent trail and never spooked. It just has me wondering. Since they seem to want to circle around behind me I moved my stand location back about 100 yds. to try and keep them in front & upwind of me. Hopefully this will work out for me..
Thanks for the replies guys.

[PA_BOWHUNTER]

A long ways!

I depends on a lot of factors, stand height, wind speed, elevation changes, thickness of cover and temp. changes.  I've had deer wind me at 300 yards and deer pass 5 yards downwind and never know I'm there.

[Fat Boy]

Scent control is crucial to prevent deer downwind from you from detecting you.  It's hard to do, but can be done.  I used to chew tobacco and not take as much care about my scent as I do now but I did pay attention to wind direction and wind currents.  I saw and shot my share of deer, but rarely did they appear from down wind of me.  Now that I take much more care to become as odorless as possible, they come from all directions.  I'd say that I see a lot more deer than I did before. 

Another thing that gets overlooked about scent control is that deer can detect foreign odors on equipment, back packs, fanny packs, the soles of your feet, etc.  I scrub the bottoms of my boots and don't wear them except in the woods.  I also keep any hunting gear that can pick up household odors in a plastic trash bag and spray that gear often.  I was busted by a doe last week because my backpack had been sitting out in my living room all week outside of the plastic bag.  The following day I had a spike come from downwind of me undetected.

Also, humidity plays a role in this too as does falling or rising temperatures.  Rising morning temperatures will carry scent upwards.  Conversely, fast cooling temperatures in late afternoon will carry your scent down.  Wind can actually blow scent over the top of deer too, so if you had light winds when the deer busted you 15 yards away and the next day they didn't detect you, it could be that increased wind speed kept the scent up over their heads and out of reach of their noses.  That is why tree stand height plays a significant role in scent control.

One thing that I've learned is that by being anal about your scent control, about every single thing that you carry into the woods, you stand a better chance than if you don't.  Hunting into the wind is the equalizer of scent control mistakes and is a must.  No matter how hard we try, it's very easy to forget something or overlook something.

Also, another thing that crops up is what to do if you have to relieve yourself or take a dump.  One thing is for certain is that deer can detect human urine.  They may not know it as human, but they do know it as a threat.  I know from first hand experience and have been busted by deer that smelled what I peed on.  It's best to carry an empty bottle and use it.  I've heard stories about people attracting deer by peeing out of their stands.  I can't say that it is not possible, but from my experience it never worked, rather it did the opposite every time.  And number two near your stand is an absolute deer hunting disaster even if you try to cover it up.  My best advice there is to walk well away from your stand.  Maybe it would be an effective way to use it to your advantage by circling around the other side of a bedding area, take your massive, then return to your stand.  Perhaps the deer would be so repulsed that they might come to your stand instead!

[PA_BOWHUNTER]

  And number two near your stand is an absolute deer hunting disaster even if you try to cover it up.  My best advice there is to walk well away from your stand.  Maybe it would be an effective way to use it to your advantage by circling around the other side of a bedding area, take your massive, then return to your stand.  Perhaps the deer would be so repulsed that they might come to your stand instead!

LMAO!!  Great strategy there FB!!  Funnel the deer with your own natural repellant!!

[camet5]

Thanks for the reply FB. The wind speed coment and the morning air rising and afternoon air droping is something I never thought about.

[Otter]

I agree with FB's comments, scent control is paramount.  Many people overlook wind direction when approaching their stands, that is very important too.

1.  A. Scent control in the stand.
1.  B.  Scent control on the way to the stand.
1.  C.  Noise control on the way to the stand...break up your cadence.  I take 6-10 steps than stop for 30 seconds to 5 minutes depending on what I see and hear.  I have walked up on many deer that were not alerted by my cadence.

Good Hunting!

[buckman]

just thinking. I do most mass. hunting in urban areas. The deer live with humans everyday.  human scent is everywhere so I'm not sure it effects them the same. just stay fairly scent free and stay motionless as best you can. Hunt high in your stand. 
 However when I hunt in Maine they can wind you easy. you really have to pay attention to wind direction.

[Wapati]

What you say is very true buckman. Deer that live in close proximity to man will react differently to human scent than a deer that lives in vast wooded tracts with infrequent human activity. Regardless, in either setting, you will have far greater success if the animal never knows you are there. Even an animal that smells human scent everyday will be in a status of high alert when they smell an odor that instinct tells them is a threat. They may not bolt, but they will be very alert. Lets face it, a relaxed animal is much easier to get a good shot at than one that is nervous. As an Elk hunter out west, I spend very little time in stationary positions and never hunt from a tree stand. Therefore, I can hunt in a manner where I always have the wind in my face. When hunting Elk, if they get downwind from you, its over. They will smell you every time and sometimes from a 1/4 mile or more away. I do everything in my power to not smell like anything other than what is naturally found in the woods. I often do little things like rub pine sap into my clothes or even step square into the middle of a cow flop with both feet if I am hunting in an area with free ranging cattle. Anything to minimize human odor. I can tell you though, from many years of Elk hunting experience, that if conditions are right and an Elk is downwind, he will smell you right through cover scents, odor elimination scents and scent lock suits. Regardless, attempting to minimize human odor in any hunting condition while hunting any big game species, will increase your odds of success.

Wapati

[tk10fire]

Man this is a great topic. My opinion echos alot of the comments here. I to believe that the only way to truly be regularly successfull on the elusive whitetail, and other game is to use the wind in your favor. However I also believe that all were not created with the same equal alarming scent. My friend for example who never uses cover scent and smokes in the stand has deer comming from all and every direction and as for me I can use all the cover and scent block (I quit smoking) and still need the wind in my favor to see deer. I also have believed for years 

Also, humidity plays a role in this too as does falling or rising temperatures.  Rising morning temperatures will carry scent upwards.  Conversely, fast cooling temperatures in late afternoon will carry your scent down.

About wind speed I have experienced that with strong winds  scent is mixed up more and is much more difficult for deer to  determind direction of odor origin.