scenting conditions

[Southern Man]

its just somedays i dont have good people skills.

Yea me too.

You might be on to something if you could predict when a buck was gonna have a hard time smellin. But there's the problem. Too many variables to contend with and too many beyond your control or ability to predict. Interesting thought tho.......

[bonemonger]

i dont really know how to predict it or even why it occurs, the intent of my post was that some hunters dont realize that deer dont have the ability to smell you the same every day and thats why they think their scent control methods work. i wish i knew why it occurs and it could be as simple as humidity. the intent of my post got off track and that is my fault. Bob

[dan]

You might be on to something with ground scent, but I don't think thats the case with downwind scent.

[bonemonger]

dan you could be right about airborne scent, but i have some reservations as to the fact that my dogs ran mostly with their heads up on airborne scent. now this might only affect scent two to three feet off the ground, it is just something i have witnessed over the years. not something a worn out old hunter is able to comprehend.

[Milk Weed Seed]

Great post. I might be wrong here but I don't think a deer licking it's nose has anything to do with smelling. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as such with a dog, when it's nose is dry it has a fever.?
Humidity plays a roll in sound travel, and could very well be associated with ground scent somehow. I had a doe cut my track in about two feet of snow and bust me. I was shocked, for some naive stupidity I thought snow is made of frozen water so they shouldn't smell me.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Brad]

I have always heard that they wet their noses to "catch the scent" as it enters their nose, could be a rumor though. I have shot a lot of deer with both wet and dry noses, so that has me wondering now.

Great post. I might be wrong here but I don't think a deer licking it's nose has anything to do with smelling. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as such with a dog, when it's nose is dry it has a fever.?
Humidity plays a roll in sound travel, and could very well be associated with ground scent somehow. I had a doe cut my track in about two feet of snow and bust me. I was shocked, for some naive stupidity I thought snow is made of frozen water so they shouldn't smell me.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[bonemonger]

i am not a expert on this but i think you will see this behavior from deer would have caught a hint of odor and are trying to verify its direction, like some guys lick their finger to tell wind direction.

[JRM6868]

I have a theory also based on observation. The buck you saw walk your path and not pay attention could it be his head was up in a cross wind and without his nose to the ground didn't pick up your scent? Had deer walk past where I walked in and the ones with their head up didn't scent me but one came by later with its head down and did. Could the days when the dogs don't scent well be on old scent? The days they run well be on fresher scent? I think the freshness of the scent makes alot of difference as to how the animals react. The buck that was watching the other bucks during the rut he was distracted and not smelling you and the bucks looking for the hot doe is no different than a person looking for something frantically and over looking keys right in front of their face. Are there conditions that make it better for scenting I think so. Dry air isn't good, windy days aren't good. Humidity I think is good because it puts moisture on the leaves and they hold scent better. IMO

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[bonemonger]

I have a theory also based on observation. The buck you saw walk your path and not pay attention could it be his head was up in a cross wind and without his nose to the ground didn't pick up your scent? Had deer walk past where I walked in and the ones with their head up didn't scent me but one came by later with its head down and did. Could the days when the dogs don't scent well be on old scent? The days they run well be on fresher scent? I think the freshness of the scent makes alot of difference as to how the animals react. The buck that was watching the other bucks during the rut he was distracted and not smelling you and the bucks looking for the hot doe is no different than a person looking for something frantically and over looking keys right in front of their face. Are there conditions that make it better for scenting I think so. Dry air isn't good, windy days aren't good. Humidity I think is good because it puts moisture on the leaves and they hold scent better. IMO

[ Post made via iPhone ]

the buck that was standing was watching the young bucks trying to figure out where the doe that ran out in front me minutes before they showed up, the does track was fresh and the bucks couldnt track her so i am assuming the scenting conditions were so poor that he couldnt smell me. where the buck crossed my tracks both days his head was up and he was just ambling along like most year and a half old bucks do. one day no sign of smelling me the next panic. as for the dogs, the beagles seem to affected the most, you can watch them jump a rabbit and just stand on their head trying to run it, hour later running one like they are tied to it. i ran my hounds one summer when it was so dry you couldnt spit and they ran and treed coons great some nights and have some nights the conditions would be tough. i have my beagles on a windy day when conditions were right running 15 feet off the track they could smell so good. i have turned my hounds on a coon crossing the road on different nights, some nights they act like there is no scent other nights just smoke the track. i have come back to those spots where they couldnt run the coon crossing the road a half hour later and turn them loose and run the coon great.

[JRM6868]

Interesting...how they couldn't track the coon and then 1/2 hour later were on it. I wouldn't think the conditions change that much in a 1/2 hour to make it that much better tracking. Was it the first time you turned them loose that night?

[Chinook]

I ran beagles for many years. I was taught and still believe that scent sticks to water. Wet, drizzly days were always the best. If the dogs couldn't scent I balmed it on something else, like you mentioned, old scent, no scent ect. I'm open minded to thinking there could be other factors involved in scenting, but I don't have much to add, and really haven't seen or read enough to change my mind. Good question, I'll be thinking about this all day now .

[phade]

Many animals, deer included, lick their nose to increase olfactory reception.

[bonemonger]

Interesting...how they couldn't track the coon and then 1/2 hour later were on it. I wouldn't think the conditions change that much in a 1/2 hour to make it that much better tracking. Was it the first time you turned them loose that night?

i really dont know why this happens, most of the time it wasnt the first turn out, had such mixed results from doing it that would just drive by the spot and come back later. it seemed like when the dogs could smell the coon he ran like crazy and didnt want to tree when you turned them right on it.

I ran beagles for many years. I was taught and still believe that scent sticks to water. Wet, drizzly days were always the best. If the dogs couldn't scent I balmed it on something else, like you mentioned, old scent, no scent ect. I'm open minded to thinking there could be other factors involved in scenting, but I don't have much to add, and really haven't seen or read enough to change my mind. Good question, I'll be thinking about this all day now .

wet drizzly days were not always good running for me, days when the air temp and ground temps would vary were bad. when i grouse hunted we had rainy days when the dogs would run right over every bird and never smell them, other days they could point them from 30 feet. like i said i didnt pay attention to it because i am a dummy, or else i might have some answers.