Scent question

[Casper]

How much tolerance does a deer have with your smell? Say you are walking in through a field and your wind is blowing into a bedding area that you don't plan on hunting. The bedding area is 200 yards through a field and 50 yards into the woods. Will those deer bust out of there or will they just pay close attention and be on full alert? What if your on stand and a deer is 300 yards downwind of you? Anyone have any experience or opinions on examples like these or others?

[BigHunt]

i try to avoid getting any scent in there .....that might be all it takes for that buck to hold tight till dark

[rochester coops]

depends on situation/what they normally experience there. couple yrs ago we were watching deer out back of my uncle's barn. wind from us to deer. we were inside the barn watching through a window, but only one of us could really see anything at one time. So I walked to the edge of the building where I could use my spotting scope behind a pc of plywood that was standing there. Deer were about 100 yrds out downwind with maybe 5-10mph breeze. Within a couple seconds of me moving out of the building the deer would raise his head and look my way (young bucks) I would head back into the barn, he would be at ease. I would move back over to the edge, his head would come up in a couple of seconds. Amazing. I certainly believe he smelled me but didn't bolt cause he was young and they expected human scent on occasion near the barn.

I believe deer have zones of tolerance based on what they normally experience. upwind of deer on the road moving by at normal pace=fine, ride a 4 wheeler through a field upwind=probably okay but deer will be alert, step into the woods upwind of same bedding area=game over.

[Brad]

I think of a deer is bedded down and thinks the threat will pass, he will be on high alert, but may not bust out of there. If you are in a tree and he is walking by and catches your wind, he will most likely run. I bet a lot of times we as hunters have literally walked right past bedded bucks we never knew where there because they held tight rather than bolting. If they stay put and you leave, they will most likely stay in the bed until well after dark.

[dan]

depends on situation/what they normally experience there. couple yrs ago we were watching deer out back of my uncle's barn. wind from us to deer. we were inside the barn watching through a window, but only one of us could really see anything at one time. So I walked to the edge of the building where I could use my spotting scope behind a pc of plywood that was standing there. Deer were about 100 yrds out downwind with maybe 5-10mph breeze. Within a couple seconds of me moving out of the building the deer would raise his head and look my way (young bucks) I would head back into the barn, he would be at ease. I would move back over to the edge, his head would come up in a couple of seconds. Amazing. I certainly believe he smelled me but didn't bolt cause he was young and they expected human scent on occasion near the barn.

I believe deer have zones of tolerance based on what they normally experience. upwind of deer on the road moving by at normal pace=fine, ride a 4 wheeler through a field upwind=probably okay but deer will be alert, step into the woods upwind of same bedding area=game over.

X2
Deer have areas they tolerate human scent, and areas they don't, and every deers tolerance level is different. There are deer that bed down wind of human access trails and smell and watch humans all day, as long as they don't enter what I call the deers "safe zone" they won't worry about it much.

[Stanley]

In my experience at 250 yrds the deer will hold, and not bolt. If the buck is in thick brush and is aware of you and he thinks you are unaware of him he will hold tight almost certainly. The key to being successful is not letting your scent blow into any area where deer are bedded.

[PLB]

In my experience at 250 yrds the deer will hold, and not bolt. If the buck is in thick brush and is aware of you and he thinks you are unaware of him he will hold tight almost certainly. The key to being successful is not letting your scent blow into any area where deer are bedded.

I agree. Easier said than done though. I've thought about this a lot!! Seems like no matter what, some deer will get your scent. Even if you have the best entrance and exit routes, deer that you are not hunting at that time will smell you. Make any sense??

[ Post made via Android ]

[matt1336]

Like always there are multiple answers for each question....too bad deer hunting's not like math (one clear cut answer). But then I'd be less likely to figure them out.
Casper- I think it all depends on the terrain and the specific deer. Like others said, if the deer feels safe in his bed, b/c he saw/smelled you coming, I think he's more likely to stay put. IF you surprize him, he's out. You're not going to kill either deer that night.
If I remember, you said weren't going to hunt the deer that are going to see/smell you on the way to your stand. That's a tuff one for me. I'm sure I alert deer going in and out despite my best efforts not to as well. Anyway, educating deer is not a good practice, but if you have to do it to get to your target buck bed it could be worth it.
So there you go. That post was probaby worthless to you but those are my thoughts on the topic.

[dan]

I have had deer bed right beside my yard 50 yards from where we cut the lawn, sit out and talk, shoot our guns etc... And as long as we don't step into the swamp the same deer keeps bedding there.
But I have also seen bucks that bed on a tree line 400 yards across the field from where I park jump up and run as soon as you get out of the truck.

[Casper]

I was just thinking of some different scenarios that I hunt. With only one access to a farm, I'm sure there are a lot of people that have the same problem. You aren't going to hunt a side of the farm because the wind is blowing into a different bedding area that you have to walk by to get to the bedding area you want to hunt. The question really is pointing towards does it bother the deer that your wind blew into only for a few seconds.

[dan]

I was just thinking of some different scenarios that I hunt. With only one access to a farm, I'm sure there are a lot of people that have the same problem. You aren't going to hunt a side of the farm because the wind is blowing into a different bedding area that you have to walk by to get to the bedding area you want to hunt. The question really is pointing towards does it bother the deer that your wind blew into only for a few seconds.

I think every time you enter your hunting area you do some damage. I think its important to use patience and timing. In other words hunt less, but more effective (per property) spread yourself out. Hunt your best spots at the right time. Also, if you think your scent will blow into a bedding area that you think holds a target buck while your accessing a different stand, hunt that one 1st. Hunt your way in.

[jlh42581]

Ive reformed my thinking based on what dan has taught me. I think that you should put enough time in scouting that every area you go to, for whatever wind is just as good as another area you could hunt. In other words, why have a sub par spot for an east wind because it doesnt hardly happen when you could have 2-3 great east wind spots and not burn another area.

You should have as much confidence in every spot you have as every other. Season is way too short to think.. well the wind is wrong so I dont have much faith in this spot so Ill go there. Or even worse... I think I am slick and can blow my scent right too deer and get away with it. Sure its happened but id bet its not that great of odds.