Human Scent

[wibowhntr]

Just wondering how far away do you think deer can detect human scent on fairly flat ground(swamp) and average wind?

[GRFox]

Ground scent left behind? Or a human standing there?

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[evangorp]

I'm curious to, if I was standing how far away could they smell me?

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[Jdub]

A lot of factors go into this, wind speed and currents, humidity, scent control. Your best bet is to practice good scent control and play the wind. Over the last few years I've become a fan of using Evercalm as a cover scent on my boots to try and help with ground scent. I've also experimented with the Log6 ozone machine to treat my hunting gear. Last year i hunted exclusively from ground blinds, and had mature deer downwind on multiple occasions and wasn't winded (that I know of). Regardless, I still play the wind as best I can.

I'm curious to, if I was standing how far away could they smell me?

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[dan]

Lots of factors... I personally do not think scent control is one of them...
I think they can smell you from miles away... I have seen studys with black bears where collared bears came out of dens in spring and would wander around looking for food then suddenly turn on a dime and walk straight into the wind directly to a food source. In some of the extreme cases the food source was 10 miles away...
I do think they can tell how far away you are from them also.
A lot of things happen to scent streams as they flow thru the air, they can turn with terrain, and turn, lift or drop with thermals. So the main factor is "if" your scent stream is even getting to the deers nose.

[adrenalin]

I don't think it matters how far away they can smell you. I think how far away they will tolerate it is more important. Im sure if they smell you, and your a half mile to mile away it make no difference to them at all, after all if it did they would be spazzing out all day long from people "somewhere" upwind of them. Not to mention the odds that your scent will actually hit them the farther away you are goes way down. Deer have to be able to pick up different levels of scent just like you and me, if they didn't there brain wouldn't tell them it was dangerously close versus 2 miles away. Being a scent control freak would probably help you when the deer is at that borderline distance on where it is a threat or not to him. But when you are within reasonable hunting distance of the deer I would think human scent is always to strong to fool them into thinking you are far enough away to not pose a threat. Our senses are designed to recognize different level of danger, if not every time you lit a match you would think you are going to burn alive, animals are no different.

[JV NC]

Bears have a more keen sense of smell than whitetails.........but deer still smell in the parts-per-million range.

I wouldn't be surprised to find out they could wind you from 1/2mi. or more.

[wibowhntr]

Thanks guys.

[dan]

From Wikpedia:

Bears, such as the Silvertip Grizzly found in parts of North America, have a sense of smell seven times stronger than that of the bloodhound, essential for locating food underground. Using their elongated claws, bears dig deep trenches in search of burrowing animals and nests as well as roots, bulbs, and insects. [glow=red]Bears can detect the scent of food from up to 18 miles away[/glow]; because of their immense size, they often scavenge new kills, driving away the predators (including packs of wolves and human hunters) in the process.

[Stanley]

We can smell the corn processing plant in Clinton Iowa when the wind is out of the East. That is 18 miles away. Those paper pulp plants are the same thing. So I'm not sure how far a deer can smell a person. Humans can smell wood smoke for miles also.

[dan]

We can smell the corn processing plant in Clinton Iowa when the wind is out of the East. That is 18 miles away. Those paper pulp plants are the same thing. So I'm not sure how far a deer can smell a person. Humans can smell wood smoke for miles also.

When Northern Minnesota was on fire, we could smell the smoke in Wisconsin.

[jlh42581]

I read an article by alzhiemer(spelling?) one time that said when his doe's go into estrous that the wild bucks will pace the woodline which is over 500 yards from the pen.

On the other hand, my buddy levi who owns the deer farm says at his farm he doesnt see many wild bucks outside the fence but will see some rubs near it from at night. So even with that human scent they still come check it out.

Their nose is unreal!

[backstraps]

A few years ago I watch a study video. There were deer in an open field. Cameraman was set recording the deer and the human on the opposite end of the field. The human walked out into the field...out of visual sight from the deer
He was over 1300 yards away. Upwind from the deer. A couple minutes later every deer went on full alert. They never seen the human but shortly after catching his wind they all ran out of the field. Pretty amazing.

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[headgear]

A few years back I was rifle hunting and shot a nice buck from the ground. I was sitting a funnel and the wind did a 180 on me so I made a move and setup so my scent was floating over a pond. A buck came through and locked up staring and smelling in the direction of my stand. He either smelled my bag I had left at the stand 500 yards away or my dad who was hunting a 1000+ yards away or both.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

I seen a doe wind me the other night from over 500 yards away. I let out a milkweed tuft and watched the air currents pull down towards the end of the field. I watched her throw her nose up in the air several times and I just chuckled. Their nose is amazing; if most people could grasp how good their nose was, they would quit trying to buy their way into beating it.