How long will scent linger?

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redz
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How long will scent linger?

Unread postby redz » Sat Oct 05, 2013 1:35 am

Let's say you trampled through an area pretty good while tracking or whatever. How long will human scent be a problem for the deer? How long would you wait to go back in to hunt it? Would a good rain wash everything away?

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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Sat Oct 05, 2013 1:57 am

I've heard your scent can linger for up to a week no problem.... & yes, many feel that a good rain will wash away your scent...

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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Sat Oct 05, 2013 2:22 am

dreaming bucks wrote:I've heard your scent can linger for up to a week no problem.... & yes, many feel that a good rain will wash away your scent...

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I'd say a little over a week based on trail camera observation.

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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby Dewey » Sat Oct 05, 2013 2:54 am

As far as rain washing away your scent quickly I am not a big believer in this.

On one hunt in particular I headed out to one of my spots on a cattail island during a very heavy rain knowing that it would stop by prime time. I was wearing my rain suit, hip boots over that and walked through 2 1/2 feet of water for about a 1/2 mile to get to the island. The whole time it was very heavy rain while I was walking in and for at least 2 hours after I was set up on stand. My scent should have easily washed away right...........WRONG! :o

Shortly before dark a mature doe crossed the island behind me but not in my scent stream. She worked her way towards the trail that would take her to the mainland completely calm and not the least bit alarmed. When she reached the exact spot where I came out of the water and cattails she completely freaked out!! There was no way she was picking up my scent while I was in the tree but instead she was picking up my ground scent from hours before! :shock:

That still blows my mind considering how heavy the rain was for a long period after and the fact that I was pretty much sealed up in rain gear and hip boots plus walking in knee deep water.

I have learned to respect a whitetails sense of smell more than ever after that and have seen stuff like this over and over. In my opinion rain or not it takes a good week for your scent to dissapear.
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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby headgear » Sat Oct 05, 2013 3:38 am

Very interesting dewey. I know a guy who only hunts one stand, but he has to wear waders to get there. He said whenever the deer hit the spot he hits high ground they freak out. Even when he would access from a slightly different direction and the scent was days or a week old they would freak out no matter the conditions. I kind of wonder if that muck smell doesn't set them off a little, it is strong stuff and it tells them something big may has crossed their recently. Even if your scent is weak or old that muck smell is potent stuff, if they don't smell a deer with the muck it could be major cause for alarm.
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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby Dewey » Sat Oct 05, 2013 4:20 am

headgear wrote:Very interesting dewey. I know a guy who only hunts one stand, but he has to wear waders to get there. He said whenever the deer hit the spot he hits high ground they freak out. Even when he would access from a slightly different direction and the scent was days or a week old they would freak out no matter the conditions. I kind of wonder if that muck smell doesn't set them off a little, it is strong stuff and it tells them something big may has crossed their recently. Even if your scent is weak or old that muck smell is potent stuff, if they don't smell a deer with the muck it could be major cause for alarm.

Either that or your scent gets embedded in the muck itself and it takes much more to wash it away. :think:
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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby dan » Sat Oct 05, 2013 4:26 am

I would say about 10 days... Heavy rain does help in my opinion, but scent can be missed by rain if it is under a branch or object... I have seen them smell my access in light rain, but heavy rain usually seems to delete it.
I think heavy winds help dissipate ground scent too... I wait about 30 days before giving a spot a second try in most cases. If there was a shooter there I might give it a shot right away the next day in hopes he did not smell me, or did not care... But, if you don't see a deer, what would make you think he would show up there the next day scent or not?
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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby bbrilmyer » Sat Oct 05, 2013 4:50 am

http://youtu.be/kTsi3Dcdf2o

I can never seem to get this video out of my head. I feel like it really puts the smelling ability of some animals into perspective. I wish I could find the whole video, the dog tracks him no problem at all.

He even crosses a river and the dog barely misses a step. If the dog could continue to track him through moving water, I surely wouldn't put much stock into how much rain effects the ground scent you left behind.
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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby john1984 » Sat Oct 05, 2013 5:17 am

I asked this question a couple years ago on a different website, a few guys were saying it disappears within 24 hrs. I don't believe that anymore

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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sat Oct 05, 2013 5:19 am

Dewey wrote:As far as rain washing away your scent quickly I am not a big believer in this.

On one hunt in particular I headed out to one of my spots on a cattail island during a very heavy rain knowing that it would stop by prime time. I was wearing my rain suit, hip boots over that and walked through 2 1/2 feet of water for about a 1/2 mile to get to the island. The whole time it was very heavy rain while I was walking in and for at least 2 hours after I was set up on stand. My scent should have easily washed away right...........WRONG! :o

Shortly before dark a mature doe crossed the island behind me but not in my scent stream. She worked her way towards the trail that would take her to the mainland completely calm and not the least bit alarmed. When she reached the exact spot where I came out of the water and cattails she completely freaked out!! There was no way she was picking up my scent while I was in the tree but instead she was picking up my ground scent from hours before! :shock:

That still blows my mind considering how heavy the rain was for a long period after and the fact that I was pretty much sealed up in rain gear and hip boots plus walking in knee deep water.

I have learned to respect a whitetails sense of smell more than ever after that and have seen stuff like this over and over. In my opinion rain or not it takes a good week for your scent to dissapear.


That is amazing! Very good lesson too!

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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby Stanley » Sat Oct 05, 2013 5:25 am

Done a lot of testing myself on this exact thing. There are a lot of variables. Wet ground holds scent better than dry ground. Heavy wind will wash scent away better than a light rain. Wet boots leave more scent than dry boots (wet dog syndrome), ever smelled a wet dog? In agriculture country rubber boots will help isolate human scent from being left on the ground. I mean deer smell tires every day of their lives. So those rubber boots aren't just to keep your feet dry. If you are in an area where the wind will hit the bare dry ground and you are wearing rubber boots with your pant legs tucked in and just walking through. In 6 hours your scent can dissipate to an unalarming amount.

Also keep in mind ground scent on a windy day ground doesn't go up to the bucks nose it is off to the side. Same way with thermals, rising thermals bring the ground scent up to the bucks nose. If you are walking through tall grass forget it, your busted. This is at a bucks nose level and lots of scent is left in tall grass.

When I set my trail cameras up I rarely get any good bucks pictures for 7-10 days because of the heavy amount of humans scent left around the area. This is why checking cameras can be counter productive. Another thing to remember deer can age ground scent. Sounds mystical or magical but they can. I hear guys all the time say, "I use cover up scents to down grade the amount of scent left on the ground". Problem is deer are dating the scent, not going by the amount left. Ever wonder how that buck knows what direction to trail that hot doe?

So to answer the the question Human scent will be detectable for many days and even weeks unless mother nature helps you out with heavy rains and or heavy winds.
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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Sat Oct 05, 2013 5:29 am

spot on Stanley.
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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby WKPTodd » Sat Oct 05, 2013 5:42 am

Moisture actually helps hold scent. The dryer it is, the faster it will dissipate.

I used to be a believer that a whitetail could smell human for a week or whatever. I'm not sure. Hard to tell - or prove. Anyone know how long at K9 or bloodhound can track for - time wise?
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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby Buckfever » Sat Oct 05, 2013 6:08 am

I've made sets in a heavy rain/thunderstorm and come back 3 weeks later and have had success on a mature buck. I've gone in tight to the bedding based on a visual and made a set and hunted it immediately every day and killed that mature buck on the 4th day, that was the first time he came through again. I actually killed 5 deer in those 4 days on that set.

From what I've seen, it either has to be a virgin sit, first time he comes through or 3-4 weeks minimum and then you need some help from the weather. When I'm making a pre set I really want 6-8 weeks ahead of time.

If you want more than one successful sit, the entry route is really critical both in terms of wind and ground contamination. Sometimes it's just not possible, there's no way to sit it without burning the bridge.
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Re: How long will scent linger?

Unread postby redz » Sat Oct 05, 2013 1:14 pm

Thanks for all the input guys, very informative. I hardly ever hunt out of the same tree twice in a row. Normally I bounce around in a few large tracts of public land. I'll give that particular spot at least a couple weeks before I go back in.

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