Bucks bedding in my scent pool,anyone else experienced this?

[whitetail_addict]

The other night I was sitting over a couple of loaded apple trees on the edge of thick security cover with a known buck bedding area upwind within 100 yards of my location. About an hour before dark I spotted two nice bucks together about 70 yards away just off of my down wind side walk out of a little thicket on a field edge I wasn't expecting them to be in as I was hunting the bedding area upwind of where I was set up. I had been checking the wind with milkweed seeds while on stand for fear that the wind was just light enough to swirl down and pool up around the apple trees I was hunting over. Well, the bucks stood in a small opening there for only a short time before they both bedded down together. A few minutes later they stood up and bedded right back down again, and then a few minutes later they stood up as if something had spooked them only to bed back down again, this time until dark. I was able to sneak out of there without hearing or seeing them spook so I'm hopeful they may still at least continue to use that area but time will tell.

Anyways, based on the layout of that woodlot and what the milkweed seeds were doing I'm thinking they caught just enough of my swirling wind on the downwind point of the woodlot while approaching my location to sense something wasn't quite right and bed back down until dark. I'm thinking the spooked reaction the last time they stood up was likely a wiff of my wind but because it was swirling and kind of variable they couldn't quite pinpoint me which is why they simply bed back down instead of bolting off.

Does my assumption seem logical? Has anyone else seen similar behavior out of big bucks? I just can't think of any reason why they would bed back down and stay put until dark after finally getting up to head towards the apple trees in the evening other than that they sensed my presence.

[christian1]

My question about scent pooling is how big of an area would you expect it to cover? 20 yards around the stand? 50 yards around the stand? Had some weird things happen over the weekend with deer downwind getting all spooky and one even blowing. Can't for the life of me figure out why because they were far enough away (75-100 yards) and downwind. Of course who knows if predators or other people were in the area causing unseen problems.

chris

[Kraftd]

75-100 yards downwind seems well within the possible zone of getting winded and spooking deer from my experience.

[whitetail_addict]

75-100 yards downwind seems well within the possible zone of getting winded and spooking deer from my experience.

X2... If they were downwind as you said they could have been a mile away and winded you. Any time you've got deer straight down wind you should more or less count of them winding you.

My issue was more of a just off wind that I believe they may have been catching the very edge of, and the way they reacted to it.

[dan]

I had deer walk down wind of me, hit my scent stream and drop and bed right there, in my opinion thinking they were hiding from the predator they smell.

[Stanley]

I have also seen this. I think if they are in heavy cover they will drop down and hide. During gun season they won't do this as they are greeted with gun blasts. But during bow season yes. I think they have whiffed you before and nothing happened so they just want to keep you under their control.

[headgear]

I think your assessment is accurate, in a swirling wind situation the bucks can smell a lot of area but they probably aren't sure exactly where you are. In you situation they whiffed you and knew danger was in the area, however they didn't know where you were so the safest play was to stay put until dark. I will get after them tonight if you can.

[Bigburner]

I had one circle down wind of me last year and bed down 25 yrds. right behind me with wind to back hiding behind some small pine saplings looking out ahead of him. He got a big whiff of me. He bedded for a good half hour and he got back up right at dark and circled back upwind and entered the area of the pond I was hunting over. That guy got a serious pass that night.