Let them see you vs smell you

[USMC0621]

If walking through an open area such as a field what is less intrusive


1)Walking through the open field letting the deer see you from a distance

2)Or walking along timber edge or inside timber to conceal movement leaving your scent .

How much does leaving scent along field edge effect deer movement?


Im hunting a new farm property I never hunted and plan on doing some observation sits but I have to walk past a good distance to get where I want to glass due to the field being made up of lots of cuts and fingers .

I was thinking about walking through the open field letting them see me until I get closer to where I want to glass rather than walking the edges and burning that area.

Thanks for the help guys

[dan]

Scent matters different depending on where you leave it. So your question is a hard one to answer. For instance walking down a farm trail people regularly walk on rarely spooks them. But walking thru cover where people rarely walk does.

[Mschmeiske]

I’d rather be seen than smelled, but like Dan said, it depends on what they’re used to and where exactly you are.

[USMC0621]

Ok thanks for the help .

I don’t have enough days to just take observation sits and slowly cross sections off working my way back .
This field does not get a lot of action or human exposure.

I think I’m going to walk through the middle of the field until I get closer to where I want to make my initial observation sit , then I’ll use terrain and woods to hide my approach so deer in that area won’t be alerted of me .

That way I’m not walking along an entire field edge spreading my scent which allows me to go back later potentially .

[PK_]

Tough to say without seeing it but I am pretty sure I would walk in the field.

[Dewey]

Deer obviously learn the upright figure of man is danger and will spook at that most times but have also seen the opposite where they don’t spook at all. Their eyesight is generally not the greatest especially when you stay still. I have had many deer walk right up to me trying to figure out what I am but then freak out when getting downwind. The nose is your #1 worry. That never fails them.

Leave some scent and they figure you out right away. There is no question they know immediately what you are and will spook then avoid the area.

I would rather be seen by deer than smelled anytime. I have had deer see me before but never winded me then shortly later came back in range like nothing happened. This rarely if ever happens when they wind you. It’s game over.

Problem with following edges is that’s exactly where the deer like to travel so your likely boogering that up by walking there. Much better off walking across an open field and risk being seen especially if it gives you a scent advantage.

[DaveT1963]

Most of the time, letting deer know you are in the area is not an effective tactic. Best to plan out an approach that catches them by surprise. not always possible but not as impossible as some think. I would much rather have someone in a truck or farm equipment drive me and drop me off them to walk across a field - if its an option. Get creative.

[funderburk]

To Dan’s point, he told a story in a podcast one time where he knew his entrance was visible from the bedding area, but he also knew that it was heavily traveled. Deer were used to guys walking in and unknowingly passing right by them. So, his tactic was to walk in like “a normal person/hunter” and make the deer think they had him figured out. The podcaster equated it to a dummy hunter, like a decoy, in a sense. After passing through, never being winded, Dan flanked them and did what Dan does

That was a great story for me to hear, because you never hear someone using a tactic like that so deliberately. Everything was calculated. It helped me out a ton and I hope it helps you, as well.