Human scent

Arrow Flinger

Moderator
What are the odds that a deer will bust you if they get down wind of you? 100%? For most of the people I hunt with, that is the odds. Now this is something I have never mentioned to anyone before because anyone would say I am crazy but for me, the odds are about 5% and I don't have a clue why. I average about 1 deer a year showing a negative effect when down wind of me and it is always one of those hot, humid days when I never quit sweating. I am not sure if they don't smell me or if I just put out a different type of odor that doesn't spook them. Yesterday evening was a good example. I had a doe come out in a field 75 yards directly down wind of me and she never even raised her head and fed for 20 minutes in my sight. I only take minimal precautions with scent contol and just spray down with scent eleminator and earth scent but I know that is not eliminating or completly covering my scent. I have seen first hand that there is a difference in people. When my Son started hunting with me, hunting from the same stand I had always hunted, deer winded us anytime they were down wind when he was with me but never when I hunted alone.

Does some of ya'll with scientific minds have a reasonable explaination for me?

I know that this is not just a fluke because I have seen the same thing for 30 years of being in the woods. Am I the only one blessed with this gift or is there someone else?
 

Joe Moran

Senior Member
Flinger,

It's probably due to your year round diet of acorns & deer corn from Walmart. :bounce:
 

short stop

Senior Member
I have kinda same scenerio. I do things that cover my scent with out thinkin about it . Rubber boots and a little scent killer .I have killed many a deer with just blue jeans and flannel shirt. Now my son totally diff. that kids feet smell so bad even with rubber boots on! GOT BUSTED ALL THE TIME :mad: finally made him wash his feet before we left for the stand "sprayed em down w/some H.S. and that did the trick :D he's a regular deer killin buckmaster now -----smells better too SS
 

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree
Flinger, I would agree with you. However I do think if a mature buck or doe gets a full fledge snoot full they dont hang around too long.

Most of the time I feel that deer only get a slight hint of full human smell and dont really act a fool, only more cautious.

Jim
 

huntnnut

GONetwork Member
Flinger,

I think you are on to something. I know some folks who seem to never get busted no matter what they do and they consistently kill big deer. However, I on the other hand have to take every precaution I can just to keep from getting busted.

I believe it has something to do with the make up of each persons body i.e.the chemical composition of the body at least to some extent. I think some folks emit a scent that deer pick up on faster than others. I've heard in the past that it may have to do with how much red meat a person eats. In other words a person who is say a vegetarian verses someone who is a meat & potatoes type is less likely to emit a scent that will spook deer. Basically this holds true for animals as well. In other words a deer isn't spooked by a rabbit generally, though if they get a whiff of a Yote their on alert immediately. The only problem with that theory is that I know many folks who are deer killing machines that are meat & potatoes types... ::huh:

Jeff Phillips has touched on this a time or two also and I think he's correct in saying someones breath has a lot to do with it. I have even considered using the Chloraphil (sp?) tablets to see if it helps, though I haven't tried them yet.
 

Kdog

Senior Member
I get winded every time a deer comes in down wind of me. Guess I just stink. ::huh: :eek:

Anyway. I take alot of steps to be scent free, and I have yet to see much difference. I switched to rubber boots last year, and on Sunday, I had at least 3 differant deer cross my entrance path and follow my trail right to my stand. They never caught my scent since I was down wind, but tey just walked around my tree trying to pick up my trail again. Not sure what more I can do to be scent free in the woods?

Arrow, are you an any type of special diet we need to know about?

::gone:

Kdog
 

Arrow Flinger

Moderator
Yep, I eat a special diet of Meat, bread and taters. :bounce: I have heard the theory about meat eaters also but I eat meat every chance I get so that can't be the deal with me. I don't do anything special other than what I posted in the first post. I think it is something in the line of Huntnuts suggestion about the chemical make up or something like that. I don't think cleanliness has much to do with it either for me. It don't matter if I showered that morning or on the second day of a hunt without one. I have been on some out of state hunts where you were covered up with deer all the time and everyone would come back complaining about being busted. I just kept my mouth closed. I knew they would not beleive me. I just wish I could figure out the secret so I could bottle it and make a million!

One more thing, sketters and such don't like me either. This weekend, everyone came back to camp complaining about getting ate up and I never had one buzz me. Wierd I know but true.
 

huntnnut

GONetwork Member
Flinger,

I can tell a big difference when I shower with non-scented soap and shampoo verses hunting w/o a shower. My deer sightings are much greater when I have freshly showered with non-scented products.

Like you mentioned, I've also noticed skeeters and seed ticks don't bother some folks whereas some folks are like magnets to them. I'm one of those that are like a magnet to them also, at least without my Permanon, although Permanon doesn't seem to have much affect on the skeeters.

If you figure it out and start bottling something, put me on the list to purchase some first.... ;)
 

GeauxLSU

Senior Member
Alien?

Flinger,
Are you originally from earth? :p
The mosquito thing does have a correlation to diet amongst other things. Can't remember what all you should avoid eating to help not attract skeeters but banannas was one of the things.
I don't know for a fact that I've ever been busted due to scent. Been busted PLENTY of times due to motion. Last year I had a mature doe walk up behind me, from DOWNwind when I was ground hunting. I was in plain view (and I mean PLAIN VIEW. WIDE open.) and she walked up to within about 20 feet. When I FINALLY heard her, I turn around and she bolted but stop a few yards away in the woods to think about it. (Lucky for her I had meat in the freezer.)
I will say I do have a good bit of confidence in the earth scent wafers (I was using a couple that day) and if freshly showered and clean clothes.
Having said all that, I don't know how many deer may have winded me and just never let their presence be known... ::huh:
Hunt/fish safely,
Phil
 

Wang Dang

Senior Member
In all my years of hunting there have only been two times that deer I could see have busted me due to scent. Both times a brisk wind was hitting me right in the back and blowing straight to the deer. I did pay attention to the wind but these deer came from a direction I didn't expect. There have been no other times that deer I could see have scented me and ran away. I know that it is possible that deer I didn't see may have winded me when they were out of sight and headed for the hills.
 

Hunting Teacher

Senior Member
What about if all I eat is doe meat for the whole hunting season? Then maybe I'll smell like a sweet ripe doe and the bucks will come a running during the rut! I'll just have to be really careful getting to my stand so I don't get surprised from behind!! :speechles

I've wondered about this myself. How often do you hear or a young kid sitting in the woods and a giant buck walks right up to them. I've wondered if that's because kids have a whole lot less stink than us grown men.
Teach
 

leadoff

GONetwork Member
I am sure that most of us half been busted more times than we realize due to our odor! I also believe some people put off more odor than others, and I am not just talking about "stinky" people. Our noses are practically bb guns compared to the missile launchers that deer and othe animals possess. I am sure those deer can detect the subtle differences from person to person. Heck, if a dog can tell if it likes another dog by sniffing its butt... ::huh: ;) :bounce:

I think I have been blessed with the same gift that Arrow Flinger has. Skeeters don't really bother me and I have had deer within 10 feet of my stand on several occasions. I was sitting on the ground one time and had a doe walk directly toward me, pass within 20 feet to the left of me, and then continue on walking having never seen or winded me. The buck in my avatar was smelling my walk-in trail when I shot him, and I hadn't used a drop of cover scent that day!
 

Bow Only

Senior Member
Flinger, I can postulate an answer to your queries. First and easiest is the mosquito solution. Mosquitoes are attracted to warm blooded animals by the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. That gets them close to us. Then, they detect the iron salts on our skin (and clothing) to determine where to bite. You probably have a slightly different chemical exudate that blocks the detection of iron salts so the mosquitoes don't even attempt to bite you because they don't know you are there. As for the scent detection, here's my best guess. Deer smell humans by detecting a chemical released from gram positive bacteria that grow on our skin. Maybe your chemical exudate kelates or binds with the gram positive bacteria's chemical exudate to block it's absorption into the deer's nasal receptors. Your scent is in the air, they just might not be able to decipher the chemical as a human scent because it is masked through a chemical reaction. When you sweat a lot and are detected by a deer, your gram positive bacterial exudate outnumbers your skin's chemical exudate and allows your detection. That's my best guess.
As far the breath, ancient Americans did stop the eating of meat 72 hours before going on big hunts because of the chemicals excreted by the body.
And I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.
 

Mechanicaldawg

Roosevelt Ranger
Those Ancient Americans must have never heard of Mechanicaldawgs Doe Pee Breath Mints! :bounce:
 

huntnnut

GONetwork Member
I guess that explains why you never saw any fat indians... :bounce:

Jeff, please don't ever offer me a breath mint... ;) :D
 

Arrow Flinger

Moderator
Bow Only said:
Flinger, I can postulate an answer to your queries. As for the scent detection, here's my best guess. Deer smell humans by detecting a chemical released from gram positive bacteria that grow on our skin. Maybe your chemical exudate kelates or binds with the gram positive bacteria's chemical exudate to block it's absorption into the deer's nasal receptors. When you sweat a lot and are detected by a deer, your gram positive bacterial exudate outnumbers your skin's chemical exudate and allows your detection. That's my best guess.


Oh....... i understand now! :speechles
 

cowboyron

Senior Member
Yep, just get a chemist involved and he will shed some lite on the subject,
but where does that leave us. ::huh: :bounce: :D ;)
 

Jasper

Senior Member
I agree wholeheartedly Flinger! BO lost me when he started all that postulating............ :bounce:
 

Snakeman

Senior Member
I thought this was a family-oriented board!! Why aren't the moderators censoring Bow Only for POSTULATING? :D :D

The Snakeman
 
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