A Deer's Nose - Scent and Humidity

[KentuckyTJ]

Originally posted by broketooth:
roflmao with Kentucky tj post on my quote. its true, the deer that are exposed to your scent is going to dictate how you hunt. are you urban, suburban. do you live hundreds of miles from a known town or city. you have to figure that out for yourself. you as a man, are at the top of the food chain. be smarter than the quarry you are after. there is no gimmick, no product, worth the money to produce the results you are after.its all work and homework you are supposed to be a hunter. do you think for 5 min that man before the 1980', relied on scentlock, trailcams all the latest gadgets scent elimination clothing, the thousands of dollars you spend a year just to get close to that one trophy? wrong granted i have never filled all my tags , i willl not go the route of the corperate machine to bag  trophy deer. but i do pay attention to what goes on in my neck of the woods. i will get my few. they will not be pope n young, or boone n crocket, but they will be mine. rv

I agree Rudy. I use to have a farm I hunted right next to the highway. Before heading to the stand after work I would hold my hunting clothes bag over the exhaust of our diesel fork lift at work for a while. I swear I don't ever remember getting winded in the stand. This dude came in straight downwind of me before he took an arrow at 10 yards.

[Bonebuster]

Very interesting discussion.

I live in Michigan, and can honestly say our  deer get pounded, with the worst of it coming during firearms season.
When the smoke clears, the deer population can be half what it was in a given area.

Dispite the fact that the deer numbers are reduced, and the deer are spooked to high heaven, our bitter cold late season can be one of the most productive times to hunt. I believe it is because of the cold DRY air. At no other time of the year do we experience humidity levels as low we get during our winters.

On a still, sunny day in late December, when the thermometer reads about 15 or 20 degrees, it seems the only moisture in the air is the steam from your breath. A good time to hunt.

Nice buck Tom!  

[wapiti1997]

Humidity and moisture allow scent to be more easily detected, no doubt.   Ever rattled a buck in and had him licking his nose as he came in?  It increases his ability.

I will say however, the "rain washing scent away" theory may hold a little water in regard to moving a stand, cutting lanes etc. before a storm so that the coming rain will dilute and disperse your odor since you arent there during the rain.

If you're sitting in a stand and it's raining, you have one heck of a scent cone running from you to the ground and way downwind.

[mrjsl]

Since I hunt coon hounds too, I will parrot what everyone else has said. Dogs smell wet coons easier than dry ones. It's also easier to smell a wet dog than a dry one, as most anyone can testify.

Everyone also says always hunt the wind, and that is my philosophy. The only reason it's not everyone's philosophy is that it's hard to sell wind. It's too unreliable to make a profit off of. Plus it works against the modern goal of instant gratification. Therefore, millions of people have incentives to promote some other method of scent control that can be sold, and therefore there are many alternative strategies to keeping the wind in your face.

[Zbone]

Great thread.

[kennym]

Nice one Tom! Like your way of thinkin too, do what it takes.

[eidsvolling]

Having spent several years hunting smelly humans with SAR dogs, I know the reason why humidity is important for scenting conditions.

What humans call "scent" is aerosols of tiny particles PLUS gases produced by bacterial action on those particles, on your body surface and on your airway all the way down to your lungs.

This bacterial action is highly important, and it explains why humid days produce better scenting conditions. The stink-producing bacteria like to be somewhat moist and somewhat warm. (Think of Goldilocks sampling the three porridges.) When it's too dry, they shut down. When it's too hot or too cold, they shut down. When it's "just right", you stink up the woods.

Particles of dead skin are constantly sloughing off your body, both from your skin and from your airway to your lungs. They fall to the ground at varying distances depending on the wind. Some fall where you walk. Some are blown onto nearby vegetation. Some get lifted over hills and spook critters downwind that you will never see as a result. Some get blown out of your treestand and over the heads of deer that walk under you. (This is a major reason why treestands are successful. It has precious little to do with your scent control, IMO.)

Why do I say precious little? 'Cuz if you're breathing, you're constantly exhaling stinky gases and particles from your airway on which the bacteria can feed, thereby producing scent that an animal can detect and identify.

(And if you're not breathing, a SAR dog (or deer or bear or pig) can still find you. Your body is decomposing from bacterial action. You continue to stink, but with a different odor now. That's how dogs find drowning victims, dead avalanche victims, and homicide victims buried in the ground.)

[Shawn Leonard]

Yup, I have a phenom Llwellen setter(MollY) and on dry days she struggles, give us a bit of humidity and a light breeze and no bird is safe. I disagree about the 90 degree day for hunting though,I would rather have 10 degrees and very dry day!(LOL) Shawn

[owlbait]

I think research has shown that at 63.5% humidity deer can scent you from 13.275 M directly upwind, while just a 16% reduction in humidity results in a 52.1% reduction in their ability to locate you. Don't have a clue is what I'm saying, love my dogs and that are supposed to have good noses but I can't relate it to my hunting. I hunt when and where I can, but it seemed like a good conversation to join,

[broketooth]

get over the math and the percentages. deer and most other wildlife are profecional survivors. we as humans in this modern society using traditional equipment by all means are amiture hunters. when you have to live under the same conditions your quarry lives under, dealing with some of the same threats, heat, rain , cold , humidity , lack of summer food, other predation, competition for mates to carry on your legacy, then will you only know what it means to be a hunter. we as modern humans have something to fall back on, grocery stores forced on by our wives and modern society. embrace your inner predator, hunt like it was meant to be. stop over thinking everything and just hunt .it doesn't have to be as complicated as this thread is making it.by all means do what it takes and remain with in your states hunting laws. i do see alot of overthinking things in this thread. just hunt do your best and you will make your kills. ruddy

[USN_Sam1385]

@ Broke:

I agree with your statement about us being less than predatory.

However, isn't this forum about discussing things in depth? Isn't that entertaining for all of us, and something that we enjoy?

That is the purpose of this forum: to connect with fellow traditional bow hunters and thoroughly explore ideas related to that in depth.

We could all say "Just hunt", and be done with it. However, this forum is an opportunity for people sharing the same passion from all over the country and the world to share their ideas, perceptions, and experiences.

That is the joy of learning and exploring ideas, and is one of the greatest abilities that we as humans have: Communication.