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How far away will deer be spooked by scent?

I don't know if you can get a definitive answer. A long ways under the right conditions. You also have to take into consideration the individual characteristics of each deer. One may blow out of the country while one may not be overly alarmed at a distance. You can bet though, that at close range if they smell you before they see you you're probably not going to see them at all.
 
I am sure studies have been done but I know for fact that deer have smelled me and responded up to 300 yards away. I had a doe on a terrace in the Midwest over a half a mile stomping her foot at me. I'm not sure if she was smelling me or seeing me but I could only see her with 10x binoculars. I have also had deer not smell me until directly under my tree. There are many factors involved in this question. I have often wondered the same question. We mostly see the world through vision. You look ahead for a clear path. A deer smells ahead for a clear path. They can use air currents and smell food, danger and other deer all instinctively. If they smell something they want or is danger they know how far away the danger is. People who think they are tricking the deer by reducing their scent are kidding themselves. If the deer smells you he knows where you are. You might keep him from smelling you until he gets closer by reducing your scent however. The best way I think about this to imagine a cone coming from the deer facing into the wind. The cone gets larger the further it goes away from the deer. Also as the deer angles the cone gets larger because the wind is blowing across. This is why deer especially bucks searching for does will quarter into the wind. If you want to keep the deer from smelling you avoid that cone by knowing how he travels.
 
Well this doesn't have anything to do with how far away they can smell you but i will share a deer nose story with you..... I hunt on my food plot in an elevated blind... i have a trail camera mounted about 50yards out from my blind.. i pull the card periodically when i pack out for lunch to check the pics and then return the card and turn the cam back on before i start my afternoon hunt...so before i touch the cam i spray with scent away hands and then my gloves....i feel like i do a pretty good job with scent control however yesterday a doe was feeding about 10 yards away from the camera when she raised her head up and locked on the cam and started sticking her nose out and winding the cam.... she got within a couple yards of it and trotted off looking back like something was wrong...... also i had laid my coveralls down on the ground a few feet back from the cam while i was pulling the card.... she also walked over to that spot and sniffed the ground.... i really don't know if you can truly fool their noses.... its like someone else said there are several factors that play a part if they bust you or not...best thing to do is stay as scent free as possible and try to position yourself with the wind in your favor, but there is still no guarantee they won't smell you!
 
I'm of the mind that one can really try to overthink deer hunting at times. That being said, I'm still a pretty firm believer in paying attention to the wind and currents. That also involves becoming a student of just how they react to terrain conditions and knowing that they may actually cause multiple wind directions at the same time at different heights off the ground. Terrain features create resistance and the end product is deflection. That deflection may result in any number of changes in direction depending on wind speed and particular feature. Any time wind blows out of an area it creates a void. To fill that void air is sucked back into it and it may be from a 180 degree different direction.

How many times have you climbed into a stand with the wind blowing one direction only to get situated and have deer blow at you from the opposite direction. How in the world did they smell you? They did because of that wind deflection carrying your scent away from the flow at ground level.

I know this has nothing to do with how far away a deer might scent you but it has everything to do with why a deer may scent you. Every situation is unique. Knowing how wind or currents might react to each one might allow you to set up in an area even if the wind appears to be wrong for doing so. I've burned a pile of floaters learning this and I think it would behoove all hunters to carry them when in the woods scouting or hunting. I guarantee you you'll be surprised at what's happening from time to time.
 
Mike Belt":2chef82p said:
I'm of the mind that one can really try to overthink deer hunting at times. That being said, I'm still a pretty firm believer in paying attention to the wind and currents. That also involves becoming a student of just how they react to terrain conditions and knowing that they may actually cause multiple wind directions at the same time at different heights off the ground. Terrain features create resistance and the end product is deflection. That deflection may result in any number of changes in direction depending on wind speed and particular feature. Any time wind blows out of an area it creates a void. To fill that void air is sucked back into it and it may be from a 180 degree different direction.

How many times have you climbed into a stand with the wind blowing one direction only to get situated and have deer blow at you from the opposite direction. How in the world did they smell you? They did because of that wind deflection carrying your scent away from the flow at ground level.

I know this has nothing to do with how far away a deer might scent you but it has everything to do with why a deer may scent you. Every situation is unique. Knowing how wind or currents might react to each one might allow you to set up in an area even if the wind appears to be wrong for doing so. I've burned a pile of floaters learning this and I think it would behoove all hunters to carry them when in the woods scouting or hunting. I guarantee you you'll be surprised at what's happening from time to time.
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Mike, I'm finding out how true this is! I'm still relatively new to hunting the hills and hollers of Hickman County, and I get busted all the time. Wind is perfect for a certain stand, but I can feel the wind swirl, see leaves blow opposite direction at times, etc etc. Sure is tough on me.
 
Mike Belt":2kqverkm said:
I'm of the mind that one can really try to overthink deer hunting at times. That being said, I'm still a pretty firm believer in paying attention to the wind and currents. That also involves becoming a student of just how they react to terrain conditions and knowing that they may actually cause multiple wind directions at the same time at different heights off the ground. Terrain features create resistance and the end product is deflection. That deflection may result in any number of changes in direction depending on wind speed and particular feature. Any time wind blows out of an area it creates a void. To fill that void air is sucked back into it and it may be from a 180 degree different direction.

How many times have you climbed into a stand with the wind blowing one direction only to get situated and have deer blow at you from the opposite direction. How in the world did they smell you? They did because of that wind deflection carrying your scent away from the flow at ground level.

I know this has nothing to do with how far away a deer might scent you but it has everything to do with why a deer may scent you. Every situation is unique. Knowing how wind or currents might react to each one might allow you to set up in an area even if the wind appears to be wrong for doing so. I've burned a pile of floaters learning this and I think it would behoove all hunters to carry them when in the woods scouting or hunting. I guarantee you you'll be surprised at what's happening from time to time.
Click to expand...

Invaluable knowledge.
 

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