Wind and Deer

by John Barsness

All the scent-free soap in the world won't eliminate enough of our stink to completely fool their noses. Instead, make the wind an ally, not an enemy.

May the wind be in your face and the sun at your back.

That hunter's salutation, probably older than gunpowder, is exactly correct -- as far as it goes. The sun's direction is pretty straightforward, but the wind? The wind can blow in several directions at once, change much faster than the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and even carry your scent to deer on a still day. How far can a deer smell you? On a cool day in open country, a very long way. My wife and I once lay in the sagebrush of a sandstone ridge on an October morning, waiting for a mule deer buck to appear in a long draw below us. Soon one did, accompanied by two does, but not the buck we were hoping for, so as they fed, we kept waiting. After the sun rose the deer started uphill toward us. We did our best to imitate orange-clad sedimentary rocks; the deer walked 15 feet upwind and never noticed us, then trotted up the long slope behind us, following the curve of a low coulee. Soon it became obvious that they'd circle downwind, and Eileen started guessing when they'd spook. "Just...about...now," she whispered. Ten feet later the lead doe stopped and jerked her head back. The other doe and the buck almost bumped into each other, then caught a snort of Irish-Norwegian air. All three bounced up the hill, then stopped on the ridge for one last look at the clear atmosphere that had scared them witless. I later paced the distance at over 600 yards. Those two minutes were a simple lesson in wind and deer. If the wind blows from deer to you -- and you remain still and quiet -- they won't know you're there. If the wind blows from you to deer, they will. Steady Wind and Shifting Currents In open country, wind is more often the hunter's steady ally than capricious enemy. For several years Eileen and I lived in a tiny town on the high plains and had permission to hunt the whitetails of a nearby ranch any time we felt like it, since Arnie's deer ate tons of his alfalfa and winter wheat. The deer lived mostly in the thick willows along the creek that bisected the ranch. Since this cover was surrounded by fields, we could approach the creekbottom with the wind in our faces (or at least at our sides) no matter its direction. We had a dozen stands picked out along a mile of creek, and a piece of orange flagging tape tied to the antenna of our pickup truck. When we turned on the porch light and looked at the tape, two hours before dawn, we knew where we'd be hunting even before brushing our teeth. But add some ups and downs, throw in a few trees, and wind blows erratically. One clear November day, I sat above a steep draw in the Rocky Mountains, my back against a dead greasewood. It was midafternoon, long before any deer would be moving. Along the far rim a pair of redtail hawks floated on the warm air that rose from the sun-warmed canyon below. After 45 minutes the blue shadow from another mountain started to climb the draw, and two mule deer walked from the timber below the redtails and started to feed. In my 10X binocular neither wore antlers, but it was early November, and I knew a buck might show up soon. Just about that time two particles of orange appeared at the foot of the draw, 800 yards below me. You fools, I thought, as they started up. They hunted slowly and carefully, exactly the wrong tactic, because as sundown's shadow eased upward, the warm air at the head of the draw began sucking the cooler, shadowed air directly uphill. Soon the two deer picked up their heads and looked downhill. The two hunters stood catching their breath behind a stand of juniper, but that didn't matter. The does bounced uphill into the timber. The two hunters hiked all the way to the top, never suspecting a deer anywhere near. Stink and Stands Some hunters believe that if the wind's right, their stink doesn't matter. This is most emphatically not true when stand-hunting. One of my old hunting partners showered only once every three days during the season, hung his hunting clothes next to the kitchen, and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. He even smoked on stand, believing if the wind was right, it didn't matter. Hell, on cool mornings I could smell him from 100 yards or more. He rarely killed deer from any sort of stand, and then only the first time he sat there, but was an excellent still-hunter and took most of his deer that way. Over the past decade we've seen the introduction of cover scents, scent-killer sprays, special detergents for our camo, even totally sealed clothing. All of this helps stand-hunters. At the very least, we should always wear rubber boots and step in something natural and sticky before approaching our stands. When hunting Arnie's ranch, we always tried to walk in a fresh cow pie, but swamp mud or even rotting leaves can help mask foot scent. In my experience, commercial cover scents aren't as effective and can hurt if you use, say, fox urine in an area where there aren't any foxes. By then the whole hillside was shadowed, and the air had cooled and contracted in the lower draw. Without the pull of warm, sunny air up top, the breeze reversed and gently eased back down the little canyon. If the two hunters had waited 20 minutes, the wind would have been in their faces. On sunny days such convection breezes move almost constantly in steep country. Throw in a few more draws and trees, and upland winds can blow in several directions at once, including up, down, and in circles. Tail to the Wind Unlike hunters, deer often prefer to travel with the wind at their backs, along open corridors in the middle of cover. They can see any danger ahead and smell it from behind. That's why deer hunters want the wind in their faces and the sun at their backs: To prevent deer from scenting us, we must face the wind, while deer with the wind at their backs face us with their big, black eyes, as cynical and observant as any vice cop's. Sun from behind us can nearly blind these suspicious deer, but the sun doesn't always cooperate, so we create our own by standing still or moving very slowly, amid surroundings that break up our outlines. And if possible, we wear the sun, in the form of camouflage. A deer's senses of sight and smell are often connected, whether traveling or bedded. This is why a big doe will stand in the cover at the edge of a meadow for long minutes, sniffing the wind behind her, looking for any movement in front, before leading her family out to feed. Deer intuitively understand convection breezes; it's the reason they often feed and bed along the shoulders of hills, or at the top of a draw, where the breeze blows more consistently. One fall we hunted a herd of perhaps 20 whitetails that bedded on a hillside above a valley-bottom alfalfa field. They would move into the field just before dawn (usually the coldest time of night), as the cooling air from the mountain eased downhill. They'd feed until the sun warmed the mountain above them, pulling air uphill, and then walk up side draws with the wind at their backs again. We tried taking stands along the draws, but the sunrise air reversal often swirled our scent all around us. The solution was to take stands along the edge of the field, hoping to catch a buck before he headed uphill to bed in the morning. This meant being there an hour before light in the sky, but it worked. As the rut came on, the bucks started to hang in the field later -- though not past sunrise -- and we eventually killed a mature 5x5. Wind in the Bedroom That hillside could also be hunted but not until snow fell. Despite much hunting lore, even mature bucks don't like to bed in the very thickest cover, especially around large predators, because surrounding cover can hide the stalk of a coyote, wolf, or mountain lion. Instead, they bed on the edge of openings that resemble their travel corridors. The chosen opening may be surrounded by thick cover, but the deer bed with their backs to cover and the wind, where they can scent any danger behind and see anything approaching. In most cases, the only way to sneak up on these bedded deer is from the side, when the breeze has steadied during the middle of the day. Conditions must be absolutely quiet -- or absolutely noisy. Quiet means at least 4 inches of soft snow (fresh or melting -- another reason for waiting until midday, for frozen snow to melt) or a soaking rain. It doesn't really matter if the breeze is soft or strong, just as long as it's predictable. Still-hunt along the edges of openings, walking just inside any cover or even crawling on the ground. Noisy means a wind strong enough to toss and rattle branches, confusing all three of a deer's warning senses: smell, sight, and hearing. One late November day, a hard wind came up about midafternoon; if it hadn't, there would have been no point in hunting, since the crunchy remnants of a week-old snowfall covered most of the ground. But the wind changed all that, so I still-hunted up an aspen draw where mule deer often bedded and fed, soon finding myself on the edge of a herd that included one big 4x4. I raised the .30/06 and, at only 40 yards, took an offhand shot. The rifle went click, one of two misfires I've had while hunting with a modern rifle. Despite the wind's moaning and clattering in the treetops, every deer instantly raised its head and stared right at me. (They can hear strange sounds even in noisy conditions, but your footsteps don't sound strange when the wind blows hard.) I slid another cartridge into the chamber and shot the buck. The deer still hadn't recognized my form among the swaying aspens. On a cool day I'd rather hunt in the wind than in perfect calm. On still days no breeze masks our sounds or movements, and chilly air tends to pull scent to the ground. When hunting from a hillside stand, your scent can ooze downhill 100 yards or more after a few hours. Eliminating your scent is important for stand-hunting (see sidebar), but it isn't as important for still-hunting, when most of us hike and sweat. Just still-hunt when and where the wind is predictable, and carry a cotton ball or butane cigarette lighter to test the breeze. Keep the wind in your face, and move as slowly and haltingly as a defective clock. Keep the sun or the landscape at your back, and you will find deer, quite often before they find you.

I prefer to stay as scentless as possible. If close enough, deer smell you anyway, but reducing odor shrinks your scent-distance considerably. If stand-hunting, bathe with a scent-free soap before hunting, wear clean clothes washed in scent-free detergent, or wear scent-blocking clothing. And brush your teeth with baking soda. It doesn't do much good to eliminate scent from your feet and body if your breath smells like jalape"o. Guns and bows don't seem to give off alarming odors, but avoid drenching them in oil or cleaning fluids, especially just before a hunt. If you must clean a gun, wipe it down afterward with a paper towel, then spray on some scent-killer. Using these precautions, I've had deer walk downwind inside of 50 yards and not spook. Sometimes they'll catch a faint whiff and snort a little, but if the wind's right, they usually decide the human-stink comes from too far to be a threat. -- J.B.

This story was reprinted from Field and Streams web site and is for information use only.

"Deer Scents and Human Odors and becoming a Successful Deer Hunter"

by C&EJ's Hunting & Fishing Staffer "Big Bob Day"

Always start first in the morning before going out to the deer woods by making yourself as scent free as possible use NON-SCENT™ CAMO SOAP get Super blend of liquid soap with a mixture of baking soda, concentrated vegetable chlorophyll and a secret ingredient that destroys odor at the molecular level. 100% biodegradable. Odorless and antibacterial to keep hunters scent-free long into their hunt. Contains an active ingredient called Triclosan that destroys the bacteria that causes odor.

Then dry off with a really clean towel that was washed in HUNTERS SPECIALTIES SCENT-A-WAY™ LAUNDRY DETERGENT this stuff is a Liquid laundry detergent is biodegradable, phosphate free, concentrated. You should do all your hunting clothes socks and underwear or long-johns in this stuff the day before your hunt.

Do not get dressed yet make sure you spray your underarms, and I even spray my privates, and my rear end with WELLINGTON OUTDOORS NON-SCENT UNDER ARM PUMP SPRAY. The male testicles in all Mammals give off a musk scent just like a Big Buck and if your wearing porus clothing the deer will be able to detect this prominant human odor.

Go to C&EJ's Outdoors and Type in Deer Scent and you will see almost 200 different Scents and Cover Scents Listed with Sale Prices and how many of each product we currently have in stock.