How far can a deer smell you?

[fairchaser]

How far do you think a deer can smell you in ideal conditions where you hunt?

All of us have had deer dead down wind at close range who never smelled us. This anomaly leads us to think we can get away with more than we may think. As our scent fans out to an ever increasing cone, it covers a larger and larger area. Somewhere downwind, a deer smells us!

They may not react if we are far enough away but they will be aware and keeps their other senses focused.

The area I hunt is typically flat with only subtle changes in elevation broken up by creeks and vegetation like pine forests and hardwoods.

In ideal conditions, I would think deer could smell and would be on alert 1/2 mile.

If you think about this, it really dictates everything about where you park, how you approach and where you hunt.

 

[knightrider]

I know for a fact ive had deer within 50 yards down wind that my scent went over top off and had deer near half a mile across the river blowing at me

 

[Rakkin6]

I may be the wrong person to answer this because I am super anal retentive about scent. But I think it depends on if you take precautions and how used to human scent they are. But if the wind is blowing straight downwind to them and you haven't taken any precautions I would guess a few hundred yards. I hunt about 25' up in hopes that my scent stays above them. It seems that I get busted more from movement than anything. Especially when the squirrels are super active lol.

 

[deerhunter10]

A long ways. How far I don't know if anyone truly knows that number. The thing is, people think if a deer smells them they blow and make a scene. When most deer never ever let know.

It's been said by several people before and it's true there's deer that worry about smelling you and there's deer that don't. But you can't fool them down wind it's just a fact. Thermals may help you and terrain but if they get a whiff it's the the deer that determines how wierded out they are.

 

[JJ3]

How would you define ideal conditions (from the deer's nose)?

I'm thinking for a deer that a steady 8 - 10 mph wind from a fixed constant direction probably carries scent the farthest?

We see fewer deer in stronger winds like 15 - 20 mph and the ones we see are usually at first or last light — just before or after legal. I've always felt this was because a deer's primary senses are smell and hearing and on very windy, gusty days neither are reliable. In high winds that scent field will get blown apart and the cone wider very fast with more mixing currents that happen as winds hit trees, hills, etc.

We sit fields a lot. I know that with an 8 - 10 mph wind directly at my back, if a deer crosses 100 - 200 yards out they will likely catch the scent. They may just pause, push their nose in the air, turn and look to the source. If they don't like what they smell, besides the normal reaction if head bob, and stamping, they will often and turn and go with the wind as they decide to trot off. But I had a number of times this year where after detecting a smell that stopped them, they would resume their path. Rarely do they outright bolt into a full speed getaway when they hit the scent line. They almost always stop and check it out.

Lower winds are more problematic as a hunter because they tend not to be steady and it's hard to project exactly where downwind is. And your scent probably stays more concentrated at lower wind speeds.

But where we hunt there is probably some level of human scent around most of the time — depending on direction there are houses or people within 1/2 - 1 mile in almost all directions.

 

[useyourbow]

I had an occasion in Kentucky while hunting the corner of a cut corn field where I witnessed a big nanny doe step out into the corn field down wind at no less than 400 yards. She threw her head up, tested the wind, turned and leaped back into the woods.

 

[hammer33]

Back porch to far side of the field is 867 yards. Dogs were sleeping on the porch when 3 does came out of the bottom into the edge of the field. Within 2 minutes the dogs woke up and started barking. (South wind was blowing from the deer to us). This has happened numerous times. If a deers nose is several times better than a dogs as I have read, then they have to be able to smell us.

On the opposite side, I have seen deer alert to us being on the porch drinking coffee on a North wind. Usually they just stop and stare and stick their nose up for a better sniff and go back about their business. Once gun season has been going a while, they alert, get spooky and run off.

For hunting I think we get busted a LOT more than we realize but the deer, particularly bucks, simply avoid us quietly slipping away. Does seem to want to pick out the exact tree you are in and raise a ruckus teaching all the other deer where the danger is.

 

[GumbyGuy]

I know this sounds funny but… how bad do you stink?
Any smell that's not in a deers natural environment is a flag to them. They smell better than they do any of their other senses.
I've had them walk up close enough to spit on and I've had them blow at me a hundred yards or even more, it always depends on a bit of luck and if I've eliminated scent on my person and clothes. Gun oil and a leather strap and coffee are 3 we don't think about much but they get a bunch of us busted every hunt.
My wife hates deer season because I want to take over her washing machine and dryer as I'm washing my clothes, and I don't want her touching them.

 

[Dennis]

I hunted a rather flat area one time. I was sitting in the ground and could smell a rutting buck. I looked upwind and spotted a buck about 200 yds away. I didn't shoot him, because he was headed toward my hunting partner. My partner shot him. When I walked over to my friend the first thing he said was I could smell this buck before I saw him.

I imagine we smell that strong to deer.

 

[megalomaniac]

Perfect conditions in the deer's favor... 5mph wind, very high relative humidity... I've been picked off at almost 500y.

yesterday afternoon, had 2 does 100y directly downwind from me for over 30 min. But wind was blowing 15-20mph and low humidity. They never had a clue I was upwind of them.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Probably at least a half mile under the best conditions in favor of the deer. A lot of factors come into play in diminishing their ability to pick up our scent though.

 

[TnKen]

I saw a study one time that used a remote control to release human scent and observe the reaction of a herd of elk. I believe they reacted from over a half a mile.

 

[Savage]

There was a meateater video where they videoed a black bear winding them at 800+ yards

 

[fairchaser]

Back porch to far side of the field is 867 yards. Dogs were sleeping on the porch when 3 does came out of the bottom into the edge of the field. Within 2 minutes the dogs woke up and started barking. (South wind was blowing from the deer to us). This has happened numerous times. If a deers nose is several times better than a dogs as I have read, then they have to be able to smell us.

On the opposite side, I have seen deer alert to us being on the porch drinking coffee on a North wind. Usually they just stop and stare and stick their nose up for a better sniff and go back about their business. Once gun season has been going a while, they alert, get spooky and run off.

For hunting I think we get busted a LOT more than we realize but the deer, particularly bucks, simply avoid us quietly slipping away. Does seem to want to pick out the exact tree you are in and raise a ruckus teaching all the other deer where the danger is.

That's the farthest I've heard of and I believe deer have more scent receptors than dogs. We don't stink as bad as deer or dogs hopefully but they either smell you or they don't. I also believe they have the ability to know how far away the scent is be it a little scent or a lot. It's an instinct developed over time and built into their survival.

 

[Rakkin6]

Like I said before I am in a different position and I think it is situational dependent. I hunt mostly on Fort Campbell where soldiers are always training and the deer have a lot of interaction with humans. Not saying that human scent won't put them on alert but I think that matters. Kind of like deer getting used to farm equipment etc. I know I may catch some flack for this but I use hunters scent killer gold spray, body wash, and laundry soap. Its not always guaranteed to be able to play the wind here on Fort Campbell since you get "assigned" to an area and even though I know Fort Campbell very well you may have spot in mind in that area and show up and another hunter is already there. When that happens you have to Sua Spante that $hit that's why I am anal retentive and hunt at least 20' with a bow and 25'+ with a gun. The way I know how high I am is I placed a piece of 100 mph tape every 12 inches on my lowering/raising lines. That's kind of why I said I may not be the best person to ask about this.

 

[knightrider]

I have a spot that is a south west wind only stand above the river bluff with a good saddle in it. Across the river is a cedar thicket to the north northeast that ive ranged at 1200 yards, when the wind gets 8mph plus, the deer in that cedar thicket blow the ridge down at my scent!

 

[Wooden Arrow]

and how used to human scent they are.

yup. on farm land where deer smell someone every day, i think they focus a lot on movement. even if i have been spotted on farm road/out in field many times they just stand and watch. if i keep moving steadily, they go back to eating if i keep moving. it's like the birds in my yard. if my cats are just soaking up the sun, the birds ignore them. critters recognize predatory motion/intent.

 

[Rakkin6]

yup. on farm land where deer smell someone every day, i think they focus a lot on movement. even if i have been spotted on farm road/out in field many times they just stand and watch. if i keep moving steadily, they go back to eating if i keep moving. it's like the birds in my yard. if my cats are just soaking up the sun, the birds ignore them. critters recognize predatory motion/intent.

Yeah that's what I said in my initial post, I seem to only get blown out when I don't look around thoroughly and stand up to do my business or get a sandwich out of my bag etc. If there is a lot of squirrel activity and I have been sitting all day I may move to fast to look thinking it's a squirrel and it's a dang deer coming from behind me lol.

 

[Snake]

Hard to say .....there are several variables to consider. Those that have hunting dogs know that in dry conditions scent is hard to find but on a damper condition it's better . So knowing this deer smell us at times so far we don't think it's possible but have had deer walk up to the tree you just climbed . Their nose IMO is similar to a good hunting dog but probably much better .