Part 1
Why is scent control so important for deer hunting?
Deer have a sense of smell that humans can barely even begin to imagine!
White tail deer have an amazing sense of smell, which is why it is critically important
for hunters to do everything they can to minimize their scent. Before we give you tips
on making your hunting clothes and yourself scent-free, we wanted to give you some
information on a deer's sense of smell.
Deer have up to 297 million olfactory (scent) receptors in their nose. In comparison,
dogs have 220 million and humans have just 5 million olfactory receptors. Not only do
deer have a huge number of olfactory receptors in their nose, they also have a secondary
scent gland called the vomeronasal organ that is located in their mouth.
Deer have 2 large scent processing areas in their brains. These processing
areas are 9 times larger than a human's scent processing area. So a sniff test of yourself
or your clothing is nothing compared to what a deer can do.
So just how well can a deer smell?
Unfortunately not a lot of research on
deer is available. However there has been quite a bit of research on what dogs are capable
of smelling, so with this knowledge and the estimation that a deer's sense of smell is 30%
greater, we can make some generalizations. Below is a list of abilities that dogs have, and
you can safely assume that a deer is the same if not greater.
Dogs can identify traces of chemicals that are only one or two parts in a trillion. That is
the equivalent of smelling one needle in a haystack of 1 trillion stalks.
Dogs can smell fear, anxiety and excitement. All these emotions cause you to emit
pheromones from your glands. So if the wind is wrong, a deer will smell your excitement at
seeing them enter your sights.
At crime scenes, dogs have been able to pick up a human scent from finger prints that are 7
days old. So it is important not only to be scent-free on your hunting day, but that your tree
stand has been set up more than a week in advance of hunting season so that human scents on it
have as much time as possible to dissipate. Setting up prior to a rain will help to cleanse your
smell from the area.
Lastly, think about this: dogs are now being used to alert doctors of lung cancer simply sniffing
the patients breath, and they are accurate 90% of the time. With this type of sensitivity, is it
any wonder that a deer can detect you in the field when you have recently used cologne, shampoo,
or laundry detergent?
