wed morn i was 3/4 up this mt where i sat under a lone pine tree on a south facing slope escaping the frigid cold and snow and rain. once i could see i spotted the elk i knew were close by, i started calling, in turn starting off a symphany of music from the elk....... 20 min later i hear a pound directly behind me, i turn my head to see a 5x5 bull staring me directly into my eyes. wind was directly in my face, he woulda shoulda had to have smelled me!!! he didnt care. he stood his ground, only flenching slightly when he seen me move slowly fo rmy bow. we sat there for 3 min before he was satisfied i wasnt an elk and he walked off, didnt run, walked off not giving me a shot at all. why didnt he smell me? why didnt he care? was i his first human contact? i was baffled, i sat up how i did so nothing would come in from behind me.
elk smell what????
- Thread starter ivorytip
- Start date
mnhunter
Active Member
Here is my theory. I know that when bird hunting a dog can smell birds on cold/wet grass much better, to the extent that they will be convinced a bird is there when they likely flew hours earlier. This leads me to believe that the particles in the air that the animal smells will blow around more when it is dry and won't when it is wet. By this logic you could assume that when it is wet out there is less scent blowing, because the majority of it is adhered to a wet surface and isn't evaporating, making it more difficult for an animal to detect you because less of your scent particals are flying.
How's that for some science/BS?
How's that for some science/BS?
Fink
Veteran member
I think that's backwards? You're right on the dog smelling, but I think it would be the same with big game, in that they too would be able to scent you better?
My grandpa was a bigtime bird hunter, and when my dad was younger, my grandpa would always tell him on the wetter days: "today's going to be a good day, Queenie will really be able to catch scent today" And he would always be right..
It's been our observation that our deer tend to move and rut much better on days where it is wetter, and often times we will see hardly any movement, even during normal high rut activity times, during periods of longer term dry weather.
I would think that bull would have had a pretty easy time scenting you, as your scent would have been just hanging around the area.. My guess is that he just didn't care?
wolftalonID
Very Active Member
Ivory, i have had a bull do that from 30 yards before and never give me a shot. Sometimes we are so still, smell isn't enough to spook them. When your still, camo does wonders to keep them somewhat calm.
He wasn't happy with what you were, but wasn't spooked enough to run for it. Your movements were more than likely very small. Plus what ever scent control you used may have helped. My bull this year i took from 35ish yards. He came in on my back trail and never spooked. Must be something in these Idaho winds lol.
He wasn't happy with what you were, but wasn't spooked enough to run for it. Your movements were more than likely very small. Plus what ever scent control you used may have helped. My bull this year i took from 35ish yards. He came in on my back trail and never spooked. Must be something in these Idaho winds lol.
Old Hunter
Banned
Musket Man
Veteran member
If it was raining while he came up behind you I think it could kinda hold your sent down or wash it away or something like that and make it harder for him to smell you.
Old Hunter
Banned
lookinforwater
Member
- Aug 28, 2013
- 56
- 0
I think people way under estimate most animals noses. My uncles bird dog has pointed pheasants while she was retrieving a pheasant. I have watched my lab while she was running downwind of a dead duck hit there scent from 10 to 15 yards away from the duck and she acts like she hit a wall, and that duck has only been laying there maybe 15 seconds.
Old Hunter
Banned
Musket Man
Veteran member
Old Hunter
Banned
Don't we all.They can loose sense of alot of things when all they are thinking about is girls
Musket Man
Veteran member
ha, i think thats exactly what it was. he was one of the sat bulls ive seen near a huge heard bull and his cows over the last few weeks. i think he was ready for his shot at a cow. and it was nt just windy, i was dman windy, which may have mixed my scent in with everything else, and it was raining hard with snow and all that sleet crap. the thing tilted its head like a confused puppy. im also thinking that may have been his first time seeing a human up close. idk..... only scent cover i had on thatmorning was the scent of my sweat from the long @$$ hike up the mountain and the scent of cold all in all it was pretty darn cool, wish i coulda atleast gotten a video of it.
all in all it was pretty darn cool, wish i coulda atleast gotten a video of it.I like to think of scent as it pertains to a dog as a cloud. Under ideal conditions, cold and wet, the cloud will stay "down" and stationary. Under high skies, windy and dry the scent will dissipate and be blown all around causing the dog to bump the bird and you to yell at him.
Over the years I have seen many things from a dogs nose that appear to be amazing and difficult to understand. Why does a live bird smell different than a dead bird? They must or the dog retrieving the bird wouldn't point another as we have all seen dozens of times. How does a water dog follow a duck that is swimming under the water. We've all seen that many times too.
My only explanation is the same for elk and deer and dogs.....they do it for a living, we're all just part timers.
Over the years I have seen many things from a dogs nose that appear to be amazing and difficult to understand. Why does a live bird smell different than a dead bird? They must or the dog retrieving the bird wouldn't point another as we have all seen dozens of times. How does a water dog follow a duck that is swimming under the water. We've all seen that many times too.
My only explanation is the same for elk and deer and dogs.....they do it for a living, we're all just part timers.
Old Hunter
Banned
Well, i've talked about my hunting method so much on this forum that i'm sure you're all tired of it, but let me touch on scent.
I try to make my hunts as challenging as possible. I do this by doing no glassing, just still hunting timber. I use open sights even though i'm blind at my age. I want the game to be able to use all their senses to stay alive. Their smell is a huge one for them. I do absolutely nothing to disguise my scent. I even have all the smells from a muzzleloader. My goal to to beat the nose of the game (deer/elk) by being downwind. If I don't do it right. I deserve to be busted by their nose.
Just my method, so don't take this personally. Nobody is harder on me than me.
I try to make my hunts as challenging as possible. I do this by doing no glassing, just still hunting timber. I use open sights even though i'm blind at my age. I want the game to be able to use all their senses to stay alive. Their smell is a huge one for them. I do absolutely nothing to disguise my scent. I even have all the smells from a muzzleloader. My goal to to beat the nose of the game (deer/elk) by being downwind. If I don't do it right. I deserve to be busted by their nose.
Just my method, so don't take this personally. Nobody is harder on me than me.
I had a forkie muley under 20 yards downwind of me before I shot my buck. He never smelled me or spooked and I had no scent killer at all. Sometimes they must not either be concerned or we get lucky and they don't smell us. But I bet he was rut crazed.
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Sent from my iPhone using tapatalk
Ive had some close calls +/- 3-5 yds, deer and elk. Im guessing its 1/2 curiosity that keeps them close for a bit. I had 2 fawns a lead doe and 3 point staring me down and could feel their breath once. The whole time im going. " why? Are you still here?"
trkytrack2
Active Member
Saw a video once where the US Army was testing wind currents by using smoke containers set on the ground. Pretty amazing how the smoke would drift a few yards and then shoot up in the sky, go a ways and then drop back down to the ground and repeat its self over and over, like a rolly coaster. My conclusion was that scent molecules will sometimes do the same thing.
xtreme
Very Active Member
Some elk just don't care. I parked the Grand Cherokee in a place I knew in North Park Co. My wife remained in the jeep while I went up the mountain to a place I knew. When I reached the summit I saw a bull in his bed, he had already seen me and I advanced to about 30ft, he just lay there so I backed out and left. Then I thought I would go back , get him up and drive him down hill so my wife could see him. Well he wouldn't get up, so I threw a stick, he got up then wouldn't leave. I began to worry about my own safety, finally we walked along the ridge line, I could not make him go down. This elk had seen humans and somehow knew he was safe, he just did not like me, I got very close to him so he didn't care about smelling me.