Scent of Elk vs Humans

[cohunter14]

I was out doing some elk/turkey scouting a couple of weeks ago and came across an area that just wreaked of elk. I\'m assuming the elk were upwind in some dark timber, but that timber was well over 100 yards away.

I always try to pay attention to wind when hunting, but this really made me wonder if human scent is as strong to elk as their scent is to us. Anyone who has caught a good nose full of an elk stench knows what I\'m talking about. If their noses are that much better than a human\'s, I sure hope the scent we have isn\'t as strong. If I can catch a whiff of an elk from 100+ yards away, I can only imagine how far away they can smell a human. I have been a witness to a bull catching my scent at almost exactly 100 yards while he was in my scope, but that\'s as far as I have ever seen it. Anyone else?

This also makes me wonder if taking steps to reduce scent is worth more than I have given it credit for in the past. I try to keep clean and change the clothing that is in contact with my skin daily, but I\'ve never been a big believer in scent cover up or anything like that. I have always believed in simply hunting the wind and letting that take care of scent issues.

What are your thoughts or beliefs when it comes to this?

 

[WW]

I doubt that elk were anywhere in the vicinity. They often have a habit of urinating when startled. Many believe this is to leave a strong scent in the area to confuse predators that may have startled them.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I don\'t worry about scent anymore because I don\'t think you\'re going to ever fool an elks nose. If they are down wind I don\'t care what you\'re wearing and how much scent killer you horseback yourself down with.

I know when I\'m hunting into the wind and smell elk I stop, drop and wait.

 

[Iron_Will_Eric]

In an effort to reduce the amount of effort I expend skirting elk to get the wind right, I\'ve tried testing just how wide I need to go for them to not smell me. So far, I\'ve found, no matter how far away I get (100 yards, 500 yards, etc) if there is a direct thermal or stream of air going towards them, or where they are going, they will smell me. When they smell me, they instantly bust out in the opposite direction, usually into the wind. In situations where I might be a bit further away even, and the air is swirling, they still will catch my drift (though it may take a bit longer). When this happens, it generally puts them on high alert, and will eventually bust without fully knowing where I am. In this case, one animal usually catches my drift and busts, taking the rest of the herd with them. If one animal gets alert, the entire herd goes on alert, greatly reducing my odds of success with that encounter. Therefore, I\'ll do as much as it takes to ensure my wind doesn\'t get to the herd. If I can\'t get the wind right, I\'ll either watch from a safe distance and wait, and/or try and set up in a future ambush location. I haven\'t ever had success trying to force the situation in bad wind.