Whitetail Nose vs Elk Nose

[razorback]

Anybody with both Whitetail and Elk hunting experience? If so, how do their noses compare? I have hunted deer my whole life. I have literally stepped out of a scent free shower, sprayed down with scent killer, rubbed myself down in cedar and hunted a stand I knew I shouldn\'t have because the wind was wrong and sure enough BUSTED! Other times had sweated on just walking to my stand, wind change deer come in from unexpected direction and they never smell a thing or at least they act like they don\'t. Sometimes I can almost predict when the deer are going to start acting nervous just knowing which way my scent stream is blowing even though I take care to be as scent free as possible.

Maybe it\'s not so much if one animal can smell better than the other but how they react to what they smell, just wondering how they two compare/contrast?

 

[OldMan]

I haven\'t hunted whitetails in decades. It\'s been mule deer since moving away from back east. I do remember the whitetails being a very nervous animal, and would bolt easily. If you\'re a good whitetail hunter, you should do fine with elk as far as scent goes.

Personally, I never bought into all the scent products, but i\'m really picky about putting the wind always in my favor, or I back out. That\'s always my advice.

 

[Swede]

Elk can smell everything if they have the wind in their favor.
If you tree stand hunt, here are some things you can do to minimize the likelihood of being caught. Stay as clean and scent free as possible. I have observed hunters that have a strong odor, and their success is much lower than what mine is, hunting from the same stands. I liken scent to sound. Just as there is a difference in whispering and yelling in the forest, there is a difference between minimal odor and stinking. Do not worry about elk smelling your urine on the ground. I have never found that to be a problem, and I have urinated from my stand for years.
You can also improve your chances of going undetected by setting your stand high, 25\'-30\' up or even more. If you can find a tree uphill, you can add the advantage of the elevation to effectively increase your tree stand height. Sometimes you can pick a tree that gives you a wind advantage for both or either diurnal or prevailing winds. To me the most important wind factor are the daily down flows.

On the ground, try to be as scent free as reasonably possible and be careful to not let elk get down wind of you. Elk have excellent noses, and they are unforgiving if they smell you. You can fool and elk\'s ear, and even its eyes on occasion, but you will get no second chance when they smell you.

 

[bnsafe]

i dont buy all the scent products either. rather for whitetails or elk. if the winds in your favor they wont smell you. if it isnt your busted. i dont think elk are an nervous as whitetails, but ive only hunted them for two years so i may not have a good handle on that.

 

[cnelk]

I would give the edge to the WT nose, but the elk nose is definitely no slouch.
The nerves of a WT also factor into the equation

WT hunters have different stands locations for different wind directions.
Even tho most elk hunters hunt from the ground, they should also approach locations with the wind in mind.