How big do you feel our scent "body" is. I have thought about this so many times while on stand and thought I would like to hear some opinions/facts. What I am asking is this, regardless of wether it is wind, thermals etc...how wide is our scent path. If the wind/thermals are blowing directly N or 12 o'clock then does you scent cover 11 to 1, or is it bigger, say 9 to 3. Do you feel it is not very wide and say only 1145 to 1215. Interested in everyones thoughts on this.
Michael, it is not a stupid question and I deal with the wind/thermals every single hunt. I hunt hilly terrain and I must stay aware of not only the wind but the thermals. If you do not play the thermal wind conditions correctly you can go by days without seeing deer here. Many people will complain that there are no deer but they are set-up incorrectly. They are getting unknowingly picked off by deer because they are either set up too high or too low. As far as how wide our scent path is, that can be based on what type of terrain you are hunting and the variability (swirling) of the wind. Your scent could travel down a ravine and educate the entire deer herd in a valley or you scent could blow right out into thin air depending on your set-up. Understanding how deer use the wind/thermals to travel certain topographical features has been my number one deer killing advantage over the past couple of years. Thanks to guys like Gri22ly I am a much better hunter in regards to winds/thermals/topography.
Don't forget the most important factor with thermals and wind....how it effects deer movement. A lot of guys think working the wind is having it blowing from the deer and too you, but, in fact it is much deeper than this...deer will travel the same property differently for rising and lowing thermals and different wind directions. Your scent cone size ? I guess it depends on wind speeds, how bad you smell, structure and so on.......good question,
