Big Game Hunting

Elk Hunting and Sent Management and Checking the Wind

I got a reminder once again this archery season while hunting elk, how important it is to manage your sent and to check the wind direction. I have had many encounters blown, so to speak, because of my sent. Camo is important, but nothing will blow an encounter faster than your sent. I spend more time managing how I wash and store my clothes, using pine bows in storage, bathing while in camp, covering my sent with blockers, not building a camp fire so I don't smell like smoke, and checking the wind direction. In the mountains, this is particularly hard with swirling and ever changing wind due to thermals and topography. I cow called with multiple cow calls and got a bull to answer on a ridge around the next hill. I called again and he answered once again, this time much closer. He bugled once again and it was certain that he was on his way. I found a spot to set up for a shot that left me the best shooting lanes, but I forgot to check wind direction. Within 1 minute a cow appeared and right behind her was a six point bull bugling. They were coming right to me. At 50 yards, the cow stopped abruptly, turned and busted back to where she came and of course the bull followed. If the cow saw me, she would have stopped to check me out first, so obviously she picked up my predator sent and knew right away I was trouble and took off. I picked up my wind walker floaters and sure enough the wind was taking my sent right to them...opposite of how the wind typically blew. In a few minutes the wind changed right back to the normal direction. An encounter blown, because of the wind direction and my sent. If I had checked the wind, I could have tried to set up below the elk or above instead of infront of them. I learn something every year even though I have been bow hunting for elk now ten years