You Can Have a Second Chance to take a Buck in January
Day 3: The Importance of the Wind and Human Scent for Taking a Second Chance Buck
Editor’s Note: To bag a buck during January and possibly have an opportunity for a buck a second time, you must understand the importance of the wind and human scent.
 Although my blowing the deer grunt call was the reason the back came back (see Day 2) and gave me a second chance to take him, there are other ingredients that will permit the hunter to have a second chance at bagging a deer that someone or something has spooked. The wind is the most-critical factor that allows a hunter to have a second chance at a buck. As long as the deer doesn’t smell the hunter, I believe there may be as high as a 50-percent chance that the hunter will get a second chance to bag that buck.  A deer moving through the woods is much like a young child walking through a horror house. Anything that moves, jumps or can’t be explained will frighten the child or a deer. But the fright only lasts for a moment – just long enough for either the child or the deer to put enough distance between himself and whatever has frightened him, so that he feels secure. However, once a deer smells human odor, he knows what the danger is and will put more than a little distance between himself and the hunter. And, more than likely, he won’t return to that same spot for some time.
 Therefore if a hunter is stalking into the wind and spooks the deer, the odds are good that he may have a second opportunity to bag that same deer later, since natural curiosity is an integral part of a white-tailed deer’s make up. Since a deer generally has a home range of 1 to 1-1/2-miles, the animal is aware of most everything within that area and knows where the trees, thickets, creeks, fields, marshes and critters are within that region.  And, when something moves into the deer’s home range that he doesn’t understand, he usually will investigate. So, if a deer spots a man in the woods but doesn’t identify that critter as a man and doesn’t smell human odor, often he’ll come back later to investigate, even though he’s spooked by what he doesn’t understand. The deer may return within 15 to 20 minutes, or several hours may elapse. But in many cases, the deer will return and give the hunter a second chance to take the buck he’s spooked.
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