Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping System

Elk Stank Question

Yeah. And elk don't smell like cattle. mtmuley
I would have to agree. Haven’t hunted as much as mtmuley, about half, but their smells are distinctly different. I grew up on a cattle farm, maybe the urine smells somewhat similar because they do graze but a elk in general smells like an elk, very unique.
 
My sense of smell is not the best. Elk smell lingers for days and I have a hard time figuring out how fresh it is. My sense of hearing is way above average however, no matter what my wife might tell you, so I rely on that sense more. Often I've been next to someone and said hear that? Usually they shake their head no. Hunting in the timber I usually hear animals before seeing them. Use all your senses to the best of your abilities and someday it will pay off. Like @mtmuley says, keep learning.
 
How would you describe the elk smell to someone who never smelled elk? It wouldn't help to say it smelled like elk.
It wouldn't help to say they smelled like cattle, because they don't.

A rutting bull smells different than a late season bull or a cow. Yes, there are similarities between the elk smells, but they are different.

I grew up around a small cattle operation. The first dead wild bison I walked up to smelled just like cattle. Elk don't smell like bison either.
 
It wouldn't help to say they smelled like cattle, because they don't.

A rutting bull smells different than a late season bull or a cow. Yes, there are similarities between the elk smells, but they are different. I grew up around a small cattle operation. The first dead wild bison I walked up to smelled just like cattle. Elk don't smell like bison either.
Yes, but that didn't answer the question. How do you describe the elk smell to someone who never smelled one.

I hardly ever smell cattle even though there's lots of them where I live. Elk may not smell exactly like cattle but I can't think of another smell to describe what elk smell like that most everybody would know.
 
How would you describe the elk smell to someone who never smelled elk? It wouldn't help to say it smelled like elk.
Id shove their head down in an elk bed and say breathe, should never need to repeat the lesson.

Forking out the cow barn, the pig barn, and the chicken coop made me a young shit expert, but I still thought of it as punishment, only the passing of 50 years exposes it for such a valuable and sought after skill set... I guess.

A more important lesson is learning to "sex" the bed, assuming you can only shoot either a cow or bull.
 
It seems a lot of guys don't like saying elk smell like cattle but can't come up with a better way to describe what elk smell like.

I've heard elk being described as smelling like cattle all my life. Nobody has a better answer?
 
"Smells musky,shitty,pissy." Good luck if they don't know that.

I can tell there is a difference between animals.Llamas & elk smell alike to some. Not me.
I also don't think elk when I smell cows.
I also usually smell anyone I'm around helping hunting. Hence I hunt alone.
 
I hardly ever smell cattle even though there's lots of them where I live. Elk may not smell exactly like cattle but I can't think of another smell to describe what elk smell like that most everybody would know.
So if I want to describe the smell of sumac, should I say it smells like cedar?

There is no other smell, that I would say closely describes the smell of elk. If you hunt elk, it won't take long to figure out what they smell like. Kind of like a learning curve, I guess.

And I am very unimpressed by the author of the Go Hunt article, but many "how to" authors don't know how to themselves these days. Elk don't smell like cattle.

What smell would you say describes a pronghorn best? :)
 

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