The direction the wind is traveling
Downwind, for our purposes, is NOT well defined.
Yeah, the very core of our scent cone where odor molecules are most dense is certainly downwind and I agree most deer within that zone will probably detect us. (How that individual, "downwind" deer reacts under certain environmental conditions (like humidity) is yet another subject.)
But how about the fringes of the scent cone? How about the fringes of the fringes? The density and strength of odor molecules fades on those edges. Is our odor the same on those outer edges as it is in the core? No way! Just like smoke out of the chimney...dense in the middle but barely perceptible on the fringes until it's not there at all. You can choke on that smoke in the middle of it, but it may be nearly undetectable out on the edges. That's exactly what happens with our odor when it leaves our body.
The solution to pollution (our odor) is dilution.
Our scent cone leaves our stand measuring roughly 2 feet by 6 feet and as intense in odor density as it will ever be. But then air currents take over and our odor begins to weaken. Up drafts, downdrafts, crosswinds...they billow and morph the strength of our odor. After 50 yards, our scent cone is many times it's original size, but it's weaker. Multiply that effect as wind patterns and distance increases.
Downwind?? What's that?
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