Do Gut Piles Spook Other Animals?

Many hunters may have told you numerous times not to field-dress a deer near your stand, or else the rest of your season will be ruined. Is that true? Do gut piles spook other animals, or is it an old hunter’s tale? What are the deer and hog hunting tips on this practice?

Truth or Tale?

Unfortunately, this tale cannot be proven with certainty since we cannot just ask the animals directly how they feel. According to many experienced hunters, most animals do not seem to be particularly bothered by gut piles at all. Anecdotal evidence suggests that animals do not seem to care if there has been a pile of guts at one location. They will venture nearby regardless.

Attracting Unwanted Animals

Even so, you may still want to consider not field-dressing your kill. Though it will not spook the animals you are hunting, the predators the smell may attract sure will. A fresh gut pile will attract anything from bears to carrion birds. You can bet that if there is a bear nearby, deer will stay far away.

Many hunters assume that gut piles will spook deer because they presume deer think like humans. It makes perfect sense to be terrified if you walk into a room and see a pile of guts there. You would associate this with immediate danger and make a hasty exit.

Deer do not think the same way. They do not have the same reasoning ability as humans. It is also probably the case that they have never witnessed entrails before and do not understand what they are or the danger they represent. A deer understands the risk a bear or a coyote means, though. Gut piles can also attract wolves, turkey vultures, opossums, botflies, or any other number of predators and scavengers. A deer knows these things are dangerous.

Some hunters think it is the scent of a human near gut piles that can alert passing deer to possible danger. The smell of your sweat might let them know you are nearby and to leave or avoid the area. Highly intelligent or mature individuals may be able to reason that a gut pile indicates danger, but that is anecdotal. Sometimes it will depend on the individual animal, season, and other environmental factors.

Field Dressing Tip

Take the time to drag your kill to another location to gut, and keep it away from the area where you like to hunt. Near a pond edge or a creek bank is suitable for concealing the smell and cleaning yourself up afterward.

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