I think that the jury is still out on this topic. I would like more guys to post and tell everyone what they think. For years I was told and thought that you should never gut a deer where you want to hunt that same day....or soon after, but after gutting a couple around my stand because I had no other choice. I have seen really no change in deer activity etc... I think that making sure you try and keep human scent to a minimum is the most important thing.