Last night I went out after a feral hog with my recurve. While sitting on stand I saw a basket rack 8. I smelled this deer before I saw him. I've never experienced that before. His tarsals reeked. They were very dark and looked as if he had peed on them recently. He passed my stand at about 10 yds. Is it normal for a rutting buck to have such a strong smell?
BTW, never saw a hog.

Oh yeah.....they stink to high heaven.

I've never experienced smelling one before I saw him......but they smell rancid.

For Sure, We raise some deer. I am a taxidermist so i love to have them around. Our breeder has an aweful stink to him. It is pretty much sickening really. I have never smelled one before seeing them. Were you on the ground? I know you can sure smell and elk before you see them if you are in the right spot.

If you guys were real hunters you would hang said tarsal glands over rear view mirror.

I have smelled deer before recovering them after a hit, but I don't think I have ever smelled an approaching deer before seeing him. Your sense of smell could be better then average. Especially since you smelled him before he smelled you.

A buddy of mine shot a deer two years ago during the rut. He shot it right before dark. When we went to recover it, it was real hard to see. He insisted it was at one spot, but I keep smelling it in another direction. I eventually told him, "It smells like one in this direction." Sure enough, it was. Lucky the wind was blowing from the deer and was nothing more than a light breeze. It is amazing how much they stink during the rut. Thats the first time ive smelled one, other than while draging it out.

I have also smelled them before seeing them. I watched two bucks pee down their legs this season then rub the glands together. There is alot of nasty bacteria on them hind legs.

I had a pair of bucks come in up wind of me, they entered a brushy draw about 40 yards away. I knew they were there, could smell them but not see them. It was a really cool hunt. I ended up killing one of them from the ground at about 7 yards, my first bow buck.