My brother says turkeys can’t smell, but I’m not so sure. Do you worry about scent control while turkey hunting? — Lance M., Ogdensburg, Wis.
Your brother is essentially correct. Turkeys have a very poor sense of smell, so you don’t have to worry about scent-masking clothing or playing the wind while turkey hunting. The turkey’s other senses — namely its razor-sharp eyesight and amazing hearing — more than make up for its olfactory inadequacies. Folks often say that if turkeys could smell, you’d never kill one. That’s an exaggeration, of course. It would just make it much tougher to kill one.
– Brian Lovett, T&TH editor