Never has been a concern down here in Tn to me.
Distances just ain't that great if dropping or retrieving stuff back at the truck before dragging something out.
Never have been in that position anyways.
Just leap frog on my day pack and gun while dragging.

In Maine growing up .
Drop a buck out in the willy whacks of 4x4 mile unincorporated townships like your T series blocks.
And ya got a hour or 2 hump back to camp to round up people to help drag.
It was a worry with yotes.
Leave Day pack on the chest.
Couple ciggerette butts on the chest.
Long john top.
Piss around on a tree.

Think it is more for a peice of mind urban legend old timer passed on thing....
But I would do it in the hope it would work
Dont think any of it would scare off a hungry predator on a easy score.

3 times as a teen in the late 70,s and early 80,s
Once in 2000
Never had yotes raid a Carcass...
But that is more attributed to any yotes being in the down wind scent vector and out and about during the day when they are mostly nocturnal predators anyways

Bears by november are pretty much going into den mode or pretty close to it up their.

Down here in Tn
Not an issue.
Might be on a evening shot deer and have to do a morning recovery.

They ain't gonna eat the antlers anyways....
And meat ain't a concern to me....

But I have never been in the situation to have to go recover a deer in the morning anyways.
I dont do alot of evening hunting .
Maybe two or 3 times a yr with slumlord.
I did sit on a buck he shot for about an hour 1 night.
Cause yotes are a issue around his place.
While he was going to get the pathfinder and Baby huey to help get it out of the woods.
I had gutted it out in the fading light, cause homie ain't cool on working with a blade in the dark with a flashlight only.
Little mistake with a razor sharp 110 =sliced up fingers or hand in deer blood and guts ain't a good thing.


I could see out west in places and in alaska how this would be a real concern with higher up the food chain predators.

I really dont think leaving human scent is gonna deter a hungry grizzly or wolves at all.

Look at how many times you hear stories of Grizzlies raiding a kill while hunters are physically around it.
And the danger of that.
Makes sense to have one guy pulling security and the other working on the kill in big bad attitude bear country.
Someone going out hunting alone in grizzly country is tempting fate when they got a game animal down IMO.
Look at all the dumbazz hikers across the planet that get attacked by predators, smelling like a human sure as heck didnt scare off a predator when that schit goes down.

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