5704199_orig2 by Jason Mosler, on FlickrExcuse me...that's what my mama always said to say when you float an air biscuit, and that makes it all ok. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to work when you are out calling coyotes.
In this article we will discuss a VERY controversial topic, scent and scent control.
In my early days of calling, when we would pull dry stands, I would end up finding myself at one of the sporting good retailer trying to figure out what I needed to buy so that I wouldn't pull anymore blank stands.
Eventually after buying a bunch of hand calls, e-calls, camo, ammunition, voodoo implements, I landed on scent control. It had to be the ONE thing that was causing me to have dry stands. So now I was storing my hunting clothes in sealed containers, using scent killing soaps, not eating garlic, I even started wearing those little room fresheners that the scent control folks will be more than happy to sell you. Still no fur on the ground.
I did countless hours of research. I talked to every experienced hunter that I could. Of course, the equipment manufacturers are more than happy to sell me all the snake oil that I wanted. Rarely did they ever tell me that I was wasting my time.
As I was out, failing to connect with coyotes, I was seeing them. I noticed certain behaviors of the coyotes that I was seeing. I just hadn't connected the dots, yet.
Once I began to connect with coyotes, I wanted to get better. This was when I began to recall seeing those certain behaviors. I began to dissect those situations and try to see if there was a connection with the behaviors that I was seeing along with what had actually happened.
I had begun to volunteer with Arizona Game and Fish as a Hunters Ed Instructor. I was more than happy to share what I knew and had learned about hunting. More often than not, I found myself on the firing line sharing my knowledge regarding firearm safety. One BIG benefit that I got, was being able to talk to many different experts within Arizona Game and Fish. During one event, at a break, I was able to get to talk with a game and fish biologist and the topic of scent control came up. When I began to explain my situation and theories he chuckled. He asked me if I had ever been in my mother or grandmother's kitchen while they were cooking. When I answered yes, he asked if I remembered being able to smell all the different ingredients on the dishes that I could smell. When I answered again, yes, he said, well so do coyotes. He went on to explain that he himself was a bird hunter. Over the years he said that he has had a LOT of bird dogs and most of them had been sprayed by a skunk at one time or another. I chuckled at the thought of him having to ride with a skunky dog in the truck and trying to get the scent of the skunk off the dog. After we got done chuckling, the biologist went on to tell me that in every instance, he and his skunky dog would continue to bird hunt. He said that even though he couldn't stand the smell of the dogs, the dogs would continue to get on birds. He said that canines have the capacity to compartmentalize the different scents. They would ignore the smell of the skunk and still be able to focus on the scent of the birds. It was like getting hit in the head with a sledge hammer. Why hadn't I thought of that?
One of my own dogs had an affinity for tennis balls. He could find a tennis ball no matter where you hid it. We used to try to stump him, but he would invariably find the balls. One day, he was digging under this concrete pad in our backyard that had been there when we bought the house. No amount of scolding would call him off. We would take him inside and the very next time he was back digging. One day we had to call him several times to come inside the house. When he came in he had something in his mouth, something covered in dirt. It was a tennis ball. It had been underground for so long that it had roots growing into it. I went out and saw that the hole was almost a foot under the slab and at least that deep. That goofy bugger had somehow smelled that ball and NOTHING would dissuade him from his single minded goal.
That memory of Buddy and the talk I had with the biologist shook me out of my scent control fog. My research took me into different directions.
We all know that predators use scent. But to what degree? In watching the many predators come in over the years, I have seen how different predators seem to use scent differently. I joke that the only reason nature put noses on cats is to round out their face. Bobcats and mountain lions seem to be much more sound and sight oriented. Foxes will use scent, but not to the same extreme that coyotes use. I once called in a fox to within about 5 feet of me as I was sitting against a boulder. The wind was coming from my left and slightly behind me. The fox came up and I saw it opening it's mouth in the breeze. Since we were up on the boulder the fox couldn't get out into the wind like it wanted to, it dropped back behind the boulder and then re-approached from the downwind side of the call off to my left and below me. It was FASCINATING to observe. The fox appeared to be tasting the air.
Coyotes seem to be the most scent oriented of our most commonly called predator. From what I have seen, they use sound as their first sense, then as they close in they seem to switch channels to smell. On final approach they seem to switch over to sight. I have seen coyotes that turned tail when they hit the downwind from me. I have seen coyotes zig zagging back and forth as they approached, only to snap straight onto the call and come in on an invisible laser. I noticed that I seemed to see more coyotes on days with a breeze as opposed to days that were dead calm. I know when I don't know something, so I began to research it.
F1.large by Jason Mosler, on FlickrHere is a diagram of typical scent distribution based off of varying wind speeds. Diagram A shows the scent distribution with no wind. Diagram B shows the scent distribution of heavier particles with a slight breeze and C shows scent distribution of lighter particles with the higher wind speed. With no wind the scent tends to spread out in a more umbrella type of distribution. This made a lot of sense when I would get back doored by coyotes on calm days. This also helped to explain why I have seen scent tracking dogs start tracking with their noses to the ground initially and then as they got closer to their targets they will begin to raise their heads, indicating their relative proximity to the source of the scent. At farther distances, the heavier particles are already on the ground and only lighter particles will remain and those particles will tend to be spread out randomly. This tends to cause canines to zig zag in order to try and determine where the source of the scent is.
Print by Jason Mosler, on FlickrNow, I have called into the wind and I have called looking into the downwind. This is why I started out stating that this is a controversial topic. For everyone that likes to call with a crosswind there are going to be those who will tell you that they like to call into the wind. In one study that I read, the researchers observed the success of the predators that they were observing, in this case predators that hunted ground nesting birds, and they noted that the predators that had more success were the ones who hunted with their noses into the wind. This diagram shows why the researches theorize that the predators were more successful. Calling into the wind seems to lift the scent over the predator. This is why I don't tend to like to do this, unless I have no choice. Sometimes topography leaves me no choice and I will have to call into the wind.
But I have seen more predators coming up from the downwind side to first take a look at the call. They don't seem to approach from downwind, but they take a look. So I tend to set up with the wind blowing over one shoulder or the other and I sit where I can watch the downwind leg downwind of the caller. I have seen a LOT of coyotes come up from downwind to take a look but then they seem to disappear and then they seem to reappear and make their approach to the call either from the side or slightly behind the call.
fig2_scent by Jason Mosler, on FlickrI began to try and understand these behaviors that I have observed especially from coyotes when I have seen them coming in. I found a study where the researchers used mice to see if there was some kind of learned response to scent. Having seen trained search dogs work, I can tell you that there is a learned behavior in them. An experienced search dog will often be able to lock onto the source of the scent much more quickly than a younger dog. Many of the bird hunters that I have hunted with will often use older, more experienced dogs as mentors for their younger dogs. I can attest to the benefit of doing this with a good mentoring dog. But would it work for a wild animal?
F3.large by Jason Mosler, on FlickrIn the study the researchers used mice and observed their search pattern to a new source of scent. The mice commonly followed a common search pattern including zig zagging which would tighten up as they closed in to the source of the scent. But when the researchers introduced the same scent source to the same mice in the same area, the mice would take "short cuts" based on features of the area. The mice learned to use their surroundings to help them short cut their path to the source of the scent. Put into different surroundings and the zig zagging would reoccur. This would seem to help explain the behavior of certain coyotes. Many experienced coyote callers have seen older, wiser coyotes who seem to magically disappear when coming in to a call and then they seem to appear right on top of the call.
I had a first hand experience with this. Arizona Bushman and I were hunting partners in competitions for several years. One year, he partnered up with another of our team to hunt a local contest. The next week I asked him about the contest. He expressed quite a bit of frustration. They had called in coyotes but our teammate had failed to connect with any of them. He then asked if I would be willing to go out and rerun the same stands. He told me that on the first stand we would be calling over a dried up water hole where they had seen a coyote come down an old unused farm road. But as the coyote approached it dropped out of sight. Arizona Bushman was upset that our teammate had not taken the shot before the coyote disappeared.
smell stand 2 by Jason Mosler, on FlickrSo we went to the first stand and set up the same way that they had the previous weekend. The wind was blowing form the north so we set the call up across the dried up waterhole and put it in a bush facing down the old farm road. Bushman, B set up on the same bush he had the previous week, while I set up in a bit of a washout ravine on the edge of the old waterhole, M.
smell stand 3 by Jason Mosler, on FlickrSure enough, here comes the coyote, right down the old farm road just as Bushman described. And just like the previous weekend, the coyote disappeared off the road. What we didn't know is that there is a ditch just off the old farm road. But I had seen enough of the coyote to realize it was fairly good size. It wasn't a youngster. Knowing about the learned behavior of mammals, I shifted my attention to the caller.
smell stand 4 by Jason Mosler, on FlickrBushman saw the coyote drop off so he just let the call roll. Sure enough, I see the coyote bounce out onto the old road right next to the caller just to the downwind side of the call. And then it bounced right back where it came from.
smell stand 5 by Jason Mosler, on FlickrBecause we were across the old waterhole we weren't too worried that the coyote could smell us. So rather than panic, Bushman simply changed the caller to a bird call. I see the coyote just lean out to get eyes on this new call, and that was all that I needed to sneak a 6.5 Grendel 123gr SST past the bush and into the coyotes chest.
smell stand 6 by Jason Mosler, on Flickr
65Grendel coyote by Jason Mosler, on FlickrNow I am NOT going to discount those callers who have had success calling in coyotes calling into the wind. I know that there are some very successful callers that do just that. I can only share what my own personal experiences have taught me and that is what I'd like to share with you. When you go out to set up your stand, don't run around out there. Be mindful that the more you are out there the more you will be contaminating your stand with your scent. I tend to walk straight out and walk straight back. Coyotes like all canines will probably know that a human has been in the area. But the higher the scent is in the breeze, the hotter or fresher the scent is, the HIGHER on alert I think that the predators will be and that may make them balk at coming in and you might see them turn tail and run.
I hunt with folks that smoke, and while I tell them not to smoke on stand, the fact that they have to light up after a stand hasn't slowed our success. I have even gone out with some of our female hunters and they come smelling of scented soaps and even perfumes. I have become highly sensitive to scents while I am out in the desert so I can pick up on some very faint scents. Yet we still have connected. So while I will tell you that you need to waste time trying to eliminate EVERY little scent there are some I try to avoid, such as gun cleaners, aftershave, gasoline anything that I can eliminate, I will. I just don't store my gear with cedar boughs and mesquite anymore.
Save your money and focus on the wind and how you set up your stands. It will land you more fur than any scent control product.
I hope that this helps you connect with more fur.
Mo
