Wind direction

[hunt0168]

In my mind a 5-10 mph wind is a calm day, though I suppose I should have expressed myself more carefully. Regarding scent, as long as conditions are relatively calm, I usually don't concern myself much with it, other than trying to be downwind from my quarry if possible (often it isn't). When I first started chasing predators I was a fanatic about scent: I washed my clothes in scent free detergent, hung them outside to air for several days before a hunt, used cover scent, etc. But after trying it both ways, I couldn't tell that it made any difference. I know many seasoned varmint hunters are religious about it, though at least in north Arkansas it doesn't seem to matter.

Thanks for clarifying on “calm” conditions. As far as scent control goes, I don’t do much. I mean I don’t go out smelling like I swam in a gas tank or anything. Other than maybe scent neutralizer on my rubber boots I don’t give it a whole lot of attention otherwise. They’re going to smell you if given the chance.

 

[masshunter]

Like AWS said, I try to get a backer of some kind, even with a crosswind. You called in more coyotes that you never saw, we all do. Like anything else experience is the best teacher, things will fall into place. Calling after a fresh snow, then taking a recon walk around will sometimes show you a better way to hunt a particular piece of ground.

 

[Oldcoyotetrapper]

This is a very interesting post and great set of comments. I spent most my life bowhunting so wind was my major concern, I still play by those rules. I always try to have the wind in my face, with some type of barrier which isn’t always possible but I try. I hunt very pressured dogs and while sometimes they do try and come down wind. Often they fly straight in, I don’t use the fury decoys. I will use a rubber/plastic dog (lucky duck dog). Also working on my own mobile decoy, should be finished soon. 95% of the time I use coyote vocals, that rabbit and squeak stuff is mainly good for pups. That said I don’t really have very long pauses between calls it seems as if if they hear it that’s how they come. If they don’t hear it they try hard to wind it. Now im not saying to run continuous on high volume most of my pauses I simply turn sound way down. I also always try and tuck my call into something cedar bush brush pile cactus patch etc. I imagine there is no real right way, when it comes to yotes.

 

[AWS]

I'm not big on keeping my gear scent free as I try and plan every stand so I see them before they smell me. But then there are just stupid coyotes that will come in right down the trail I walked in on and run right past me, jump over my partner(twice). A coyote stick his head up over a snow drift right between my BinLs feet. A fox jump off a snow drift and land between my knees. I've even missed a coyote twice shooting a break action single shot, he'd run off a ways and then come back to the call, miss him again and he'd run off to the edge of the brush and come back, finally settled down and killed him with the third shot and he wasn't a pup. I think that sometimes they just let one sense override everything they know. Two have jumped four feet up into a thorny mesquite bush and ripped the caller down, one run off with a plastic decoy and a couple take running leaps and snag decoys four feet off the ground.

 

[popper43]

OK, question for you guys. Thinking of hunting larger pasture, usually see animals in smaller (circled area and 'dot' is location of stand). 'Dotted' a possible location in the larger pasture - for daytime calling. House and barn at lower edge. Wind from top and bottom. Small creek on left and right of the pic. Surrounded by cattle/chickens in neighbering propertys - yotes. South of the pic is a large area of new pine and TALL weeds - couldn't see anything there. And would be shooting toward a road. Never seen anything from that center 'pod' of trees but lots of hog sign at bottom edge this last year. Deer always cross from large to small (feeder there) but I chase them away. Not concered about scent, just where they probably come FROM. So far just shooting from pop-up or off the 4 wheeler, too old to be mobile.

 

[jmeddy]

As 0168 said, I don't do anything special for scent control. "Back in the day" I raised and trained German Shorthairs. On 3 different occasions I had dogs take a face full of SKUNK, then point a bird within a few minutes--as stated "YOU CAN'T BEAT A K-9's nose"!

 

[Oldcoyotetrapper]

As 0168 said, I don't do anything special for scent control. "Back in the day" I raised and trained German Shorthairs. On 3 different occasions I had dogs take a face full of SKUNK, then point a bird within a few minutes--as stated "YOU CAN'T BEAT A K-9's nose"!

I just sent a deposit off for my 1st GSP

 

[Spurchaser]

Haha, I ain’t got enough traps to set wherever dogs pee or poop. I think that would probably work if we weren’t a working plantation and dogs didn’t cover 75% of the property during the cooler months.
You’re gonna like a GSP. We got our first a couple of years ago from an older client that couldn’t hunt anymore. All we had prior was pointers and a couple setters. That GSP took top dog his first year on the rotation. We were worried because they normally hunt close, well this dog was paired with one of our senior pointers and picked up quick on horses and roaming. We have since picked up another GSP, lol. Both have turned out to be great dogs and actually listen.

 

[Oldcoyotetrapper]

Haha, I ain’t got enough traps to set wherever dogs pee or poop. I think that would probably work if we weren’t a working plantation and dogs didn’t cover 75% of the property during the cooler months.
You’re gonna like a GSP. We got our first a couple of years ago from an older client that couldn’t hunt anymore. All we had prior was pointers and a couple setters. That GSP took top dog his first year on the rotation. We were worried because they normally hunt close, well this dog was paired with one of our senior pointers and picked up quick on horses and roaming. We have since picked up another GSP, lol. Both have turned out to be great dogs and actually listen.

That is good to hear. This guy is a long time friend of 40 years. He travels the states doing the bird dog trails and also hunts pigs and coons. I’ve even seen one of his dogs on a beach catch and ring a coyotes neck. That said I’m hopeful but optimistic on their overall ability.

 

[Spurchaser]

We have a couple pointers that will catch a hog if encountered on the hunt, lol. Now I’m talking shoats, not full grown hogs.
We were on a hunt and the dogs locked up. The manager mentioned something didn’t seem right, but said let’s try it. The hunters dismounted and when he walked in to flush, shoats went everywhere.
Our pointers generally don’t break at the flush of quail, but lost it on the pigs. One pointer went one way and the other went the other way. In less than 50yds each had a pig. The scout went after one dog and I went after the other. I grabbed the back legs and shanked it and just let the dog keep ahold of it, lol. I wasn’t about to try and take it away.
After that episode they went right back to hunting quail. The following season that same brace got on a single hog and would’ve made a hog dog guy proud. Again, they held it and I shanked it and just like last time, after that they went back to doing the job they’re supposed to do.
So far our GSP’s haven’t encountered a hog yet. All our dogs avoid deer and that’s a good thing because we have a lot of them.

 

[Oldcoyotetrapper]

That excites me.

 

[AWS]

It is amazing what dogs can learn. This AWS figured out that we were digging clams and she proceeded to dig clams we never figured out if she could smell, hear or feel vibrations. I never needed a clam rake after that. My wife took a picture because she was sure no one would believe me. She was really smart, the club members nicknamed her Houdini as the didn't make crate that would hold her, she even figured out how to unlock and slide open the rear window in the p/u. Later today in life she went deaf she learned to look back for hand signal I taught her to look back at their vibration mode of an e-collar if I needed her attention. She could steal the blankets off me in the camper without waking me up. All of a sudden I was freezing an she would be curled up in a nest of blankets. She won lots of awards, including the hunting competition at the National Specialty and a number of shoot to retrieve competitions.

She even made it as a pin up. Featured in Barron's Sporting Spaniel Handbook

Back when I was young and handsome and she had her poofy dew