MulePacker
Active Member
- Messages
- 514
LAST EDITED ON Mar-10-08 AT 01:36PM (MST)[p]OK this post is not to give your tried and proven tricks that only you know and use. But just to discuss ideas you have tried in outsmarting the Wapiti, provide as much or as little info as you want. An offshoot of the "hucking" thread.
Maybe an experience where you learned or as mine will illustrate at least were entertained.
A few years back the RMEF released a book of elk secrets from members. After reading my copy I passed it along to my hunting buddy. After reviewing the 100 or so tips the one he picked up on was using belly hair as a cover scent.
So we were in Idaho on an archery elk hunt, 3 of us. I cannot remember the exact dates but in mid September one of our party shot a small bull. That particular morning the elk were very vocal and voracious. During this particular setup we had 4 bulls come into our setup within 30 yds. We commented afterwards how the pungent odor was so prevalent. This refreshed my buddy?s memory, before we left he took time to harvest the belly hair, put it in a plastic bag and then in his saddlebags. He figured as we got in close or setup more calling situations he could attach the belly hair to his pack and would have the perfect cover scent. As often happens we experienced a dry spell for a few days and deiced to return home and come back later in the month.
Fast Forward, it is now the last day of the archery season in Idaho September 30th. In the darkness of early morning we are saddling our horses when my buddy becomes a little concerned that his horse may have some foot rot, as there is a distinct rotten smell as he reaches down for the cinch. However, the trusty steed is not lame so we head on our way. This day turns into an extraordinary elk day, in fact a couple of times we ride into bedded elk herds. Somewhere in the back of my mind I figure there must be something to that cover scent idea. However after chasing a herd bull with no success we returned to the horses for lunch. As my buddy checks his horse again he gets a whiff of the distinct foot rot smell. He indicates that he had also got a whiff here and there during the ride in. Now convinced that his horse has hoof rot he pleads with me to investigate. So we pick up each hoof, clean it and carefully inspect. Everything seemed just fine. However, when I stand up from inspecting the hind left foot I too get a whiff of something rotten. I accuse him of leaving his lunch in his saddlebags from an earlier hunt. Again his memory is triggered, realizing he has unknowingly been using the cover scent he had stowed in his saddlebags a few weeks earlier. No wonder riding into elk had been so easy, we had four hoofs and the pungently odor of a rutting bull in our favor.
Well it is obviously time to give up the cover scent as it is now the last afternoon of the season and a little too ripe. As he unzips his insulated saddlebags I don't know if there are words to describe the scene. However, I will try. If you can vision water running down a small stream, it describes how the maggots appeared as they tumbled over the sides of his saddlebags. As far as my buddy lets just say only a few times in college had I witnessed such a dramatic episode of gagging and puking. If you ever come across a pair of insulated saddlebags, forest green in the backcountry of Idaho, be careful opening them up. It is hard to know what may have been left in the other side.
Here are the tips:
1. Belly Hair may work as cover scent if used correctly.
2. Seldom do horses get hoof rot; if they do usually they will be lame and unusable.
3. A bad day elk hunting can still be very good.
Maybe an experience where you learned or as mine will illustrate at least were entertained.
A few years back the RMEF released a book of elk secrets from members. After reading my copy I passed it along to my hunting buddy. After reviewing the 100 or so tips the one he picked up on was using belly hair as a cover scent.
So we were in Idaho on an archery elk hunt, 3 of us. I cannot remember the exact dates but in mid September one of our party shot a small bull. That particular morning the elk were very vocal and voracious. During this particular setup we had 4 bulls come into our setup within 30 yds. We commented afterwards how the pungent odor was so prevalent. This refreshed my buddy?s memory, before we left he took time to harvest the belly hair, put it in a plastic bag and then in his saddlebags. He figured as we got in close or setup more calling situations he could attach the belly hair to his pack and would have the perfect cover scent. As often happens we experienced a dry spell for a few days and deiced to return home and come back later in the month.
Fast Forward, it is now the last day of the archery season in Idaho September 30th. In the darkness of early morning we are saddling our horses when my buddy becomes a little concerned that his horse may have some foot rot, as there is a distinct rotten smell as he reaches down for the cinch. However, the trusty steed is not lame so we head on our way. This day turns into an extraordinary elk day, in fact a couple of times we ride into bedded elk herds. Somewhere in the back of my mind I figure there must be something to that cover scent idea. However after chasing a herd bull with no success we returned to the horses for lunch. As my buddy checks his horse again he gets a whiff of the distinct foot rot smell. He indicates that he had also got a whiff here and there during the ride in. Now convinced that his horse has hoof rot he pleads with me to investigate. So we pick up each hoof, clean it and carefully inspect. Everything seemed just fine. However, when I stand up from inspecting the hind left foot I too get a whiff of something rotten. I accuse him of leaving his lunch in his saddlebags from an earlier hunt. Again his memory is triggered, realizing he has unknowingly been using the cover scent he had stowed in his saddlebags a few weeks earlier. No wonder riding into elk had been so easy, we had four hoofs and the pungently odor of a rutting bull in our favor.
Well it is obviously time to give up the cover scent as it is now the last afternoon of the season and a little too ripe. As he unzips his insulated saddlebags I don't know if there are words to describe the scene. However, I will try. If you can vision water running down a small stream, it describes how the maggots appeared as they tumbled over the sides of his saddlebags. As far as my buddy lets just say only a few times in college had I witnessed such a dramatic episode of gagging and puking. If you ever come across a pair of insulated saddlebags, forest green in the backcountry of Idaho, be careful opening them up. It is hard to know what may have been left in the other side.
Here are the tips:
1. Belly Hair may work as cover scent if used correctly.
2. Seldom do horses get hoof rot; if they do usually they will be lame and unusable.
3. A bad day elk hunting can still be very good.
