© 2016 -2021 Copyright by P. K. H. Groth, Denver, Colorado, USA All rights reserved -
See contact page for for permission to republish article excerpts.
Scents of Hunters
Will
Our
Lip
Balm
Cost
You
Your
Elk?
In
his
book
"Bones"
(the
basis
for
TV’s
Crime
Scene
Investigations)
forensic
pathologist
Dr.
Douglas
Ubelaker
describes
how
even
after
years
of
work
some
of
the
most
experienced
pathologist
and
coroners
can
not
adjust
to
the
smell
of
decayed
bodies.
The
favored
solution
is
to
rub
a
bit
of
camphor,
or
Tiger
Balm
(containing
15%
menthol,
clove
oil
and
cinnamon
extract)
under
the
nose.
This
overtaxes
the nasal olfactory nerves and shuts them down.
With
this
in
mind,
why
would
a
hunter
use
lip
balm
containing
similar
chemicals
which
both
reduce
hunter
olfactory
senses
and
alert
elk!
These
odors
are
foreign
in
the
forest.
I
stress
using
all
forest
clues
in
my
book.
Elk
can
be
smelled
when
present,
and
they
leave
odors
on
rubs,
at
wallows,
when
they
urinate
and
travel.
Elk
odors
are
quite
distinctive
IF
you
can
smell
them.
So
use
completely
odorless
lip
balm.
You
can
not
notice
subtle
new
odors
when
stalking
if
a
smear
of
cherry
chocolate
balm
is
directly
under
your
nose.
Dead
Down
Wind
("D2W")
makes
SPF
30
rated
tube
balm
specifically
for
hunters.
What
I've
said
also
goes
for
cough
drops,
candy,
soaps,
sun
block,
tanning
lotions
and
muscle
strain
relief
balms.
Fehling
Elk:
This
photo
shows
a
captive
elk.
You
may
think
it
has
acclimated
to
every
barnyard
and
human
scent.
Instantly,
it
still
used
sensory
nerves
in
his
mouth
to
assess
the
new
but
subtle
odor.
I
asked
my
wife
to
stand
ten
feet
away
and
uncap
a
lip
balm
stick
as
I
focused
my
camera
on
the
bull.
In
the
still
air,
it
took
less
than
three
seconds
to
snap
up
its
head
and
begin
using
the
ultrasensitive
nerves
in
the
roof
of
his
mouth to assess the odor and its source.
I
have
repeatedly
suggested
that
field-hunting
clothes
not
be
worn
in
vehicles
or
around
camp.
They
are
bound
to
pick
up
cooking
odors,
vehicle
gasoline
vapors,
and
just
plain
sweaty
body
odors.
This
advice
is
often
taken,
but
then
I
ask
about
camp
boots
and
get
“so
what?’
responses.
They
also
accumulate
odors
that
are
released
when
you’re
feet
get
warm/hot
walking.
Consider
a
second
pair
of
boots
or
shoes
to
wear
around
camp
while
your
field
boots
dry
of
perspiration.
Relaxation
shoes/slippers/booties/sneakers
can
feel
so
very
comfortable after a long day of traipsing.
For
Scent
Control
–
Denmon,
2104
lists
32
tips
for
reducing human SCENTS for hunters
a
n
d
/
.
w
w
w
.
b
o
w
h
u
n
t
i
n
g
.
n
e
t
/
w
o
m
e
n
b
o
w
h
u
n
t
e
r
s
/
3
2
t
i
p
s
-
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Hunter
Peeing
:
I
am
appalled
to
write
these
instructions,
because
they
really
should
not
be
necessary
for
an
experienced
hunter.
However,
observations
of
“snow
writing”
discloses
some
hunter
ignorance.
How
you
perform
natural
bodily
functions
will affect hunting success.
Last year I met an elderly man of great cheer, but
limited high altitude stamina, riding out at first
season’s end. He had used one of my most productive
stands. He said he had a good time, but never saw one
deer or elk. I checked that stand the next day and saw
the problem. The fellow had evidently been told by the
wrangler to stay put in the blind the whole day, and he
had taken that advice too literally. Obviously, he had
consumed copious predawn coffee. Nonsensically, he
stood in the blind and sprayed high against the three
different spruce trees forming the stand. High level,
distant erratic urination and spitting is what some men
may do in urinals. It should never be done on a hunt.
“Ernie” could have made ten steps out of the blind and
dumped in deep snow within sun-shading trees.
There his urine would have quickly frozen once snow
was kicked over the dribbling.
“Mr. President Jack Kennedy” huffed Secretary of State
Kissinger during the morning Cabinet briefing. “Last
night someone urinated your name on the snow of the
White House lawn”. “Ah sir, don’t let that bother you”
replied the president. Kissinger retorted “but it is
terrible! You do not understand! It was your name, but
written in your wife’s handwriting!”
After more than forty years of snow hunting, I have
amassed some information about how and where
hunters pee. Some recollections are like jokes.
Ocasionally, hunters seem drawn to childhood glee of
seeing how high up on a tree they can pee. Others, out
of control of their tools, leave impressive monogram
arcs as if they are drawing flowers. Hence, I will try to
educate the reader about leaving human pee scent. All
these suggestions should be obvious, but here goes.
Plan ahead. Get rid of things before entering your
immediate hunt area.
Use a camp latrine as much as possible so you are
able to keep it covered with dirt.
Never urinate on tree trunks or branches. Bark
absorbs and retains urine, which will be released
over the following days during thaw cycles.
Do not encourage other hunters to come talk to
you, especially in the morning when they are
fully loaded, will linger and inevitably will take a
pee near your stand.
Choose a pit stop location which is not along
game trails. There is no sense in diverting or
turning back your quarry. Do use a place which is
out the line of sight of your intended hunt
stand/area. Scent there may cause game to avoid
your visually blind area and favor a diversion into
your viewing horizon. Plan these locations ahead
of time.
Choose a location with deep snow where there
will be shade all day. This will allow urine to
remain frozen and scatter less scent.
Make a stream that punches a single hole in the
snow. Then kick snow over the hole.
Never urinate on a trail or in a blind. There is no
need for you or another to step in the scent pile
and track it around.
Relieve yourself slightly off main trails before
entering your hunt area. A lot of scent is already
there from constant horse and human traffic.
Leave you hunt area as pristine as possible. Cover
your mess, if only with snow.
Avoid urination on your defecation. The warm
stool will retard urine freezing. The uric acid in
urine can provide nutrients to colonic bacteria.
The stool may start warming with bacterial decay
and release vapors. Stool should be covered with
small rocks and then loose soil. A latrine may
“activate” on a warm day and become smelly. You
may not smell it, but game will. Keep a pile of
LOOSE soil at the latrine for early morning
coverage; compacted soil will be too frozen to
use or too agglomerated to seal off stool. Cover
the loose soil with a waterproof bag to keep the
soil from frost-freezing.
Do spray high on the western side of trees
adjacent to your kill. Western tree sides will dry
slower during the day because they are out of
direct sunlight until afternoon. Then the tree
trunk will thaw or dry and release human scent
at twilight and early night. That is when coyote
scavengers will begin prowling. Ladies, you have
a great vertically inclined urinary disability. Use
horizontal loose logs and prop them up.
Elk Pee: I seem to have heard it all. Stepping in elk
urine to cover human scent might seem like a sensible
thing to do, but just do not take your boots into the
tent at night. It can downright irritate other hunters,
which it greatly did. PS: Another humorous incident
was when a father took his son elk scouting. The
exhausted young fellow slept on the truck back seat
© 2016 -2021 Copyright by P. K. H. Groth, Denver, Colorado, USA All rights reserved -
See contact page for for permission to republish article excerpts.