fox scent

[fat man 4,741]

This thing about 3oclock would it be that the foxs lie up most of the day and come afternoon they start to hunt for food,would'nt that leave scent fresher.

[macker 5]

the more good points that are put up on this topic

the more complicated it apears to be

was only talking to a hunting friend on this subject

been a while since i read a good topic like this on here

have also notice the big difference in smell of dog foxes

when i dug them maybe some have more scent to give.

mack

[xydeb 2]

is it possible a worried nervouse fox would give more scent in the hole or out

[dEs 6]

Another man I'm lucky enough to hunt with has 55 years in the game and when I ask him "will scent be good today?" He usually says "I don't know".

IMO the way to tell if scent is good is that if hounds are flying it's good, if they're not then scent is bad.

 

.. Judge the day when you finish and not before you start.. and get out as much as possible.

 

I'm surprised no one else has brought up another major factor on scent? What pack of hounds it is

 

To me ''scent'' and all its ins and outs is one of the major excuses men use for hounds. Too dry/wet/cold/hot/windy/frosty/snowy/ whatever else you hear being threw around sometimes.

 

Don't get me wrong.. scent is scent and it can be a mystery sometimes. But theres packs that seem to pull results when others lack. Then on the other hand as an eejit once said to me '' a bad un will know more about scent than you and me ever will''

 

Maybe and maybe not.. But such things are what keep me going through the weekly slog.. Love it Good hunting chaps

[Reddog83 4]

A good post Footman.

Also IMO if you see a fox leaving covert and looks like he's not under pressure you can bet your life scent is bad, then you'll notice him doddle along in front of the pack at his own pleasure as hounds try to work out the line.

On the other hand if he leaves covert as if his arse was on fire scent should be good.

The fox being a hunter himself knows good scenting days from bad.

I seen this happen last week hounds close to fox and he was in no rush just jogging along even stoped to have a look back I asked the terrier man why he wasn't running and he said scents bad and he knows it we watched him run along cover then over a meadow into cover the hounds marked him to ground we put a bitch in and got a reading after 20 mins of ten foot we started to dig we got down 4 foot in hard clay with pebbles in and they moved on we stayed for five hours while he ran around the earth he whuld not bolt and we was silent hoping for the bolt The bitch popped her head out and was quickly picked up and the fox was given best he is living on a pheasant holding on a big estate must be a cleaver one

[fidodido 30]

A fox losses its scent when headed just as a vixen in cub has no smell at all. Its nature protecting them. Weather and type of land been hunted add up to alot to do with scent. However a lot has to do with the actual fox your hunting. On a days hunting you may find a fox and do little with it and blame scent, however you may find one a half hour later and scream on it.

You will have great hunting when the scent is a little high. If you ever hear hounds on the line of a deer, people often say they screamed on it. The reason for this is actually the scent if a foot higher then a fox. So when running the hounds can carry their head high while following scent and in return their voice is projected up and out. If following a fox they have their heads down and the cry is projected down in to the ground.

Also people often talk about the three o clock fox. And often hunts will have a good hunt at this time of the day. This is because at this time in winter on some days the dew/frost/chill of the evening comes in and the temperature drops and moisture increases on the sod. Hence scent will improve and hounds can hunt it easier and with more drive to pressure the fox.

On the topic of heading foxes noisey car followers and the mounted field have ruined more good hunts than anyone can remember. Its a serious pet hate of mine.

 

Good Hunting

 

Johnny 85

dug a few vixens in cub they stunk as bad as any other fox at any other time of year

[desertdog 149]

when old charlie gets warmed up they will hunt him better, a long illegal practice of releasing a bagman would always produce a good hunt,terriermen of long ago would pee on the sack and release him,well old charlie might never know where he is and straight line them, quite often hounds would scream the killing cry and hunt into darkness.

[Johnny85 50]

A fox losses its scent when headed just as a vixen in cub has no smell at all. Its nature protecting them. Weather and type of land been hunted add up to alot to do with scent. However a lot has to do with the actual fox your hunting. On a days hunting you may find a fox and do little with it and blame scent, however you may find one a half hour later and scream on it.

You will have great hunting when the scent is a little high. If you ever hear hounds on the line of a deer, people often say they screamed on it. The reason for this is actually the scent if a foot higher then a fox. So when running the hounds can carry their head high while following scent and in return their voice is projected up and out. If following a fox they have their heads down and the cry is projected down in to the ground.

Also people often talk about the three o clock fox. And often hunts will have a good hunt at this time of the day. This is because at this time in winter on some days the dew/frost/chill of the evening comes in and the temperature drops and moisture increases on the sod. Hence scent will improve and hounds can hunt it easier and with more drive to pressure the fox.

On the topic of heading foxes noisey car followers and the mounted field have ruined more good hunts than anyone can remember. Its a serious pet hate of mine.

 

Good Hunting

 

Johnny 85

dug a few vixens in cub they stunk as bad as any other fox at any other time of year

 

Yes any fox will stink when been dug as the terrier has rattled them. But a vixen in a covert near the end of the season will hold very little scent. I am not saying i know all, but I have seen this so so many times

[Johnny85 50]

On the subject of books the book by Beckford is excellent book for anymam keeping hounds of any sort. Also a brilliant book on the skill of hunting a pack is a tiny very rare book by LORD HENRY BENTINCK. Hard to get but has been the result of so many foxes killed by huntsmen who study it. I know one huntsman who stil reads a couple of pages once a month or so. That particulkar man has killed over 70 foxes this year so far with his pack.

[desertdog 149]

a quote from beckfords book"so many men, so many mind, so many hounds, so many kinds"how true, and what good thread,

[thefootman 17]

Another man I'm lucky enough to hunt with has 55 years in the game and when I ask him "will scent be good today?" He usually says "I don't know".

IMO the way to tell if scent is good is that if hounds are flying it's good, if they're not then scent is bad.

 

.. Judge the day when you finish and not before you start.. and get out as much as possible.

 

I'm surprised no one else has brought up another major factor on scent? What pack of hounds it is

 

To me ''scent'' and all its ins and outs is one of the major excuses men use for hounds. Too dry/wet/cold/hot/windy/frosty/snowy/ whatever else you hear being threw around sometimes.

 

Don't get me wrong.. scent is scent and it can be a mystery sometimes. But theres packs that seem to pull results when others lack. Then on the other hand as an eejit once said to me '' a bad un will know more about scent than you and me ever will''

 

Maybe and maybe not.. But such things are what keep me going through the weekly slog.. Love it Good hunting chaps

 

 

Too true, a great hunting man once said to me that any hound will hunt well on a good day, but it takes a good hound to hunt well on a bad day. I know not many of the posters on here hunt hares, but for me the best test of a hounds nose and hunting brain is the ability to hunt a hare that has run a road for a long distance and its something I take great pride when any of our pack do it well. It takes a good one to hunt a fox on the road aswell but in my experience foxes do not usually run the road but cut of it as soon as possible. Do any of you have a particular test that they enjoy seeing their hounds achieve?

[DIDO.1 22,838]

Iv always been under the impression that settled weather improves scent. If its dry for a while then hounds can settle to it and start to hunt better yet when its suddenly hot and dry like later on a cubbing morn then they begin to struggle. Iv seen hounds hunt abroad in dryness and heat that would kill scent here but there hounds hunt on stopped eventually by what im convinced was the heat getting to the hounds before it got to the scent.

 

Iv read some incredable stories about blood hounds trailing men through some unbelievable conditions and for a massive distance. Iv always wondered why a faster blood hound could not be bred, keeping the unusual nose that they have but just giving em some speed.

 

Brilliant thread by the way.

[desertdog 149]

the reason cubbing starts so early is scent will evaporate in the morning sun, and once hounds have run about a cover they will soon foil the scent,plus it was done to dispurse the fox population and above all o get the young entry entered to quarry. im not sure about hunting on tarmac, i would say that would be down to the hounds being deeper scenting, its good to see hounds puzzling out a line, hounds have been selectivly bred for hundreds of years to try and get it right,drive,stamina and scenting ability, someone must have bred bloodhounds for something other than hunting the clean boot.

[Johnny85 50]

the reason cubbing starts so early is scent will evaporate in the morning sun, and once hounds have run about a cover they will soon foil the scent,plus it was done to dispurse the fox population and above all o get the young entry entered to quarry. im not sure about hunting on tarmac, i would say that would be down to the hounds being deeper scenting, its good to see hounds puzzling out a line, hounds have been selectivly bred for hundreds of years to try and get it right,drive,stamina and scenting ability, someone must have bred bloodhounds for something other than hunting the clean boot.

 

The problem with bloodhounds is they are too deep scenting. They can hunt clean boot up to 24 hours after man has gone. Foxhounds were developed to kill foxes and show entertainment at the same time. Thee would be no point hunting a line today of a fox who was there yesterday and is long gone now. Also they can be known to hunt anything. Great voice though.

 

Good Hunting

 

Johnny

[DIDO.1 22,838]

the reason cubbing starts so early is scent will evaporate in the morning sun, and once hounds have run about a cover they will soon foil the scent,plus it was done to dispurse the fox population and above all o get the young entry entered to quarry. im not sure about hunting on tarmac, i would say that would be down to the hounds being deeper scenting, its good to see hounds puzzling out a line, hounds have been selectivly bred for hundreds of years to try and get it right,drive,stamina and scenting ability, someone must have bred bloodhounds for something other than hunting the clean boot.

 

The problem with bloodhounds is they are too deep scenting. They can hunt clean boot up to 24 hours after man has gone. Foxhounds were developed to kill foxes and show entertainment at the same time. Thee would be no point hunting a line today of a fox who was there yesterday and is long gone now. Also they can be known to hunt anything. Great voice though.

 

Good Hunting

 

Johnny

 

Yes i understand that, I just wondered why there is not more evidence of bloodhound blood being used more often, maybe in bad scenting countries?