urine cover scent...

[kyle dillehay]

I was wondering how you guys felt about using cow urine cover scents while bow hunting?  I was using a few of Carlton's scent disks while stalking this weekend and got busted, when I got within 40 yards, several times probably from the elk smelling me. The wind was shifting around some of the time.  One time I had a cow walk right up behind me, within 15 feet, when the wind was blowing directly towards her, she was "supposed" to come in from the opposite direction of course.  Just wondering if I would be better off not using them or, when within 30 yards, does any scent control help.  I am always trying to stay downwind, but this weekend the wind frequently changed directions during a stalk.  Looking to hear your experiences and opinions, thanks.

[7mmfan]

In my experience there is no cover scent that adequately covers or masks human scent. The mixture may confuse an animal for a moment, but eventually they all wind you. The only sure thing is keeping the wind in your favor. I think you know that, and I know its not I'm our control.

[Angus]

True story, from an early 90's archery elk hunt when any elk was legal in the Taneum unit.
A buddy and I were working our way up a steep mountain, with thick cover and making a lot of noise, I didn't think there was any chance of ever sneaking up on an elk with all the noise were making. As we neared the top a bull bugled and he probably wasn't much more then 100 yards away. My buddy set up 20 yards from me and I cracked off 1 of the worst bugles of my life and started raking a tree, a couple minutes later a beautiful 6x6 came in but busted my buddy when he started to draw. He took off at a fast walk back up the trail he came in on and I figured he was gone.
We followed his tracks for maybe 50 yards then lost the tracks and decided to take a break and regroup. While eating lunch I made a couple cow calls and sprayed some cow in heat scent I was carrying and the slight breeze we had was going in the general direction the bull was last seen headed, a couple minutes later here comes that bull, on a dead run right at the tree we were sitting under. I thought for sure he was going to run right over us but instead he skidded to a stop with love in his eyes, sniffing the air. We had about a 10 second stare down until he realized something wasn't right and disappeared out of our lives. I could have touched his nose with an arrow during the stare down, he was that close.
I've carried cow in heat scent ever since but never had a reaction anything like that, nor any reaction that I thought the scent made any difference at all, but I will always carry it, and use it, just because of that 1 encounter.

[Rimrock hunter]

Another true story, i was hunting the Selway Bitterroot area during the rifle season a few years back. We hunted hard for 4 days without even seeing an elk. On our last day, the 6th day of the hunt, we stopped to take a lunch, and i told my brother i am going to empty this bottle of Fire-ball, cow in heat urine, on a 5 foot bush. So i sprayed half the bottle on the bush and we sat down for lunch. The thermals were blowing up hill and we were sitting in a thick forested hillside where visibility was only about 150 feet. All of a sudden we hear, or at least think we heard, an elk screaming. This bull came from about a mile away screaming heading right to us. We jump up from our lunch and head up the hill a little ways to find some kind of opening to be able to see him. Just as we got to a little opening, out came the bull about 75 feet from us heading right to us, and boy was he screaming. My brother missed the first shot at him and i hit him in the neck and put him down quick. The look on that bulls face when he first seen us. Im sure that many of you bow hunters, muzzleloaders and rifle hunters, have experienced this before, I never go hunting without cow in heat urine as i have used it to my advantage many times since.