The 4th ‘S’

In the Scout Course I cover the three things that give us away in the woods: Shape, Shine, and Silhouette. These three are immediate cues our eyes give us to that which is unnatural. Awareness in nature really begins with understanding these three. And with said, its built on the most dominant sense of the civilized man- our eyesight. Humans are predators too, and we’re the best pack hunters on earth when we wanna be. In the end, that’s what small unit combat really is, is it not?

Shape alerts us to the basic forms within nature. We can recognize, almost immediately, what belongs and what doesn’t. It also plays into silhouette when recognizing either animals or people. The human head and shoulders are an instant recognition cue to either friend or foe (normally followed by eye contact). This is an instinctual response going back to our earliest hunter-gatherer societies as a means of recognizing threats. Shine either alerts us to the presence of water or to that which is unnatural- reflections, artificial lights, etc.

Awareness begins with understanding how our eyes actually function. But in nature, all animals pay attention to all senses at once for an early warning of danger. More often than not, predatory animals are in tune to all of their senses at once but their eyes are only a minor part of their ability to successfully hunt their prey. The most successful and adaptable pack hunters, the Canine, uses a domain we humans often neglect- The Fourth ‘S‘: our sense of Smell.

What is the purpose of our ability to smell? For most, whether you’re aware of it or not, is either to locate the aroma of food, get a whiff of pheromones, or to avoid something rancid. We’re doing this all the time and it can give us an early warning of danger usually before we can see it. In the civilized world, we ignore this for the most part. All sorts of scents get ignored in our day-to-day lives, the exception usually being food or overwhelmingly bad smells. But to those who’re acclimated to the outdoors and built that awareness, we detect all sorts of scents that the civilized world has otherwise dulled. I remember a friend of mine who’s a gunsmith and Desert Storm Vet who ‘knew’ when a turkey was over the next ridge. Not because he heard that gobbler, but because he smelled him. And while it was something you’d have to see to believe, his was a level of awareness that few achieve in a modern era. And he always comes out of the woods with meat to put on the table.

Scent is something that most of us become aware of the longer we’re acclimated to the wild. With more dirt time comes the awareness of just how much, and how different, the human scent really is. To animals, we’re foreigners in a foreign place. The crazy thing is that this was very much the case in the Middle East and in many parts of the world as well. Americans have a distinctive smell to us, primarily due to diet and regular bathing. The rest of the world smells very different and after a short amount of time, we’d come to immediately know the presence of a local national in the area, especially if we were trying to stay hidden or out of sight. That certainly worked both ways.

There’s two techniques for defeating scent. One requires a change of habits, the other a change in technique. Something folks who’ve trained with me know is that I’m very comfortable in a natural setting, usually packing light even in the winter months. But what many probably don’t immediately recognize is that I’m also masking my scent by wearing older, well-worn clothes that have not been washed with scented detergents. They’re also air-dryed and allowed to age a bit in the sun. All of your gear should be. Something you can also do is simply rinse your clothes off to remove body oils and salt from the fabric, but no unnatural smells will be embedded. I also avoid bathing with with scented soaps two or three days prior to hitting the woods. Pine Tar soap is a good one for masking your natural scent; you’ll just smell like smoke for the most part, which confuses the senses of your prey. Just to back that up, I’ll build a really smokey fire from some green pine wood just to mask any residual scents on my body or gear.

The second technique is knowing how to always stay downwind. Our scent travels much like a stick down a stream. It flows with the air and down draws into valleys in the terrain. There’s not always much you can do to stay downwind when moving, but its critical to attack from an downwind position as to not give an adversary an advance warning. Its another consideration, coupled with always wanting the sun to your back when fighting in daylight.

Scent is not something we pay much attention to in the civilized world- there’s little need. But to the warrior, the hunter of the most dangerous game, no sense should be overlooked and every opportunity should be taken to hone those skills and awaken that awareness that modernity has done much to dull. Unlock your mind.

Spread the love
                
By Published On: May 27, 2020Categories: NC Scout, Tactical20 Comments on The 4th ‘S’

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

20 Comments

  1. Patrick Kelly May 27, 2020 at 06:49

    Damn good article. I would also mention motion or movement. Even the slightest movement will give you away. Like scratching your face, wiping your brow, a head duck, simple stuff. Like in the movie Spy Games…why do the snipers sleep over there? They don’t want to be bothered and they cook their own food…gook food…it smells horrible. Not to the enemy it doesn’t. Keep up the good work.

    • NC Scout May 27, 2020 at 06:53

      Many thanks- movement is SO very critical on the stalk. I posted a link some time back about the Scout Sniper instructor who ran a stalking lane completely naked.

      Technique, technique, technique.

  2. anonymous May 27, 2020 at 07:18

    I think that is why the shemagh is effective in masking the human face. Not only are features hidden, but the neck and head are not so distinctive. I just wish they were cooler in summer, they trap a lot of heat.

    • NC Scout May 27, 2020 at 07:31

      Look up something called a ‘sniper veil’. Same thing, just made of mesh. I have the students use them in class.

  3. Matt Bracken May 27, 2020 at 09:20

    Using every edge you can get is not only a plus, it’s a must.
    Stalk hunting is probably the best training you can get for hunting gunmen.
    Hunters already know this full well.

  4. Coyyote May 27, 2020 at 09:22

    Excellent article. Was going to comment but could not enter one

    Smell is especially important if you plan to get close to your quarry- bow or handgun hunting for example.
    Cover scents are available but we used to make them by bringing water to a boil and then soaking some of the local plants, soil, etc for snd hour. Such as sage, pine needles, grasses etc. Apply this over your hunting garment with spray bottle.

    Also our hunting clothes were removed before entering the hunting cabin to cook etc clothes easily pick up scents of food, smoke, etc

    These extra precautions worked for me as using a homemade gilley suit i scored 3 Pope and Young rated antelope by stalking with a bow.

    It is not a “S” but the biggest thing that will give you away if course is movement. Learn to move just your eyes not your head when observing game.

  5. rto-jerry May 27, 2020 at 09:24

    PK, good points on movement. Whitetail teach me that valued lesson on about every October and November indeed it is true regarding movement of the slightest giving up your position. You sound like a man who may have spent time at the University of Southeast Asia in your younger days! Glad you made it home amigo, Carry on and Godspeed!!

  6. Chris May 27, 2020 at 12:21

    Smell is a good clue in certain criminal encounters, too. I entered a communal hall at a church prior to a planned event. The sour smell alerted me something was up. After clearing the building, nobody was seen but several unlocked windows were secured. Later that evening, we heard a loud commotion as the returning “resident” found the windows locked. They found a new squat that night!

    • NC Scout May 27, 2020 at 12:36

      It definitely does.

  7. Steve W. May 27, 2020 at 13:06

    Good article as always, NCScout, thank ypu. I confess to being confused by something and am most likely misunderstanding. If I’m upwind of prey, does not my scent potentially travel downwind to them? Shouldn’t I therefore endeavor to be downwind of them instead?

    • NC Scout May 27, 2020 at 13:51

      You want to stay upwind, meaning their scent comes to you.

  8. Anonymous May 27, 2020 at 14:30

    5

  9. Bret May 27, 2020 at 15:57

    Googling downwind reveals the wind is blowing from the bad guy towards u rendering them unable to smell u. Upwind makes the wind blowing your scent to the enemy thus they can smell u. Good article

  10. Coyyote May 27, 2020 at 15:57

    Upwind vs downwind. Definition of upwind

    : in the direction from which the wind is blowing.

    That said I would want my prey to be upwind so I could stalk from downwind

    • NC Scout May 27, 2020 at 16:00

      Yeah you’re right. Write drunk, edit sober. :)

  11. mike fink May 28, 2020 at 08:26

    Hunters have always made the best recon men. Stalking and still hunting are in effect martial arts in their own sense and can be practiced while engaged in a great utilitarian sport. The best publication I have seen on the subject matter is G. Fred Asbell’s “Stalking And Still Hunting The Ground Hunter’s Bible” It is available at the author’s website; https://asbellwool.com/products/stalking-still-hunting

    The topics covered include the normal material one would expect in such a book such as balance, footwear selection, clothing, the mechanics of walking properly, etc. As a hunting book, scent control and reading the wind is given a whole chapter, as you would expect. I find the most interesting material to be the treatment of the subject of animal vs human vision. Beyond the mere binocular vs monocular field of view comparison is Asbell’s theory of unfocused and focused prey species vision, which he suggests human hunters should also practice and employ at turns while still hunting. Essentially this amounts to “looking wide” as he calls it to broadly scan for out of place shape,shine, movement, etc.before either switching to focused vision on anything detected or resuming movement. It is Asbell’s assertion, which I agree with, that most game animals “look wide” while moving and only switch to focused vision when something arrests their attention. The chapter on the mental mindset required to slow yourself down and adhere to all of the cardinal tenants of still hunting is also good advise in my opinion.

    • NC Scout May 28, 2020 at 08:40

      Asbel is awesome. I have one of his hooded wool archery tops. Love it.

  12. Suburban Survivor May 28, 2020 at 16:25

    True story: back at Bragg, our unit deployed for a couple weeks out in the Uwharrie for an FTX, and anyone who has been there knows it is dark as shit there at night. We had MK-II Ocular Devices, no NVG kit..Think mid 80’s…

    My team and i were out patrolling with a buck sgt as patrol leader, i was rto guy and we had a security element with us, just three of us…

    Well, we got all turned around and it started raining, that heavy NC shit, that hits you like golf balls from the sky, big splats…

    We were trying to get back to our line, maybe find one of LP/OP’s we had out on the perimeter, manned of course, when i detected that faintest odor coming our way…

    I knew that smell, that was SPC Pembrook (fake name) my barracks rat roomie, who stank like a mofo of good days..

    I knew that sweet/ sickly smell anywhere, and guided our team right on top of his LP/OP without them even knowing we were there, they were hunkered under ponchos in the foxhole trying to stay dry, lost cause…

    Needless to say, they were mighty surprised and we were relieved, to make it back to the unit..

    I told him it was his odor that did the trick…

    Yeah, smell matters, alot…

    Anyone who has hunted wild hogs will tell you that their sense of smell is exceptional, their eyesight will let you stalk em, but if they smell you, they’re gone like a shot….

    Great article as always…

  13. Anonymous May 28, 2020 at 17:02

    3.5

  14. On Quiet Streets May 29, 2020 at 12:10

    Cigarette smokers are a danger as you can smell that a football field away. Always observe everything is my approach.
    If it is a day when that is not working then it is time to just stay in bed. Laughing at a buddy wanting to buy some $300 scent proof tree bark and leaves hunting jacket is fun.
    Once we were in a car wreck and I escaped through the forest in a fit of adrenalin. It was all eyeballs glowing at a certain point and there it was time to turn back because some of the silhouettes attached to the eyes were large.
    Made my way back to the highway and a college kid heading home gave me a lift, yes there was drinking involved.

Comments are closed.

GUNS N GEAR

Categories

Archives

Spread the love