The American Beagler Forum

How fast do, do you all suppose, does scent fade from a track. Under prime tracking conditions, how long can a beagle still pick up a scent and cold trail? I've always wondered this and I wanted to get some opinions. Thanks in advance for your responses.

We have seen a hare cross the road when hunting in snow and we remembered the spot, after we were done running in the area where we were, we put the dogs on that track and they took off on it. BrewerMO shot his first snowshoe in this scenario. I can't say exactly how long of a wait it was, probably 20-30 minutes.

Is the rabbit a buck or doe ? Whats the temp on that day and relative humidity ? Does the sun rise or set in the west ?
Just kidding , good question.

Body scent cone dissappers fairly quick depending on wind, humidity, etc. Would usally last 30 min. Scent left on objects such as trees, bushes, wet weeds lasts for a few hrs. but is spotty and hard to follow. Ground scent made by foot on ground can be tracked slowly by a beagle for probably as much as 24 hrs. A Blood Hound can follow spotty scent after it is days old. Usually scent lasts as long as we want it to when we are bragging on sorry hounds.

lol


Tony

Ground scent made by foot on ground can be tracked slowly by a beagle for probably as much as 24 hrs.

Must be some seriously easy running conditions in Kentucky, sometimes here my hounds can't do anything with a track that is less than minutes old. Then again maybe that has more to do with the "sorry hounds" aspect you mentioned

Only the dog knows. Sometimes it will last thirty minutes and some time it lasts five seconds. It also depends on the dog's nose and determination.