Creating pinch points?
Whitetail Deer
As I sat in my stand this weekend and watched deer move through the woods, I did not see a pattern to where they were going. The woods is made up of a few pockets of pines/oaks and then it is poplar from being logged 15-20 years ago. The land is also very flat so the deer just wonder around.
What is the best way to create pinch points. My one crazy idea is to use a long rope/fence line in the middle of the woods to funnel them down. I know when hunting ag land, the open spot in the fence is where all the deer travel. Are then any other ideas to force deer into areas where you can get a shot?
Bait.... if you are in a county that can.
No baiting allowed and I'm not dragging corn back in the woods that far!! lol
You might go get a roll of baling twine and make a "fence" to try and funnel them to you?? I have heard of this working very well in the past.
Hinge cuts provide several advantages including funnel effect if done properly. Also a great way to provide browse, we do it a lot with softwood maple trees
Could you create openings in the woods that they are not comfortable crossing and force them to stick to cover? I am thinking an hour glass shape of thick cover surrounded by more open area
a role of smooth electric fence wire should work I’d think. Might take 3 runs to deter them from going over or under.
I've often wondered why this isn't discussed more by folks who own and manage their land for deer. If I owned my own property I would have fences that funnels deer down to me all over the property. As well as the above mentioned hinge cutting of trees. A few years ago someone had a company trying to sell people a portable fence type thing to funnel deer. Great concept but just to simple to build by the average joa. Some green plastic snow fence would be cheap and easy to use.
Why not just run them through a cattle chute?
Is this public land, or private? If it’s your property, I guess you can do what you want, but as a rule.... cutting down trees on any type of public property is severely frowned upon by the Law.
But really, this is one of those things that comes down to whether you want to Hunt or if you just want to shoot something. If you just wanna shoot something, then I guess creating a funnel where none exists is one option.
Personally, I am more a fan of learning to work with what is there than altering the environment in such a way as to manipulate the animals’ natural behavior; and the thing about public land is that if you alter it for your own convenience, there is absolutely nothing to prevent someone else from capitalizing on your “improvements“. They don’t even have to know about what you’ve done; if you have changed the travel pattern to make it more predictable for yourself, then you have made it more predictable for anyone else in the area who knows how to read the sign. So if you go that route, you forfeit the option of complaining about crowded public land or some Other Guy horning in on “your” spot.
Just for your consideration...
Random Hunter on Public Land comes across a section of “fence”. What’s he going to do? Seems like 3 possible responses: Hunt it; Sabotage it; Report it. I suppose you might expect him to just move on and hunt elsewhere, but why the hell should anyone allow someone else to stake a claim to an area that way? Because here, you’re not talking about occupying one particular tree while you’re sitting in it; you’re talking about controlling an entire area which is far too big to hunt from a single location, which means that there’s room there for other people as well.
Even in an area such as the one that you just described, the animals are not wandering through there entirely at random; there has to be something within that area or on one end or the other that they are after. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to figure that out.
If possible, set yourself up where you can glass the hell out of the area and figure out how they are using it. Keep track. Collect data. You’ll figure it out.
You must have slept in this morning, GF!
You put way to much thought into that GF. Is there something you need to get off your chest?
In case no one noticed GF yourself and grey ghost are having a contest to see who can shove their ethics down bowsite’s throat the most.
I can’t speak for others but I did not even consider that the original poster was discussing public land. I would just imagine that a guy would realize on public land he has to find the funnels, he can’t alter the landscape to do so. But I guess I don’t just sit around waiting for the opportunity to pounce on somebody to make myself feel better. I will work on that
Seems that one might ask about the property FIRST, wait on a reply, THEN go off on your dissertation on how you hunt better than others. So, he can't adjust the environment of the deer or try to get them closer but I suppose it's okay if he goes from a longbow with a comfort range of 20 yards to a compound with a comfort range of 60-70 yards? At what point does this get ridiculous, or are we past that with GF? If GF isn't hunting with a loin cloth(no camo), longbow(no compound), wooden arrow(no composite), knapped flint broadhead(no metal or mechanicals) and walking in moccasins or bare feet(no hunting boots), isn't it a little hypocritical to say that wisconsinteacher shouldn't be leaning the odds in his favor to take a deer? Just don't get it. I was going to hunt this weekend but I feel using a treestand has just put the odds so much in my favor it won't even be fun.
Wisconsinteacher - apologies, got derailed to the original post. I don't have an answer other than suggesting hinge cuts like SIP stated. I've taken cut branches and small trees then piled together in effort to go around. Some did, others went another route. I'm going to assume 'no baiting' includes small food plots to hunt over or that would be a possible suggestion.
I think most of us just assumed if someone were going to go through the trouble of building a fence or hinge cut trees that they were hunting private.
Come on guy don’t get GF yourself started on why hunting private is unethical. ;)
APauls I wound what GF yourself thoughts are on the hamblaster?
Lol scoot. I got to be honest, seems like a loincloth is sort of cheating. I mean whether it’s camo or not deer don’t get the put a loincloth on, They have to do it all natural. I mean if you’re going to put a loincloth on to go hunting, may as well just go hit one over the head in a zoo
I always create funnels to push deer towards my deadfalls..... the only pure way to hunt.
Those tunnels are done with hinge cuts but I obviously use a stone head axe to create these..... don’t judge me.
Theoretically speaking, I wonder if there was a random guy on Bowsite who portrays himself as an expert in all areas ever wonders how everyone else sees him?
Mock scrapes are easy to make.
Lots can be done with a chainsaw including releasing oaks or creating dense understory with sunlight. Might be able to make some bedding areas, trails, or release enough to grow native food.
I'll be honest and say that unsecured fence can be a huge pain. It takes quite a lot to string a fence and anchor it without the risk of it breaking, falling, tangling, etc. I fix fence often and loose wire or string can be mess. If I were to build a funnel of this sort it would be quite a bit of work. You aren't wrong though, in that deer will cross a tight fence at it's easiest point.
WIS Teacher, Can you post some pics of the area so we know what were working with? Our family land is slash, to open, large hardwood and everything in-between. We have worked on a lot of this type of situation and it all depends on the structure as well as our land is relatively flat. We have an edge cut between forties right now that changed our deer movement and we are putting together our plan to create pinch points along that cut line.
Bulldozer and make 10 ft high burms
I'm really starting to like that cattle chute idea.
Instead of erecting fence, etc to discourage deer from going where you don't want, how about mowing some paths to encourage them to travel where you do want? If the woods are pretty open it might not work well, but if there's much underbrush it will definitely help.
Making paths can work well. I was helping clear a nature trail behind a high school a few years back that a biology class was going to use for identifying native plants and trees. It mostly cut through a big thick cedar stand. Went back to finish up on day 2 and the deer tracks showed they were already using the new path through the cedars. Deer are definitely inclined to take the easiest route.
"how about mowing some paths to encourage them to travel where you do want?"
Bingo! I have done that for the last few years and the deer will use the deer paths. If it's thick.....you can make intersections near treestand trees and hunt the intersections. I have that going on now. Have mower - will mow.
Build a wood fence out of branches (this is a lot of work if it needs to be much over 20 feet). Hang a very obvious jacket or sheet on either side and sit in between catching deer avoiding the figure.
There is so much info in this thread that has nothing to do with “funnels” ;-)
It seems to me the question is how to get the deer to do what you want them to do.
Stop hunting. And take up golf
Henge cutting.
You don’t want to cut them in a way that they lay parallel to the line of travel. Fell them at a min 45 degree angle. Deer (particularly mature bucks) do not like to feel boxed in. Snow fence has this effect. The groomed area does not need to be anymore than 2 1/2’ wide. Also early summer spray the trail with glyphosate. Ever 100 yards or so hang a licking branch from a cord right in the middle of the trail. Shred the last 8” of a cedar branch and coat it with evercalm deer herd in a stick. Late August is the time I have the most success getting them started. You can tie a heavy cord between two trees to suspend the lacking branch to get it right in the middle of the trail. Tie the anchor line up high enough the deer can’t reach it and can’t get their antlers wrapped in it. I like to lash an oak branch facing up with a lot of leaves on it as I think the bucks like all the noise it makes when the hit it.
Here are some pics of two I started the last week of August.
Deer took them over within 36 hours.
One is more in a little clearing but this is where I want my shot.
Also hang the licking branch low enough fawn can get to it. Bellybutton high is a great start.
Where scent free gloves..
These two took this over the very night I hung it. A lot of deer use this daily.
These two took this over the very night I hung it. A lot of deer use this daily.
Two months latter.
A lot of natural scent at this location. High pellet count on the trail. BEST ATTRACTION SCENT is the herd itself...
Two months latter.
A lot of natural scent at this location. High pellet count on the trail. BEST ATTRACTION SCENT is the herd itself...
Snow fence,..I just ain't that desperate. Lol
I don’t know which sounds more desperate… Snow fence, or Round-Up!
For me, the appeal of eating KIY Wild Meat is that it’s free range/organic, so I don’t really get the point of putting up fences and laying down chemicals… But that’s just me.
Well, 2nd year doing habitat improvements with food plots, trail grooming, henge cutting, controlling non-beneficial vegetation, placing strategic community licking branches/scrapes, I was lucky enough to get this fellow to step back into a predetermined spot I spent weeks developing my shoot skills to compensate being 24’ above and 9 yards from this particular deer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing everything you can to control the line of movement and getting deer to spend a disproportionate time in your hunting area. After all, if that’s what they are doing you are doing an excellent job of fulfilling their needs as well as the needs of other wildlife. Good luck in your endeavors.
