Lets talk funnels and pinch points and how they can put a whitetail in your lap.

[Zbone]

Thanx Barry, kinda what I was picturing in my head, except not thinking it was still alive. Cool, that'll work, thanx for sharing...

Come to think of it, I have a nature hinge tree on my property where years ago a big deadfall over a smaller tree forcing it pretty vertical a few feet off the ground but did not kill it. As you say, it opened up the canopy and the live tree now has limb shoots reaching straight up off the main trunk. First time it seen it, it caught eye and thought it was pretty cool and unique, but never thought about purposely do so. Hmmm, that'll work, again thanx for sharing...

[John Scifres]

OK, let's play a game.  Here is Bill's Farm.  You can go to Google Earth and play along.  If you were given the opportunity to hunt here, tell us where and why you would choose a place from Google Earth alone.
     

This is a hypothetical situation.  I have no idea who owns this property in Southern Indiana.

Here are the coords to plug into Google Earth.

     

Open GE and plug them in.  Post some screen shots of your answers if you can.

[The Night Stalker]

Zbone,  I have been working on an area about two acres this evening. It was open woods on the side of a hill. I went in there and hinge  cut trees  that were no benificial to the wildlife.  The really big trees, I girdled like Barry explained.  Mostly, they were big maples that really block out the canopy.  You can see the oaks and young poplar trees starting to grow as the sun hits the forest floor.  I have also planted hybrid oaks from Native Nurseries in tree tubes. It looks like a mess or a tornado came through but an area that never was used by the deer will now become a bedding or santuary. You can set your stands  to use this  in your  favor. Make your own funnel or pinch point by your own design.  One way to enjoy your season all year long.  You can identify and mark trees now while the leaves are on and hinge cut them in the spring. I do not cut any mast wildlife trees or oaks.

[Wolfshead]

Originally posted by John Scifres:
OK, let's play a game.  Here is Bill's Farm.  You can go to Google Earth and play along.  If you were given the opportunity to hunt here, tell us where and why you would choose a place from Google Earth alone.
     

This is a hypothetical situation.  I have no idea who owns this property in Southern Indiana.

Here are the coords to plug into Google Earth.

     

Open GE and plug them in.  Post some screen shots of your answers if you can.

This is exactly what I need!
I don't have the experience to add anything but would greatly appreciate learning what you all have to offer!

[RedShaft]

If you hunted in mountainous terrain, some flat areas but mostly grades all over and ridges small and large valleys all that.. would it be true that most of the time the deer will move through in low spots?
weather it was on a flat or the steeper ridge sides any depressions in the terrain, that the deer would prefer to travel the depressions rather than walk normal ground?

i ask because it seems most posting here are hunting low lying areas or semi flat ground. how does this come into play when hunting mountain ground. i dont hunt a single ridge that is uniform. there is all kinds of stuff going on as far as land elevations. i know kinda confusing but i hope you understand.

[RedShaft]

here is one of the areas, if you zoom out a bit and go south east you will see in green game lands 73A.
also at the top right of the screen you can see how you can change views into topo

    http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=40.26938,-78.39312&z=15&t=R&marker0=40.26957%2C-78.38127%2C6.1%20km%20ExNE%20of%20Dunning%20Mountain%20PA

[DayTripper]

Originally posted by RedShaft:
If you hunted in mountainous terrain, some flat areas but mostly grades all over and ridges small and large valleys all that.. would it be true that most of the time the deer will move through in low spots?
weather it was on a flat or the steeper ridge sides any depressions in the terrain, that the deer would prefer to travel the depressions rather than walk normal ground?

i ask because it seems most posting here are hunting low lying areas or semi flat ground. how does this come into play when hunting mountain ground. i dont hunt a single ridge that is uniform. there is all kinds of stuff going on as far as land elevations. i know kinda confusing but i hope you understand.

Even in the mountainous areas deers are still use the saddles as thoroughfare. They are also use the flat "benches" that staggered on the side of the hill. Deers will always take the least resistant path when traveling through steep/difficult terrain. If there is a way to go around an obstacle, deers will use it. My two cents.

[snakebit40]

This is one of my all time favorite post already. I'm not experienced enough IMO to add anything so I'll just sit back and learn  

[Terry Green]

Big Fan of funnels...one funnel in particular turned me Traditional.

I gave up gun powder in my late 20's...and one Oct 17th I killed two bucks and a doe in 13 minutes with my compound....that evening lead me to the stickbows.

I'd love to add to this thread...once I find time...got a bear to chase tomorrow.

   

[The Night Stalker]

Brad, I agree with the mountainous terrain. Look up Ashe county, NC and you will see the type of terrain I hunt. I have hunted PA mountains before. Grew up in Delaware. I think  mountains are easier to hunt than totally large flat ground .  I went out to Iowa and could not believe the ground. Iowa was ideal. Our biggest problem is inconsistent wind where I live.  I hunted parts of West Virginia and the trees grow out of the mountain side ways.

[ishoot4thrills]

 

There's a few funnels on the farm I hunt. It's all flat land. Stand sites are marked with a black dot. Property boundaries are marked with a thin black line. Note the creek line where most of my stands are near. I have trad kills at two of the stand sites and trad misses at one site. Have had trad shot opportunities at all but one stand site. Deer population levels are low after crops are harvested and after the rut is over. There's just not enough cover to hold a large number of deer but there's still enough movement to keep my interest high through late November.

[Eric Sprick]

Great stuff here, lots of valuable info!  

Eric

[Knawbone]

Originally posted by RedShaft:
If you hunted in mountainous terrain, some flat areas but mostly grades all over and ridges small and large valleys all that.. would it be true that most of the time the deer will move through in low spots?
weather it was on a flat or the steeper ridge sides any depressions in the terrain, that the deer would prefer to travel the depressions rather than walk normal ground?

i ask because it seems most posting here are hunting low lying areas or semi flat ground. how  
does this come into play when hunting mountain ground. i dont hunt a single ridge that is
uniform. there is all kinds of stuff going on as far as land elevations. i know kinda confusing  
but i hope you understand.

Redshaft, I live and hunt southern NY state only 12 miles from PA border. If your familiar with the hills of PA then you know the type of terrain I hunt. I hunt mainly ridges, especially when the Dear are targeting acorns as a main food supply. And there is one case in point. The Deer will move or travel for differing reasons(ie food, bedding, mating, weather protection, protection from preditors. They are an amazingly adaptable animal and can be found almost anywhere their needs are meet. Hills, mountains, flats, fields up high and fields down low. There are certainly preferences as to how they travel within a certain ecosystem be it hill or dale, but as you learn the behaviors of the animal, you become more adept to figuring out the where's and when's.

One terrain type is not neccasarilly better than another, it's just all relevent to the factors mentioned above.
 If your hunting ridges and hilly or mountainous land, you can kill plenty of Deer. Again, you just have to learn all you can about the animal itself an how it uses that paticular terrain.

[jonsimoneau]

This is really good stuff!  I can't remember the last time I hung a stand in something that wasn't a funnel!  But here is one thing I have learned over the years.  For a funnel to be good the deer have to have a good reason to use it in the first place.  
     For example, in October a funnel will probably be best if it is located between a known bedding area and a feeding area, and hopefully closer to the bedding area.
    Here is something kind of interesting.  Last year I had a trail camera up for a month in what looked like a great funnel.  I put it up in mid August and checked it in mid September.  All I had on the camera were the same few does that would move through every few days.  Not a single buck.  
   Then in November, I saw the biggest buck of the season move through that funnel.  I was in a different location and did not get a shot at him but I was close.
    Anyway, that night I put the camera back in there in the same spot as I had it earlier in the year.  I left it there for a week and when I checked it I had 3 nice bucks move through during daylight, and 4 or 5 others at night including some real nice ones.  That doesn't sound like a ton of action but this is in a heavily farmed area where deer densities are very low.  3 bucks moving through this funnel during daylight in a 1 week period is good for this area.  
   Guess where I now have a stand hung?  I won't even step foot in there until about the 4th of November.  We will see how it goes.

[Knawbone]

Jon simmoneau, Best of luck to you, sounds like a good setup.  

[jonsimoneau]

Thanks Knawbone.  Good luck to you too this season!

[jonsimoneau]

One other thing guys, I went to Uncle Barry's bootcamp this spring.  When he talks about manipulating a spot, I doubt most people really knows what he means until you see it with your own eyes.  My buddy and I were absolutely flabbergasted at the work and details that go into each of his stand sites.  It was fun for me to see the kinds of spots Gene and Barry hunt but I learned a few things and saw some things that I don't know if I would have ever picked up on by myself.  And I've just about got all their books completely memorized! No kidding!
    I remember one guy there said "So Barry, do you completely walk out each and every trail on the land you hunt?"  Barry said "Pretty much." He had a look on his face like "Doesn't everybody?" HA!  What a great time.

[Jerry Jeffer]

My favorite spots for sure. Here are a couple of shots of places I hunt. Lucky the leaves were down when the pic was taken so you can see the terrain.
 

 

Some real good funnels here.

[Barry Wensel]

Jon: I can't tell you how much I enjoyed both you and Ryan this spring. The fact you guys were like sponges absorbing all the minor details was very refreshing for me. I really got a lot of self-satisfaction and faith in the future when I see the enthusiasm young guys like yourselves radiate. That's what it takes. Ryan has kept me posted on what you guys have been doing and I'm downright proud of your efforts and attitudes. When it all comes together you're going to get a ton of satisfaction out of your efforts. Now you guys will need to keep an eye out for a bootcamp on how to stay calm and keep your cool when it all falls into place. Ha. Best of luck guys and thank you! BW

[jonsimoneau]

Thanks Barry, but the pleasure was all ours.  We now live hours away from each other but we spent most of the drive home talking about what we learned and what we were gonna do next.  In fact, hunting is about all we talk about!  We have been putting a lot of it in motion, but next season we will really be on top of it after the postseason scouting season.  You know, my buddy Ryan was never real big on computers, but he's got them down now.  He must have your email on "speed dial!"  Don't worry, we will keep you posted on how it goes this year.  Thanks!