***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

HUNTING FUNNELS

We’ve all been there. We know there are plenty of deer in the area we hunt because we’ve seen their sign and even the deer themselves. We’ve watched them come out to field edges to feed in the late summer, found those oak ridges that whitetails love so much, and even identified some potential bedding areas. The problem is, we can never seem to be in the right place at the right time. We put our stand in tree “A” and they pass by tree “B”. The next afternoon we set up in tree “B” and we watch them walk by tree “C”. The deer seem to be traveling wherever they choose at that particular time. An archery hunter can go mad trying to figure out deer travel patterns. So what can we do? How can we place ourselves in a spot that we KNOW a deer will walk by that’s within shooting distance? The answer my friends can be stated in one word…funnels!

A funnel is created by natural or man-made “obstacles” that condense deer travel down to a narrow corridor for a short distance. These obstacles can be any number of things…lakes, swamps, fast moving and deep streams, steep hillsides, fields, heavily traveled roads, buildings, large amounts of fallen timber, rock slides…anything that makes the deer detour so that they are forced into a condensed travel passage.

Deer are basically lazy creatures and they prefer travel routes that offer the least resistance while still providing adequate cover. Except for perhaps the rut, bucks will not forsake safety for ease. Generally speaking, deer will skirt lakes, they’ll cross fast moving streams in the shallows, the will avoid going up or down steep hillsides, they stay away from crossing open fields, and they’ll shy away from roads and buildings.

By utilizing free online aerial photos (Google Maps are excellent) you can easily identify most funnel locations. Remembering what I said before, look for anything that might force deer into a narrow travel corridor. A prime example would be a hedgerow across a field that connects two large wooded areas. Instead of crossing the open field, deer will utilize the hedgerow to get from one wooded area to the other.

Topographic maps are invaluable in finding steep hillsides from your kitchen table. The closer the contour lines are together, the steeper the hill. If you find a steep hillside that levels out 50 yards from the edge of a field, lake, or swamp chances are you have found a good funnel. Think about it…a well placed tree stand directly in the middle of this funnel allows the archery hunter a 25 yard shot to each side. But remember, the funnel must connect two areas that the deer want to get to.

If you can find a funnel that connects a bedding area to a feeding area, you’d better be prepared for some action. In this type of situation, you’re going to want to be on stand very early in the morning because bucks are usually the first to head back to their bedding area. And you’ll want to stay on stand as late as you can because bucks will generally be the last to approach a feeding area.

I know I’ve mentioned this before but you’ll want to pay very close attention to how you enter and exit your stand. In such a confined area such as a funnel, scent control once on your stand is also of vital importance. Do NOT, under any circumstance, get into a stand in a funnel where the wind is blowing in the direction you expect the deer to be coming from. If they scent you, you will never see them.

Hunting funnels can be a season-long provider of shooting opportunities. I hope we are never able to completely figure out deer travel patterns…what would be the fun in that? But funnels do have the potential to provide us those little honey holes that we can go back to over and over again.