I need some help in this area. I've never been concerned about draws and funnels and the rest. I've always went to areas where I've seen deer but not always the most mature. Can anyone give me some information on bottlenecks, funnels, draws and I know there are a few terms I'm forgetting. If you want to explain that is great but I'll most certainly research for myself but where are some good places to read on that. Does anyone have any visuals? I'm up for anything. Thanks again.
well bottlenecks and draws are forms of funnels. heres a good example of a funnel, theyre all over this farm. most of the time the best funnels, are very easy to tell on arieal photos, and topos. look at all of the little treelines towards the north end. deer travel in what little cover they have, rather than walking out in the middle of a field.
if you have any arieals or topos of your hunting spots, im sure you could get a lot of help from guys on here, on where to take a look.
( the blue dots are stand locations, not necisarrily funnels)
funnels are exactly what it sounds like - Any terrain feature, manmade or natural that restricts deer movement into a small area.some examples would be
1. creeks- deer will travelalong the edge of creeks many times and when these creeks wind and bend near thickets, field edgesor any other obstruction, it can create a funnel. Also look for the spot that has low creek banks. Any creek crossing is a funnel, some are better than others.
2. fence rows - fences that are grown up either withtrees or brush offer cover, narrow cover and deer willuse them whengoing from point a to b.
3. ditches or draws - especially when you have 2 of these that bottle neck down maybe entering a field or even in the middle of timber. Deer will travel the easy pathway and naturally travel the edges of these. where they bottleneck down is the funnel.
4.saddles - saddles are the low spots between 2 ridges.if you were looking at 2 ridgesthat meet end to end and you have bedding on one side with food on the other then this is a great saddle. The deer again will travel the path of least resistance and use the saddle to go to and fro.
5 Fences - deer will jump fences, but would prefer not to or would atleast prefer to jump a low spot.You can manipulate where the cross a fence (funnel!) by lowering the top strand of barbwire so it's the lowest spot in the fence. Do this in conjunction with other cover and really manipulate deer travel. Onsome of the farms Ihunt, farmers no longer run cattle so I've been able to raise or lower the fence in certain areas to make great fence crossings. I try to always do this at the spot I want the deer to enter my food plots.also ma nature can create these by knocking down a tree across the fence.
Some of my favorite funnels are areas etween 2 large blocks of timber that are connected by a narrow strip of timber.Usually these can be hunted with a variety of winds. I also love creekbottoms. In the midwest, most of your timber is along creeks or rivers. Usually these places are narrow sometimeshaving places that allow for bow shots from one edge to theother. During the rut, bucks will run these creeks on the downwind side scent checking does. Find thenarrow spot that has a good wind and hunt! Funnels are what it's about when it comes to bowhunting and just about anything can qualify. If you hunt timber land and have super thick thickets, hacking a path through the middle will create a funnel. Deer willnearl always take the path easiest traveled.I'll bet if you think hard, you'll think about several funnels where you hunt.
checkout yoru topos too, if you have some steeps.....using a topo I noticed was a funnel that was a funnel due to the dropoff on one side, turns into about a 5yd width strip of woods, one side open field, other side cliff dropoff, one of the best stands on the land....
Read "Mapping Trophy Bucks" by Brad Herndon. This book explains in great detail what they are and how to identify them. This book literally changed the way I hunt.
__________________
1995 Ford Ranger XL
Douglas Radial Tires
Super Blue headlights
Fiberglass front bumper
2400 pounds
What are funnels and bottlenecks and such?
