Aerial / topo scouting?
 

I am thinking of going hunting next week wed. thru sat. since We get off school starting wednesday until the next monday. It is in hilly country with some crop fields. Lots of ridges, valleys etc. It is a state area with some hiking, biking, and horsetrails. It is late october so im assuming the trails probably arent being used much now, but how do you think they would affect deer movement? There are some spots that look good on topos but the trails are pretty close. Also, what should I look for on the maps since I wont have much time to scout? I found a few funnels, but what else? thanks

RE: Aerial / topo scouting?
 

Funnels that direct traffic to or from any kind of feeding areas - corn, soy, oaks dropping acorns, etc. Also try to isolate bedding area that is near a food source, look for thick cover or pockets of pines tucked into some regular hardwoods. Water sources are probably still a good bet right now as well. It's hard to say how the trails will affect movement without being on the ground actually walking them. I've been places where they always avoided the trails and I've been places where the deer would use wide open logging roads during mid-day. I think one factor is how thick the cover in the surrounding area is and how pressured the deer are.