Altering Deer Trails
 

Who goes to the lengths of doing this to get deer in better position? And what lengths do you go to? I was going to try moving some downed limbs and maybe bungee strapping a fence to make it easier for them to jump over but I don't want to go overboard. I've heard about mowing or raking trails but is that necessary? I was mainly thinking of doing this to see if it works and how long it takes for them to adapt to the change. Anyone have any info?

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

I had deer always walking to my right at one stand sight and so I chopped down a nice clear path probably a couple hundred yards through the woods where it was thick.. Ran it to my left, this has been a couple years ago and they are still using it.. they use both actually.. So it kind of worked..

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

I have moved downedtrees to cover certain trails and open others up, but that is about it.

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

Early bow season it works great mowing a trail through thick weeds and brush I have a brush hog for my small tractor and generally start mowing a trail between food plots in late july and I get trail cam pics the next day.

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

i have used tree limbs to block trails and use a machete to cut open new trails and it works great

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

Thats good to know. I guess when I get out to get my stands up I'm gonna have to do some altering.

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

I moved limbs and brush funneling the deer to an open spot in the fence (I pulled the barbwire apart).......worked like a charm on the does........

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

I have ATV riding trails in my woods that the deer travel on all the time. They use them so often I just set up my stands overlooking those trails. One thing I did do though was to fell a dead pine tree across a trail that had no suitable trees for a stand. The deer stopped using that trail after only about a month of the tree being there.

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

I don't remember where I heard this but I'm sureit works. Rocks are an obstruction that deer do Not walk on. You can funnel deer wherever you want with them just make sure to use enough thtat they won't just hop over the rocky area. Using rocks VS. limbs is that rocks won't rot-out over weathering. so they stay put as long as you want em.

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

The deer wiil do what's easiest.If you block one trail, make sure you are directing them where you want them to go.Where to put your blockade? 50yds.away or 100 yds. away.Think a little.It's natural.Deer are creatures of habit.Break that habit and they get a new habit.

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

I love these threads.

In one thread you've got hunters cutting "shooting lanes" and think deer will just saunter right along the same trail they always do and in another you've got hunters funneling deer by meerly moving a few branches or rocks on the ground. ROTFLMAO

I'm afraid to compare the two threads too closely. If the posternics looked the same I might never stop laughing.

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=2907331&mpage=2&key=&#291580 7

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

ding ding ding

Sorry. I couldn't help my self. I had to look until I found one who both clears his shooting lanes and funnels deer. LOL.

Do you put a sign on those or any thing so the deer know where to walk?

Some of you guys just read waaaaaay too many magazines.

All of this brush clearing and construction work could be avoided by making better choices where you are going to put your stand or the means you are going to use to set up an ambush.

I am "with" most of you guys on the altering their normal path though.

It's a heck of a lot easier to make them not go some place than it is to make them go one particular way. I've used so little as just an arrow stuck in the ground in the middle of their path to make them stop in a specific spot where it was the only shot I'd have. It's pretty important when you hunt the thick stuff and don't go out there and mow down a path to shoot through. Kind of messes things up though if they come from the opposite direction.

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

Yes, I feel like I need to alter their routes. I have 2 miles of fenceline from crops to timber with numerous crossings. Sorry Jack but I don't have that many stands. So if I take some downed timber or rocks to block their crossings to hopefullyfunnel them to a better fence crossing for my advantage, then I will.

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

Nothing to be sorry over. I just find it a strange way to hunt to do it enough to make it a practice.

If it works, it works.

I've done things to change their behaviour a little but nothing I'd consider "powerful" enough or successful enough to consider it funnelling them.

My own expirience has been it's not that difficult to make them go a DIFFERENT direction. It's VERY DIFFICULT to make them consistantly go a direction you want.

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

I've done it with one stand that had alot of tall grass. I weed whacked a trail about 100yds long that came past my stand about 20yds away. Then sprayed weedkiller on the trail. I just made it wide enough to walk, not an atv trail. I did it about this time of year so they were on it by bow season. My experience was the does, fawns, and bears followed it well, but the bucks were more unpredictable and still roamed wherever. Even later in the year when we had snow and all the tall **** was knocked down, they still followed that trail.

My input for what it's worth, I've had better luck finding the bucks on their own trails however. Rubs, scrape lines, etc.

RE: Altering Deer Trails
 

i'll cut a limb here and there but not an actual shooting lane. the only significant "trail" i cut is the one i walk to my stand. this way i can get to and from my stand with as little noise as possible. hunting public land you have to hike your stand in and out with you everytime you hunt or you take a risk of it getting stolen. so the least amount of limbs and brush that bang on your stand while walking to your tree the less of a chance of spooking game. this being said, i don't hack up a trail wide enough for an ATV either, just wide enough to walk silently.