• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Hunting pinch points

e1han

Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2019
Messages
99
Location
SE Michigan
Hey guys, I'm hunting some public land in Michigan and have started to realize I'm often setting up stands near pinch points. In your guys experience, do you often hunt this pinch points in the beginning of the season, or do you wait until the rut to key in on these areas?
 
It depends. If the pinch point is between bed and food then it may be good in the early season. I will be hunting a pinch just like that this weekend.

If it's between bedding and bedding or two different woodlots, etc. Then it may only be good during the rut.
 
I guess it depends on your options. If you have other options then maybe hunt it with less frequency! But sometimes you may over hunt a spot because its all you got. I do more suburban hunting so most of my spots are pinch points.

Good luck!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
It depends. If the pinch point is between bed and food then it may be good in the early season. I will be hunting a pinch just like that this weekend.

If it's between bedding and bedding or two different woodlots, etc. Then it may only be good during the rut.

This. It's completely dependent upon what type or how it pinches. I have a pinch I hunted every year in Kansas coming off a ridge and crossing a creek and it was money during the rut. Many other pinches I've hunted haven't panned out at all.
 
Got this guy this morning in a pinch point.
Probably half way between feeding and bedding. Didn't make a great shot, but it did the trick.
 
I hunt the same pinch point from three different stands depending on wind direction. I take at least 3 deer a year and have from this spot for the last six years. If you are looking to kill a monster, it won't be likely by hunting the same area this heavily. I'm a meat hunter and I've let a few really nice ones walk during the rut because we like the 100 to 125 pound deer best for the table.
 
I spend 90% of my time working pinch points, travel corridors, and transition lines. As Eberhart preaches very strongly, I set up for the secondary cover lines almost all the time, as that's where the mature bucks will pass through. If the pinch is too open, i don't bother, it will not produce bucks in the daylight. State land in Michigan is tough to hunt effectively. Where I'm at, its big woods with mature Oak and pines, or massive expanses of what we locals call short pines, that are developed for the Kirtland Warbler bird. I tend to hunt several swamps in the area that run in adjoining fingers. Pinches and corridors pay off because the deer are very difficult to pattern otherwise. They have food literally everywhere with the Oaks being prevalent in this area. There is no agriculture anywhere within miles.
 
I spend 90% of my time working pinch points, travel corridors, and transition lines. As Eberhart preaches very strongly, I set up for the secondary cover lines almost all the time, as that's where the mature bucks will pass through. If the pinch is too open, i don't bother, it will not produce bucks in the daylight. State land in Michigan is tough to hunt effectively. Where I'm at, its big woods with mature Oak and pines, or massive expanses of what we locals call short pines, that are developed for the Kirtland Warbler bird. I tend to hunt several swamps in the area that run in adjoining fingers. Pinches and corridors pay off because the deer are very difficult to pattern otherwise. They have food literally everywhere with the Oaks being prevalent in this area. There is no agriculture anywhere within miles.
That would be tougher hunting without the crop fields that I get to hunt around. The only time I ever hunted that type of terrain was a Colorado bow hunt in the 70's. Swamps sound interesting but might be hard to get them out after the kill. Good luck to you!
 
Back
Top