131north
Well-Known Member
Eyeballs and boots are still the top 2 scouting tools. Confirmation bias makes it a little difficult to move on from marginal sign. This thread and perspectives shared has been really helpful.
I think pinch points are good in theory for y’all hunting the Midwest. Down here in the south, unless you’re in hill country, most of our public land is flat and fairly monotonous. I’ve yet to find a decent pinch or rut funnel on my local stuff. Therefore I’m pretty much forced to hunt the sign. That’s usually where the does are deciding what the hot food source is for that week or two. Hunting is so different from area to area. I think the point of this thread really way to try to help new hunters consistently get on deer in general and have encounters.
I hear you. I am just speaking for my home state of Tennessee here which is similar to a lot of southern states. We definitely have edges and some terrain features (usually created by creeks) but the problem is there are so many edges the deer can choose from, they cease to be usable as a high odds pinch point. Our public is about 70% thicket. Problem with these is they provide bedding cover and food. to actually be able to find deer you have to either bump em or find the fresh sign. I’m not giving up on looking for similar terrain and pinch points, they just don’t seem to be as readily available here.With terrain I include the forests, swamps, other features. Minnesota is about as flat and monotonous as they come (aside from the SE bluff country, but I don't hunt that).
The point is terrain features over sign, because hunters hunt sign, once the pressure hits, you can have more success hunting a terrain feature that concentrates deer movement. For us in MN that can be a grove of trees in a swamp, or what I like to find, a strip of land between a marsh and a river, thats a pinch point. The whole point is to use the terrain (the landscape features) to your advantage, often the sign can be misleading, especially on public.
I usually hunt 3-4 hour evening sits mostly and do just like you. Go scout edges until I find fresh sign. It might be on the first edge I check or I may check 4-5 and hike all evening without seeing much to go on. But the norm is that I have at least an encounter with some deer. They just have sooo much cover, you have to find them and then re-find them, and then find them again. I think this is just part of hunting public land too.I've heard that about other states, the cover being monotonous. Does that mean you hunt longer days? In Michigan, if all I can get away for is 3-4 hours I can probably get in the woods and stumble into some deer or some sign just using terrain and edges. When it's all the same are you putting in more time, or just covering ground faster?