First of all, what exactly is a funnel? It is a particular feature of the landscape whether natural or man made that cause deer to tend to use those same routes on a regular basis, or use them as escape routes when the pressure is on.
A funnel can be as simple as a ravine that connects two distinct types of terrain, such as natural or man made food plot to a thicket. Years ago, I hunted a lot with a high school friend down in the Richford, NY area off route 38 South. There was a particular hedgerow that extended from route 38 south back to the railroad tracks and on the west side of the tracks several steep ravines that made their way through the hardwoods and up to another hedgerow and several farm fields. I killed a fair number of bucks over the years by sitting about 150 yards up the hill towards the crop fields every opening day.
Early morning before sunrise, my friend and I would make our way down the RR tracks and then up to our favorite stands along the hill side. The RR tracks allowed us to get close to our stands without disturbing the woods, rustling leaves or leaving a scent trail through the woods. My friend usually climbed a tree and I stayed on the ground, partially hidden and with the 12 gauge Ithaca Deerslayer cradled across my lap. 75 yards was a LONG shot in those days and I took a few bucks at less than 25 yards.
I certainly MISS those days and think of them often. I would make the 40 min ride to Richford early opening day and then my friend and I would either have breakfast at "Red's Diner" or sometimes at the Richford Fire Dept where they would have a HUGE pancake breakfast. Every year I would enter the raffle for a new Remington Mdl 870 12 gauge Pump and of course every year, I would not win.
Some of my fondest memories are of those days spent bow hunting and shotgun hunting whitetails in Richford. My friend has since retired and moved to Ohio.
Back to funnels:
A funnel or crossing area can be as simple as a barb wired fence on the property you hunt. If you walk the fence line, you will likely find a place where there are deer hairs on the barb wire. perhaps a branch has fallen over the fence, or it just sags in that place, or it is in a low spot in the terrain or a steep ravine etc. Deer are creatures of habit and left undisturbed will take the path of least resistance. If they find a place where that fence is EASY to cross, they will continue to use it if not spooked away from it.
It can and often is where a steep ravine connects an old apple orchard, or thick pines to a crop field by passing through a stand of hardwoods. It allows the deer to pass from one type of cover to a food plot, or escape up through fairly open hardwoods to connect to another hedgerow for example by allowing them to stay at least partially hidden.
IF you own the land, you can also create escape routes through thick areas (in the OFF season) that will tend to naturally funnel the deer making them more predictable. You can then set up a tree stand or ground blind that keeps you hidden while taking advantage of the prevailing winds to give you a better shot opportunity.
Deer will take advantage of any terrain feature that allows them to move Undetected. The best way to find these is with a topo map or aerial photo of your land or simply take a hike in the off season or just AFTER season ends while snow is on the ground (at least in NYS). This allows you to bust bucks out of their sanctuary's when it no longer matters. You can mark waypoints on your GPS, and plan your next year's hunt around what you have learned.
Here in NY rifle season opens where I hunt on the 19th of November. Good luck and good hunting.
Dan
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