Bicycle spoke trail inersections

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hunter10
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Bicycle spoke trail inersections

Unread postby hunter10 » Mon Jun 29, 2015 1:40 am

Has anyone killed mature deer off these areas when they are there due to an abrupt terrain feature/funnel? Ive often looked at these areas as doe and small buck trails and areas of travel BUT what if you found them on a ridge with a very steep ravine on one side and another obstacle on the other making this hub of trails a tight funnel as well. I personally havent killed a mature buck from a spot such as this but have had camera pics.

Other than the fact of this hub of trails having terrain features to add icing to the cake so to speak I dont think I would personally set a stand in the area but this type of scenario seems different and I haven't had experience in it. What have you observed?


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Hawthorne
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Re: Bicycle spoke trail inersections

Unread postby Hawthorne » Tue Jun 30, 2015 1:49 pm

That use to be my main tactic for deer hunting. I would find a spot with the most trails converging together. I mostly saw does and small bucks. I think on the right piece of land and during the rut you could catch a nice buck cruising late morning if the cover is thick enough and its close to bedding.

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Stanley
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Re: Bicycle spoke trail inersections

Unread postby Stanley » Tue Jun 30, 2015 5:02 pm

I have hunted this wheel spoke a few times with limited success.



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hunter10
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Re: Bicycle spoke trail inersections

Unread postby hunter10 » Wed Jul 01, 2015 1:02 am

Stanley that looks like a prime rut funnel. What observations have you had that give that wheel limited success

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dkoy85
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Re: Bicycle spoke trail inersections

Unread postby dkoy85 » Wed Jul 01, 2015 2:00 am

I think if the conditions are right, then they could be a great spot. For instance if it is in some thick and nasty or an area where bucks feel comfortable cruising in the daylight and a good amount of the trails come together at the hub, then I'd have to think you just increased your odds. Also, if it is very close to multiple bedding areas it would be great. I noticed the better of my hub spots all seem to have had a major primary scrape area in the hub.

I have a couple examples, all on private land. The first example was a hub in Ohio very similar to the one Stanley posted in this thread.This was a moderately hunted piece of land. A small wooded creek meandered through a hay field from east to west and at one point a tree line ran through it north to south. At the intersection were good trails all meeting at the intersection of the tree line and creek along with a bunch of scrapes. The biggest thing about this situation was a standing corn field on the west side of the tree line that the does were using heavily as bedding and the bucks were tending to through the night. My one buddy shot his mature 8 point midday as he popped out of the corn to freshen a scrape, and the very next morning my other buddy shot his big mature buck after leaving the standing corn... from the same tree. As long as these bucks went in any Southern or eastern direction, or came from the South or East, they would have killed a buck- Great odds.

Another example was in Ohio on a different property with a low deer density. All the trails came from the hills down to the bottoms forming a hub. This spot was almost impossible to hunt because of swirling wind. At the hub was a big ol' tree with low branches and under every branch(8-10) was a fresh scrape. This is a low deer density area so you have to know sign like this was major. We got pictures of just about every mature buck coming through, and a lot in daylight.

I found a very good hub on public land in Delaware that I'll be hunting this fall. Very very thick with a ton of buck and doe bedding. Seems like every trail meets at this hub, with a very good scrape tree loaded with scrapes. This will be my ultimate test in hunting hubs, as if this was private land I know I would have a shot opportunity. Not sure how it will pan out on public land, but I'm very confident in the spot.


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