MNpurple

Hey man, why do you HAVE to be in atree? Forget the tree, and go cut a little brush, stack a few limbsand build yourself a ground blind (not a popup).Then when season comes, and you have the right wind, go in there cut a few leafy limbs to spruce up your blind and hunt.

I'm not saying this is you, but way too many bowhunters feel they only way the can bowhunt is by sitting in a tree. This unfortunately rules out alot of spots for people for the same reasons you mentioned, no trees, too little, etc Get down there, eye level, and get your buck. I have found myself sitting on the ground more every year because I am now discovering places that just werent suitable when I was locked into the idea of a treestand. My two best bucks were from a natural ground blind. It is a pleasure being eye to eye, level ground with a mature buck.

GregH

The barrier fence is designed as an obstacle not as confinement. An unpressured deer will usually walk around the fence (desired result). A pressured deer may jump right over it, depending on how it feels.

Uuuh, yeah. It was.

I know you're smart enough to know the answer to this question........... but again, a perimeter fence is for confinement and an obstacle fence directs movement closer to your stand.

These two fences are not for the exact same purpose. A fence around a 40 acre piece will not direct movement towards your stand and unless it is a high fence, it will not contain deer either. To be clear, I was talking about your normal 4-5 foot fence.

Now if you have a 60 yard wide creek bottom and a stand that is in the last good size tree near an opening by the creek. The deer may be hugging the creek about 40 yards from your stand. If you put a 50' length of fence from the creek towards your stand, you have a good chance of directing deer movement to about 20 yards of your stand.

These two types of fences have entirely different purposes.

bloodcrick

Here is another way of steering deer, i have seen this time and time again and most dont do it for that reason. cutting a lane for walking in quietly, after awhile if its not had to much hunter traffic, Deer WILL start following it excluding Mr. Big stuff, thats a whole different game. My Father inlaw mows 5' wide trails to drive his tractor on for food plot acess while on his property, and for rabbit hunting, The deer traffic on these lanes is unbelivable. When i mentioned putting up the steering barrier at the first of my post, im talking about a 25 yard long section that buts up against a nasty thicket on 800 acres unfenced. not even a pin head on the map. I really think they will take it or leave it. Im banking more on bucks that show up during the rut that dont call this there immidiate home range, The barrier will most likely be new to them and natural.

bloodcrick

purple, i killed one of mythree biggest bucks off the ground and watched as my son killed his first buck off the ground, but i still cant get used to doing it that way im a tree hugger now with turkeys, Im all in

atlasman

What I meant was your assumption that they are considering anything other then what is right in front of them. They don't reason or use logical thought.........the barrier in front of them is all they see or care about..........if they turn around and run into another barrier 1 mile away they certainly don't associate the two.......they simply deal with what is front of them yet again.



Agreed.........but that has never been my point to contend that. What I have said is simply that a fence affects a deer's movements the same whether inside or outside a pen because they only have to deal with one fence at a time........the one right in front of them. A deer in a pen doesn't know he is in a pen................when he hits a fence he changes direction...........same as in the woods........and in both cases many times a hunter is there waiting for him.

atlasman

Agreed...........in or out of a pen.


I think they are.........they are both put in place to affect a deer's movement and hopefully "steer" them to a hunter.......the more fences and/or the higher they are.........the more drastic the affect.

OHbowhntr

I've seen it done both ways, I've seen trees intentionally dropped to guide deer movement, and I've seen trails mowed to guide deer movement. In the end, often times, they are not too much unlike us, they'd rather drink clean water, or follow an easy path, than otherwise, as long as there is some cover available to make the feel "protected."