Could someone please explain to me what that means? First year bow hunter and not seeing many deer. Was told to be as scent free as possible and hunt pinch points. Thanks in advance.
It refers to where several deer trails come together. Some call it a funnel. Deer like to travel through draws and low spots. An are where several trails merge to say, cross a creek or get through a fence, is a "pinch point" deer are lazy, they will take the path of least resistance. If you can locate an areA where several paths converge, you found a pinch point or funnel.
Pinch points can come in many forms. In short it is any feature in your hunting area that funnels deer into a smaller area. A generic example is a narrow strip of timber that connects two or more larger wooded areas. In reality pinch points come in the form of topo pinches such as a drainage ditch or deep cut that runs up a ridge and the deer will tend to cross somewhere toward the top of the drainage ditch. Deer also key in on saddles, benches, points, Also, pinches can be fence lines, water edges, etc. As far as the scent free stuff people have varying opinions. After years of trying to be scent free I have come to the conclusion that I can't beat a deer's nose. I just play the wind and go to great effort and detail to hunt every spot with the proper wind and perfect approach. If a deer smells you a little or a lot they smell you. You will get varying opinions on scent control but if I were you suck up as much knowledge about how wind travels under varying conditions, understand thermals and how they effect your hunting. Scout and have your spots set for different winds and don't ever hunt the spot until the wind is right.
So, is a marsh in between two larger wooded areas considered a pinch point? With the wind, I should be sitting facing the wind correct?
Hard to tell without seeing the setup but the majority of your deer movement in the marsh will be on the edge of where the marsh meets dry ground. If I were you I would get Marsh Bucks and Hill Country Bucks DVDs and you will learn a ton. Also, I would read everything you can get your hands on. Finally scout scout scout.
