Hunted a new location this afternoon for 2 hours on public land , a few hundred yards from where I have been, but now in thicker cover. I had a young 6 pt walk about 7 yards from me while I was hunting from the ground, standing between some trees. My main question is how many trails do you think he, or other deer have from their food source to the bedding area I think I am in the middle off? I know lots of factors are going to contribute to this, but from the deer you see going from food to bed, is it always the same trail or two they use? Also do other deer use those trails or once they find their own unique trail they usually stick with it.
I would say many. Dozens of active trails normally lead to feeding areas. On public land it could be much higher.
I have a feeding area that has 15 to 20 different active trails and depending on the wind helps determine which one they will use!!
There will always be "main trails" I call them Deer Highways. These get used daily/nightly in most cases by at least one deer. Then there are secondary trails these are used every few days and rotated as the deer please. I've never figured out a pattern to secondary trails. Lastly there are every other trail you see. These could have been used for a short period of time and abandoned due to many reasons. Food source/water source dried up, bedding area contaminated, hunter pressure, the deer that frequented the trail died...whatever. Hwy's are the easiest to find, they are beaten down to the mud even when leaves are falling. They will normally follow an obstacle or terrain issue. Like a ravine, huge dead fall, or fence. Sign will be daily on these trails but it doesn't mean they use them during daylight. The number of total trails in any given area is going to vary greatly. Also during the rut, bucks will walk perpendicular to trails scent checking each one until they find the trail of a hot doe. So it's possible that you will see a buck walking in what looks like a random fashion.
They're route will be controlled by past experience, topography, wind, where they're coming from and where they're going. Things like danger, scent trails and food (browse) will lead them to avoid one path or follow another. I think of it like an academic quad on a college campus. You take the same path everyday from your dorm to calculus to save time (or energy) unless you see a hottie sunbathing or someone you don't want to talk to.
Never know, they will always surprise you. They are creatures of habit and easy routes though. 2010 Bow tech Destroyer 350
