WHAT KIND OF PLACE MAKES A GOOD SCRAPE OR FUNNEL TO HUNT AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR

EDITOR'S NOTE: Preston Pittman, the creator of game calls for his company, Preston Pittman Game Calls, has won many calling contests. An avid hunter, Pittman stays in the woods as much as he can and has plenty of woods wisdom.

QUESTION: When you're looking at a scrape line, how to do you know where to set up on that scrape line?

ANSWER: I'll set up as close to a thicket as I can get and as close as possible to a funnel that bottlenecks the land down. I'll look for a bottleneck with a thicket on one side and water on the other side and a scrape line or a rub line running along the edge of the water. I'll also search for a woodlot between two open fields that bottlenecks down like an hourglass. I'll look for a division in different types of terrain, like hardwood/pine or anything else that is a division of land types. I love to hunt funnels. I particularly enjoy finding a slough with a thicket on one side, maybe hardwoods on the other side and perhaps a field out front where the deer feed. At night, the buck will come to the edge of the field to run his scrape line. So before dark in the late afternoon, I'll take a stand in a funnel along the route the deer must travel to get to the edge of the field.

TOMORROW: HOW TO HUNT DURING THE FULL RUT

Check back each day this week for more from Preston Pittman...

Day 1 - Secrets To Taking Deer During The Pre-Rut And The Rut
Day 2 - What Kind Of Scrapes Make A Good Hunt
Day 3 - How To Hunt During The Full Rut
Day 4 - How To Hunt During The Post-Rut
Day 5 - How To Take A Buck On The Last Day Of Deer Season

John's Journal