Let’s show an example of how screening can be used to both reduce social stress, as well as reduce the pressure we put on the deer and help funnel them past our stands.
The black lines are Antler King’s Barricade planted as screens, while the yellow line is a potential access and exit, depending on wind (only showed the south access, but same screen along field on N side as well, for S wind access and departure, using that when hunting stands on N and the one shown when hunting stands on S with N winds) and the pins are stands.
Now, what do we get from just doing that?
- Decreased impact by using the screening to hide us entering and exiting, as well as from all the feeding eyes behind the screens in the inlets.
- Reduced social stress from more isolated food source for family groups and bucks to claim as their own, reducing competition increased stand efficiency, by leaving the openings in the screens where I want the deer to pass.
- Increased wasting Mr. Big’s time on the ground I hunt, by checking each of those pockets, instead of merely being able to see it all from 1 spot.
- Finally, the screen gives the added bonus of feeding the birds, which is a nice cherry on top.
I’m going to show a bit more robust version of screening below. The picture really is the tip.
The tan areas are farm fields. Blue areas, in this case, are brassicas, with green areas being clover or cereal rye. Green lines are hinge cut edge feathering, acting as a screen for the deer in the woods (in the first example I showed using Barricade to screen the route in and out. This example, I’m only using Barricade to screen off sections of food and use the edge feathering as screens on the way in or out). Black lines are Barricade used to segment off food. The pins are stands.
These are just two real world examples. In neither situation, the methods used were far from the only ones that could/would work. Many options/routes could produce happy results. These were merely the approaches I took. You may see better options.
