Winter plans - Hinge cutting/ tree downing

[LET EM GROW]

i have roughly a 5 acre wood lot the deer are always in all year long, they just dont use it to bed in... there are apple, chesnut, oak, maple, ash some pine and a TON of poplar trees, my plan was to cut down a lot of the junk poplar trees big and small, and let it lay/rot... to open up more sunlight for the young oak maple and ash coming up through...maybe hinge cut some younger maple trees as well, and hopefully plant a few more apple trees, chesnut and/or oaks.. 

 

i was hoping this would create cover for the deer for bedding purposes, since they are typically always in these woods throughout the year anyways

 

Anyone have other suggestion or ideas? new to the (tsi) ideas... Thanks 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Very good article. 

 

https://www.qdma.com/corporate/what-is-tsi

 

 

[dbHunterNY]

me too... don't know if i'll get to the actual cutting this winter on the farm.  different property (my house) is ready to do right after hunting season.  that's been continuously worked on.  farm hasn't had much of any habitat management or logging done to it.  have to plan things out well first before we touch a tree to also maximize how it can be hunted.

[LET EM GROW]

i will have to read that article. thanks. ive read some stuff from the qdma site and i know theres a ton of info there. 

 

poplar trees as far as im aware, have no value standing alive in the deer woods, and they seem to be the first to fall over in good heavy wind storms. i hung a stand in one once before and it just didnt seem like anyother tree ive hung in before... so to me, they can be good ground cover for a few years. ive got some big mature ones to lay down..

[Dingler]

This is something that I have been looking into for a few years now. I have been hunting the same spot for 16 years now and know how the deer use the woods. My problem is come leaf fall the deer also fall off the property. I know it is way to open. My question is where to start? I know if I just start cutting it will change how the deer move threw or don"t. Do I just do a small part and see what happens? Do I do as much as I can and then have to figure out how to re-hunt it? It's only about 8 huntable acres, I know deer won't be there all the time. I have read so much info and watched so many youtube videos I have information over load!!! I also know cover is king in the ag regions of ny so food plots are low on my list right now. I understand to set it up for wind and hunting locations. the property runs north to south, and all wood area is on the west side, with open fields to the east and south, road on the north. small gully runs north to south threw the middle. Hope that gives everyone a idea of what I am working with. Any help would be awesome. (would post a pic but not sure how)

[Culvercreek hunt club]

This is something that I have been looking into for a few years now. I have been hunting the same spot for 16 years now and know how the deer use the woods. My problem is come leaf fall the deer also fall off the property. I know it is way to open. My question is where to start? I know if I just start cutting it will change how the deer move threw or don"t. Do I just do a small part and see what happens? Do I do as much as I can and then have to figure out how to re-hunt it? It's only about 8 huntable acres, I know deer won't be there all the time. I have read so much info and watched so many youtube videos I have information over load!!! I also know cover is king in the ag regions of ny so food plots are low on my list right now. I understand to set it up for wind and hunting locations. the property runs north to south, and all wood area is on the west side, with open fields to the east and south, road on the north. small gully runs north to south threw the middle. Hope that gives everyone a idea of what I am working with. Any help would be awesome. (would post a pic but not sure how)

take a pic off of Google earth and lay it all out. it may take several versions until you get it how you want. EVERYTHING should be considered. in no particular order,  prevailing winds, entry and exit routes and stand location (but this one may end up changing). plant and tree species in the lot and their food value, water, food plots and the availability throughout the year.  and sanctuary area(s). It is much easier to have a master plan you are working towards than invest time and money into it half azzed and end up redoing a bunch of work. Better to invest the time you would use going out there to work the property now into planning it all out. 

[G-Man]

Cut those poplar as low as possible to encourage root suckering, will increase browse for deer and grouse

[growalot]

You also need to get a good feel for what natural foods you have they want...IE,,here it's brier,and elderberry,eastern hophorn seeds,a particular grass(I have yet to identify) that stays green year round. wild rose, honey suckle brush, wild apples, may apples, currents and goose berries....ect..ect Now many of these types of plants are understory plants...and will die off with too much sun exposure...Every thing is connected on a good piece of property ....

[LET EM GROW]

You also need to get a good feel for what natural foods you have they want...IE,,here it's brier,and elderberry,eastern hophorn seeds,a particular grass(I have yet to identify) that stays green year round. wild rose, honey suckle brush, wild apples, may apples, currents and goose berries....ect..ect Now many of these types of plants are understory plants...and will die off with too much sun exposure...Every thing is connected on a good piece of property ....

 

I have a ton of honey suckle, brier, rose, elder berry,apple, blue berries, any berry, have a ton of fruit trees, the prior owner had everything planted all over this piece.. its really a beautiful property, but it is time now to thin and open these prime species back to light again.. before we lose them all, mostly mature trees, just trying to add some bedding cover while doing so. 

 

I will make sure the poplar get cut to the ground, im pumped to do all the manual labor, excersize is much needed lol. plus hopefully get a desired outcome when all is said and done. should have it all afterwards, water, cover and lots of food, (year round) maybe even plant some hemlock and cedars for winter time? 

[Dingler]

I have started planting a bunch of pines, for cover and to break up one of the fields. I also planted apple and chestnut trees, waiting for them to produce fruit and nuts. But like I said needs to get some sun to the ground. Have a pond on the property as well, but not any small hidden water holes which I will be adding this spring. I do have a spot of old field regrowth that is coming along nice and is bedding area sometimes. Should I add to that spot by hinging and girdling trees next to it? Should I also add other pockets of bedding or just keep increasing the size of that spot and see what happens. I have a plan in my head and on paper, both look good for me, but not sure how the deer will react. Or because there is good bedding on the nieghbors, do I add a food source that is different than what is in the area by clearing the field I let grow up into golden rod, grasses and such.

[tjdusaf]

I would keep up with the regrowth areas by hinging trees as they begin to mature..... I know I waited to long on our property and some of those areas are beginning to canopy which diminishes the ground level brush.....

Hinge 7-8 trees in an out of the way area and check it throughout the winter to see if deer are bedding....!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dingler]

Sounds good. I have read whitetail success by design by Jeff Stugis. Good book, I just don't think I have the room on my specific property apply all of his ideas. I plan on adding things one at a time to see how they work or are working. Any other suggestions?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I would also research how to add and where to use switchgrasses. 

[LET EM GROW]

I would keep up with the regrowth areas by hinging trees as they begin to mature..... I know I waited to long on our property and some of those areas are beginning to canopy which diminishes the ground level brush.....

Hinge 7-8 trees in an out of the way area and check it throughout the winter to see if deer are bedding....!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

any certain direction to fall the tree? away or towards each other? or do you nott think it would matter?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

any certain direction to fall the tree? away or towards each other? or do you nott think it would matter?

make it the thickest nastiest area you can. When you get to the point where you say "no way in hell I am walking through that" it is almost thick enough...lol

Edited December 17, 2015 by Culvercreek hunt club

[tjdusaf]

any certain direction to fall the tree? away or towards each other? or do you nott think it would matter?

I wouldn't worry about direction in regrowth area... All you're doing there is keeping the sky open....

In bedding area, if you create one, you've read the drill, drop a bigger tree and pull some others on top of it!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dbHunterNY]

direction matters in some cases and in some areas you don't want to make it thick at all.  I've tried to pull some videos without typing a book.  I still have more a lot more to learn.  in some cases if you've got the space it helps to leave wide open patches of timber especially near that gully for access in and out clean or to simply get deer to travel from one defined spot to the other and not decide somewhere in between is good enough and camp out to watch for you coming or going.  also if you drop a path of those poplar in a particular direction in open timber deer will use it as a travel corridor.  even though it's cover nicer prime bedding setups are not far away so they'll just use it as travel cover.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAEu6RQQEbE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS3AyWkZvMw

[thphtm]

You want to make it so the deer can get into and around the hinge cut trees , cut them at least 5 ' off of the ground so the deer can walk under them also. An area with pines and hemlock will be good, they were hitting them hard by me last winter , they like to bed under them also.Any over grown apple trees can be cut back and thinned out in Jan. to March with out hurting them if you want to let some more light in.

I was trying to post the Above vid.'s but could not they are good.

Edited December 17, 2015 by thphtm

[LET EM GROW]

I was thinking the same as you guys are saying to, just needed the reassurance. Thanks Ill try and take some pictures maybe next time in there, before and afters are always fun. love doing chainsaw work. Just a first timer for hinge cutting .. looking forward to this. Thanks everyone. 

[growalot]

know any place to buy less expensive switch grass?...

[LET EM GROW]

not off the top of my head, besides checking kilburys or lacy's in arkport... there close by.. ive got a few seed company catalogs i can flip through.. was hoping thinning these woods would grow more "golden rod"... 

[Dingler]

How close can you safely put a tree stand next to a hinge cut area? I know it depends on cover and wind, but 20 yards for bow to close? Also if I cut 2 spots on the property and hinge cut between them as a transition area will it get used if its in a creek bottom? Then place stands on the transition area on the ridge tops? Just laying this plan out and it looks good on paper but not sure about real world.

[dbHunterNY]

it's important to give a little distance to hinge cut bedding.  you treat it just like a bedding area but it's just more defined.  it also depends on how well you can get in and out without alerting deer.  back off them and hunt preferred ways out the deer already use and where the wind is more predictable.  don't layout something on paper without mapping out where the deer are traveling and using spots first.  also you'd need to look into what's around for timber to harvest, hinge, or drop to fit that layout.  best to improve on what's already working for the deer.  pick some spots and try things first versus hit every spot the deer like.  that way if you're doing something off it won't screw with every good location you've got.

[Dingler]

The area I am thinking about working on is park like woods next to a seasonal grass area bedding area. I am thinking with some hinging and dropping some tree next to that I will increase the size of that spot from about a 1/2 acre to 1 acre. I then can hunt the north and south sides of that area depending on wind direction. I just dont know if it is better to block some of that seasonal grass area off in the middle with edge feathering or make it passable the whole length? On the other side of the season grasses is a open mowed field on two sides. Will this be a good idea? Or not? This property needs cover bad, just figured like was said to work with what I have going now and expand from there.

[dbHunterNY]

with 1 acre much if not all could be within range.  doe will fawn in there before season and bucks could use it for midday bedding cover.  I wouldn't do anything to it other than weed whack a very narrow trail down to dirt to encourage deer to walk where you want through it along a relatively straight path.  other than that trying to restrict movement of a deer will just make them skirt the area where they feel less confined/have more options for escape at any given point.  mowed fields don't have much draw as anything close to a primary food source unless it's a hay/ag field with say alfalfa.  park like woods sounds like bigger trees that can make 6' high over head cover.  figure out access both when and where that works first.  it all sounds pretty close.