The trail clearing debate....

[growalot]

Who's going to be out there, even during season, clearing trails to their stands/blinds ? I'm a trail clearing nut case ...crunch crunch crunch...snort snort snort... I can not stand a noisy trail.....it has gotten me more than a few archery buck... and countless doe over the years...and drives the guys trying to hunt my borders crazy...

[Zag]

Will do some before season but not during. A lot of our stands are close to 4wheeler trails that are in decent shape.

[wdswtr]

Absolute no no in my book.  Im well out of of my hunting spots at least a month before the season starts. 

[nyslowhand]

Tried keeping my approach paths completely cleared or groomed, ONCE! It's basically a losing battle with leaves, branches, wind, etc. Do get branches p/u pre-season. On my way out from the stand I might quietly remove any branches that have fallen onto the paths recently. Sure, there's some chance of crunch...snort, but I have other OCD items I focus on! LOL.

[Fletch]

I usually have them all cleaned out by now. Need to clean out all the sticks that fall over the year so I can ease in the dark quietly. During season I may now the one trail be find the house to some stands mid day when it's 80 out. I do that a few times year around and no issues.


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[ApexerER]

I don't do it. I think it is a good idea but I lease land with a group of guys. We post it well etc but none of us live there. I am 100% positive that at the very least there are people 4 wheeling on the property when we are not there and probably trespassing during hunting season. I don't want to leave a marked path to my treestands and trail camera's making them an easy mark to be swiped by trespassers.

[Jeremy K]

Everyone will wish they did on that first heavy frost mourning when it sounds like you're walking on light bulbs.

[Steuben Jerry]

I'm doing the last of my field and trail brush hogging between now and the end of September. Before I switch the brush hog to a plow blade, I usually run the trails with a york rake. Usually after most of the leaves have fallen.

I'm out with the tractor quite a bit, and I barely get a glance from deer unless I change up the cadence.

[NYBowhunter]

6 hours ago, wdswtr said:

Absolute no no in my book.  Im well out of of my hunting spots at least a month before the season starts. 

I agree, my last cut of plots, fields and trails was done first week in september. I wont go back on my property until the bow opener and wont go back in to cut with tractor until next spring.  

[growalot]

OCD is probably a good description...but in an area that has people mowing trails, farming cutting wood ..ect ...ect I find it really doesn't phase them ...I use to use the DR to clear them and had a 12 pt just step out of the brush and walk the trail directly in front of me ,just yards away....I followed him down that trail with the DR running for quite a ways before he went back into the woods....I now use the back pack Stihl leaf blower... Yesterday I cut up 3 15" trees across trails and 4 smaller trees...Nearly no wind all summer(unusual), now heavy breezes have started...We will get at least one rip roaring storm just before season opens. Haven't missed a single year here...one or two stands will need some repair and my trails will have at least 2 blocked. The only draw back is frost heaving in  late season...I'll get trails with 6 inch high ice crystals...then I just walk the edges of trails.

When I can walk to a stand in the dark and spook a buck bedded under it...have him run and then stomp back as I'm half way up the ladder,,,spook and come back again  then walk away....just to circle back to the stand in legal light for a 3 yrd shot...All because my foot steps didn't give me away... it's well worth the effort...

 

Edited September 17, 2016 by growalot

[Cabin Fever]

8 hours ago, growalot said:

but in an area that has people mowing trails, farming cutting wood ..ect ...ect I find it really doesn't phase them

I agree. Cam pics from last week kind of proves that too. The neighboring farmer has been doing a lot of work clearing the other side of this cornfield to make it larger. They've been running tractors, trailers, bobcats, bulldozers, UTV's, and vehicles up and down along the edge of the corn 50x/day hauling logs and stumps out of there. 33 min after his last trip of the day, got pics of a doe and 2 fawns walking the same path that the equipment used, and they didn't seem the least bit concerned.

Edited September 17, 2016 by Cabin Fever

[Buckstopshere]

I always clear a path to my stands, carefully. A quiet entrance and exit to the stand can be all important because the deer might not be too far away. And I try to walk softly and not pound my feet. I think they can "hear" or sense heavy boot stomping. That is one reason why they stamp their feet in alarm. It is another of their ways to communicate a warning or danger.

[turkeyfeathers]

We've got a long way in so no actual path clearing. I have however been toting the pruning shears and snipping branches on the way in to check cams. Trying to eliminate the prickers in the face and branches that may brush up against us leaving scent on them.

[Cabin Fever]

4 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

We've got a long way in so no actual path clearing. I have however been toting the pruning shears and snipping branches on the way in to check cams. Trying to eliminate the prickers in the face and branches that may brush up against us leaving scent on them.

I do the same thing. I always have my snippers with me when I go to check cams. Keeps trails nice.