Under brush

[Dom]

Was heading out to do some scouting on a piece of private land and this place was over grown with thorn bushes and very thick.i followed a few deer paths and had to back out because of no saw/pruner in my pocket.I would like to cut some back to have better chances what or how much cutting would you do?Also what kinda saw/pruner do you suggest/cannot use power equiptment ====

[Hunter007]

44 minutes ago, Dom said:

Was heading out to do some scouting on a piece of private land and this place was over grown with thorn bushes and very thick.i followed a few deer paths and had to back out because of no saw/pruner in my pocket.I would like to cut some back to have better chances what or how much cutting would you do?Also what kinda saw/pruner do you suggest/cannot use power equiptment ====

The best you can afford. 

With out power tools that's going to be a pain for you . 

[DirtTime]

Folding camp saw, branch trimmer, and maybe a decent machete. But #1 is a good first aid kit in the pack. Even being super careful accidents can happen, especially while swinging a machete.

 

As for how much to trim, I would go as little as possible, some of those thicker areas may be hiding places or bedding areas for deer. Sometimes, best left alone in my humble opinion.

[rachunter]

If its real thick you can use that to your advantage by making paths go where you want the deer to move[pasted a treestand] I've done this for years and you'd be surprised how fast they start using them.I would make them wide enough for me and my gear to walk through without hitting any branches.

[Robhuntandfish]

The lease I have would be unhuntable if the landowner didn't keep a couple trails cut.  Most of the rest is so thick you can't hardly get thru it.  

He went and cut trails in it and keeps it mowed down.  

The thing is you can cut that brush but it will grow back in quickly , so unless you keep maintaining it next year will be the same.  But we cut a lot with just a folding hand saw and breaking branches over.  

We cut a deer trail in an area last year and it got a lot of use and this year couldn't even tell where it was.  So I cut another in that area.   

But we go in with a pole saw and a hand saw each every year and trim what needs to be done before hunt season.  A day or two of hard work but it is worth it.  

[Doc]

20 hours ago, Storm914 said:

The best you can afford. 

With out power tools that's going to be a pain for you . 

And if those "thorn bushes" happen to be multi-flora rose, the "pain" comment above can be taken literally. Those things are man-traps.....lol.

[Doc]

And a word of caution: If you cannot use power equipment because you are cutting on state land be advised that the state does not allow any cutting at all on state owned lands (hand tools or power equipment).

[Lawdwaz]

56 minutes ago, Doc said:

And a word of caution: If you cannot use power equipment because you are cutting on state land be advised that the state does not allow any cutting at all on state owned lands (hand tools or power equipment).

He's on private ground

[Lawdwaz]

Lots of options.......the nipper with the green handle (pruning shears) can do a lot of work fast with little baggage.  The small folding saws are invaluable. 

 

[Dom]

Yea!this is private land the reason for not using power tools is to not disturb animals as I do this project.This is anew piece that I will be scouting as I cut my way in.The map landowner gave me shows 2 wide open areas in the middle this will be mostly a foot path for myself.

[moog5050]

You will disturb the animals by just having your scent in new areas.  Plenty of time for them to adjust.   If you can use a brush hog for paths, I would do it.  Otherwise I would grab a chain saw and slowly rip through it.  I have cut quite a few ATV trails doing the same thing.   I also like a gas trimmer with a blade for the low stuff but be careful of kickback.  

I have some very think property and did probably 3/4 mile of ATV trails with the chainsaw and gas trimmer but I wish I had borrowed the brush hog first.  My buddy did one trail for me in 10 min that would have taken hours.   I still cleaned it up afterwards but was way easier including through multiflora.  

Also used a hand held lopper as needed and when I ran out of gas. Works fine on everything under an inch or so just slower.  

Edited August 26, 2018 by moog5050

[Lawdwaz]

2 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

Lots of options.......the nipper with the green handle (pruning shears) can do a lot of work fast with little baggage.  The small folding saws are invaluable. 

 

A quick tip for those looking for a tip........notice the orange painted and blue painted handles.  Sometimes if paint is handy I'll spray a different color that won't blend in with foliage if dropped or lost.  I like bright yellow too........My step starter is painted orange also as it is/was black iron.

[coonhunter]

You say you are using them for walking paths. Know now that the deer are going to be using these same paths without a doubt. Use this fact to your advantage when you set up your stands.

 

[Lawdwaz]

31 minutes ago, coonhunter said:

You say you are using them for walking paths. Know now that the deer are going to be using these same paths without a doubt. Use this fact to your advantage when you set up your stands.

 

Valuable point.......

[BizCT]

Atv and drag a tire


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[G-Man]

battery powered sun joe chainsaw 40volt battery. i have a 40 volt pole trimmer as well gave up on hand tools. on sale now with additional 15% off on the web site .. you wont regret it

[Doc]

We have a lot of logging that goes on here, and I have heard from loggers that a chain saw can act as a "deer call". They often associate chain saws with food because it means that tops are now on the ground for eating. So motorized items do not necessarily mean spooked deer.

I have seen the same thing with ATVs. They often will lay right in place and never even move.