How long will it take for them to change?

[Illinois Buck Hunter]

Our family farm is being logged this year. It started in early November, and they have taken a pretty good chunk out of it so far. All in all there is about 180 acres of timber that they will be going through taking the mature trees out of. That covers about half of the property with the other half being crop fields and some old pastures.

So my question is this. I know that the deer patterns are probably going to change some with the tree tops laying down, oak trees missing, and just the woods looking different.

How long do you think it will take for the deer to get adjusted to using the property again? I hope to be hitting the woods pretty heavily from mid January-March scouting and shed hunting.

[Vabowman]

they will adjust as soon as the logging trucks are gone for good.. over the next 3 -4 yrs you will see deer everywhere...forget old stands...new bedding areas will there and new feeding areas could be as well...

[Illinois Buck Hunter]

Yea I am feeling pretty good about the future of the land. Our bedding areas are minimal compared to the neighbors, and the deer were mainly using our lands to access the corn and bean fields, and we are also putting in some clover and turnip plots in some areas we werent able to get into before.

[MarkfromNWMO]

I have a piece of ground in NW MO that a neighbor did the same thing. All their timber bordered a lot of my property and I thought that would really screw up the deer.... Had quite the opposite effect. alot of huge piles of treetops in the deer bed in and feel safe around. I regularly watch the deer climb up into the piles making all kinds of racket. This was done 3 years ago... deer were effected in a positive way in my opinion

[muzzyman88]

We've timbered our property off and on for a good many years. It's being timbered in sections over the course of several years. No doubt about it, it will improve your ground in a hurry. Like mentioned above, it will require you to do your homework all over again.

One thing I have always noticed, from looking at past notes I keep is that the deer patterns evolve as the area that was cut changes. The first year or two, depending on how much sunlight reaches these areas doesn't usually see a lot of daylight activity. As new sprouts shoot up and these areas get thicker and thicker, you'll start seeing more and more deer in them in daylight hours. Deer patterns will change as the amount of cover changes.

After a few years of regeneration, it'll get thicker than heck. Thats when it will be at its best. Lots of cover and quality food. But I'll warn you, its tough hunting when it gets really choked.

Also, when you're scouting these areas, look for the edges where the cutting stopped. Find good trails to and from the cut along the edges.