Buckfever1613

While walking through tons and tons of very thick pines we came across a small bottom that never had been planted with pines. Most of the area had ferns and random plants that grow in wet soil but there was one oak. under the oak there were vines growing up to it. My question is should i clear everything out from under it and should i clear a small area around so deer can get in there easy or none of this. thanks for any help

kevin1

Check the ground first to see if the deer are going there and what for . They eat a wide variety of forbs , and when that oak drops it's acorns that's where you'll find the ones who are bedding in the pines . Don't disturb it until you check it , and even then consider leaving it alone .

hardcorehunter

They really only love white oaks; what kind of oak?HCH

DaveC

I'd leave well enough alone, look for deer sign and such, but as soon as you go in there and make it mo-betta they are going to know their area was fooled with.
A game camera might be a good scouting tool here.

If the oak is dropping white acorns the deer will find them vines or not.

Diesel77

Deer love to forage on red and white acorns and will find them even if there is some vegetation around the tree. A bumper crop on one good oak could bring big smiles during bow season to a lucky hunter.

VAhuntr

I hunt in and around a lot of planted pine. The one thing I loveto find isthose few oaks or a lone oak in the middle of a pine thicket. You may have found yourself a little personal goldmine!

Xtec Shooter

I would not touch one bit of. The deer are used to the way it is and will probably prefer it to stay that way.

Buckfever1613

WHen i found this tree i was cutting trails for the deer to walk through the pines. should i continue a trail to the oak or leave it alone.

mauser06

you made it sound like a very very large stand of pines almost. if so, and theres just that one littttttle patch thats not a pine thicket, i am almost leaning towards first, checking for deer sign. if theres no deer in the area i doubt you can really attract much to the spot. BUT it COULD be their bedding area. it will make sneaking in TOUGH but if your smart and stealthy about sneaking in its probably doable. if thats the case im almost for clearing the ferns somehow, someway, and planting a small food plot around the oak tree. i dont know how thick the pines are around the oak though. if theres enough sunlight it might work. that way theres food available there longer then when the oak drops. the ferns kinda tell you 2 things. the deer ate all the other plants that at one time might have grown there(here we see that pretty oven, over browsing) or it might mean nothing but ferns will grow because there is not enough sunlight reaching the forest floor. it kinda all depends if there are deer in the immediate area. whats around the pines?? how large is the stand of pines? is there deer there?? im hoping so since your clearing paths. and i hope its your land or you are allowed to do such a thing! lol. good luck with it. it could already be an awesome spot for fall if theres deer there and they come to eat the oats. but if theres deer im almost betting they bed in the pines. it could be a hit or miss kinda deal. although one tree can drop a good bit of food, its seasonal and they may not head there every day.

Buckfever1613

Mauser here is a picture of the area i am talking about. it is our land so we can got and do whatever.

The pic is kind of small but the area in yellow is the pines and the whole pine area is probably 45 acres or so. Then the orange in the middle is the bottoms with a few hardwoods and the oak. The green are our food plots and the blue is a beaver dam. and the pink is a trail we were cutting for the deer to use.