coolbrze0

Was bushhogging and cutting some trees at the farm yest. and saw 8 deer. 2 of which were monster 8 and 10 pointers. Much bigger than the norm in VA. They were bedded down in the 90+ degree heat next to a treeline near where I'm bushhogging. If I bushhog all the fields, they will probably look for cover elsewhere won't they?

kevin1

They may take off for now , but if the cover you leave behind is enough they should return until just before the rut sets in . A lot depends on the availble cover on the surrounding land , and how much you remove from yours . Next year when the new growth is coming up you'll have even more there to feed on it .

cardeer

Last year I was setting on the fround in bow season .There was grown up old fields. All I could see was brush moving as the deer went through. So I took my tractor with a snow plow on the fron and just knocked the grush down. The next day I shot one as the herd came thru.never bothered them. I just left a small edge of brush adjoining the hard woods

uncle matt

cool, although you took away some of their cover, you are also encouraging fresh growth from what you hogged. They might stray off and come back as the new growth comes in if there are plants they'll eat. If that's the case, here's what we do on the farm. Brush hog "lanes" so that cover remains and new growth can take place.

Jimmy S

I have found as the seasons change, so do the deer. Food source being the main factor. The deer may or may not be in that area as Summer turns to Autumn, regardless of what changes you made to the land.

NY Bowhunter

Actually it could work to your advantage. Same thing happened to me once. The farmer on the land I hunt decided to cut every bit of swail in the fields (4) that was out there on opening day of bowseason. I had been scouting all summer and had a pretty darn good bead on a couple good locations where I could get a shot at a nice buck on the edge of the fields. Well that all went to h*&% in one day (so I thought).
What happened in my case was it funelled the deer through the hedges and narrow parcels of woods seperating the open fields. It took a little time to pattern them with the new structure of the surroundings, but it really pushed them to these spots bigtime. I would still see deer out in the open cut fields and they were definitely using it. But, mr. big that wants to hold tight to cover may be redirected to a different route through the land. One thing is for sure that you have going for you........... they are still around. Just gotta find them. Good luck to ya.

Rebel Hog

They have to havesome cover, don't bush hog all of it, unless you
plan to plant a Feild Pea Crop.