Cutover affect on deer
 

I have a small piece of land here in NC that is currently being logged. How will this affect deer movement for the upcoming season? Some underbrush is being left, but once the leaves come off, their won't be much cover besides neighbors properties.

Just want others thoughts on this.

RE: Cutover affect on deer
 

Depends if they are selectively logging or clear cutting. This year it MAY hurt it a bit depending on how cleared out things are. But my experience has been when our hunting area was logged out the first year things were pretty much the same. The following years were awesome because after you remove some trees, brush starts growing and the cover gets very thick! Deer love it. If you have a say get the loggers to leave the tree tops to help with cover.

RE: Cutover affect on deer
 

Also depends on if they burn it or not. If they burn it the deer will flood in to get the new growth.. If the replant it, it will be think in about 3 or 4 years and deer will use it as bedding areas..

RE: Cutover affect on deer
 

Generally I see bedding areas in clear cuts, and if there is new growth they will quickly come in to eat it. If there is any kind of pressure though they generally use the clear cuts only at night.

RE: Cutover affect on deer
 

It should be darn good with the new growth! Deer will flock to it!

RE: Cutover affect on deer
 

I would have tosay that I disagree. Mostcut-downs(after a few years of beingclear cut) are far more thicker thanwoods.You get a good 3-4 year old cut down that also has water in it (low areas) and you have a mess on your hands trying to get the deer to leave it.

RE: Cutover affect on deer
 

strutntom; You are correct that a good 3-4 year old cut down will hold deer for a good long while, but his is currently being cut and he was asking how it would be for the upcoming season not 3-4 years from now.

RE: Cutover affect on deer
 

The first year of a clear cut can be hit and miss! The deer will be coming to the new growth food like a magnet! But, with the lack of cover, a lot of the activity is at night!

RE: Cutover affect on deer
 

Well I see there is some mixed opinions. I would have to agree that come November, it being a fresh clearing, the deer will more than likely use it mostly at night. I kind of had the deer figured out just by looking at sign this past January. I can probably expect the same travel routes with leaves still on trees during bow season, but just have to see once muzzle and gun rolls around.

The next couple of years, once the undergrowth starts coming back heavier would be perfect to get high in a tree where you could easily see deer slipping through the head high new growth.

RE: Cutover affect on deer
 

I used to hunt a tree farm that the paper co. owned.Pines,hardwoods and creek bottoms.One year they clear cut a few 5 acre lots of pines,and a good many acres of the hardwoods--right after bow season.They left alot of the tops on the ground.the following spring I went to check out the "damage".There were so many deer in those tops,new growth was everywhere and that fall I had the best bow hunting I ever had there