X_Rayted35

When the season ends Im planning on logging all of my pines over about 75 acres. Theres tons of deer in there but theres just no open places for a stand. Im going to leave all my hard woods up and only take the pines. I also wont replant so probably no need to spray poison like they did for pines they replanted 5 years ago. I assume they will burn the underbrush as well. Heard burning basically turns the area into a massive food plot. Hopefully I can get some good brier growth too.

If I log in February will my Deer come back by September? Or should I just write off hunting that half of my land next season?

ModernPrimitive

I'd guess if there are tons of deer there now, they may be using the pines as cover.

No pines-no cover.

Deer do adapt quickly, you'll just have to adapt to their new usage patterns.

Ridge Runner

if it were me, I'd have them push them out to remove the stumps, then let it green up then spray and plant with some sort of food source, once the ground is laid bare and especialy where they burn, every seed that's been in the ground for years will germinate and grow, mostly thistles and wild roses, will grow up into a worse thicket than you have now. just my thoughts
RR

Father Forkhorn

I'd thin them, not remove them. They provide cover.

If you thin them, you'll also get new growth that would be attractive to deer as browse.

Wisco94

When we had ours logged it grew up so thick you can't see more than 5 feet in most of what was logged. Really helped the hunting.

MaineRida

I believe you will have deer to hunt next season since you are leaving the hardwoods. If you have a mast crop i.e. acorns they will come. I would bet that each year it will get better. If you end up with a few level skidder roads I would keep them bush hogged to provide shooting lanes.

X_Rayted35

its a pretty even mix of pines and hardwoods. Most of the Oaks are bigger than the pines. So if I removed the Pines it shouldnt hurt their cover too much. There shouldnt be any gaping openings because the Hardwoods are so well mixed with the pines. Also it should let my smaller Oaks grow so even more acorns. I just want to open it up where I can place a stand or two. The pines I can do without since they dont drop delicious acorns.

This is kinda what it looks like. Probably has never been logged before. Fear my awesome art skills.
Green=Pine
Brown=HardWood

rockport

Logging usually helps hunting from my experience unless your removing something that was actually holding the deer.

What kind of pine trees are we talking here? Like full all the way to the ground or just branches towards the top?

Either way it certainly shouldn't make the property unhuntable for a year.

Wingbone

I had my land logged a few years ago. As soon as the logger quit work for the day, they'd be in there feeding on the tops. Logging, if done right, will improve your habitat. If done wrong, will take your land years to recover. Unless you are an experienced forester, I'd recommend hiring one. I hired a professional to do mine, explained what I wanted, and let him mark the trees and manage the cut. The result was my deer habitat improved. Forestry is a science, logging is not. Hire a professional.

Oldtimr

You didn't say where you live so we don't know the weather. Pines provide thermal shelter that is not available from hardwoods. The property I hunt has fields, hardwoods and a big stand of mature pines. When it is real cold and you walk into the pines there is a big difference in temp. The deer use these pines for shelter from both cold and rain and when they are presured both on the property and surounding properties, they go to the pines. If you have a choice, I would thin the pines instead of taking the whole stand, The choice is yours and either way, I doubt you will lose your deer. Sounds like a nice property.