Just to be clear - the logger was pointing to his lower leg. I believe that he was saying that a 6 inch tree was OK and a 12 inch tree would eventually turn you into mush.

I'm a 3rd generation logger, i do hand cutting and mechanized. You are right on about small stuff, if you cut a big tree like that it's called a barber chair and it will kill you. As far as bore cutting and open face notch, i do it all the time for directional felling large and small trees, but until you get used to it watch out. I would never slash trees like that, i would simply harvest them in the winter, let the deer eat the tops, then they can eat the sprouts that grow back from a neat low cut stump, over the next several years. Plus you get the money from the stumpage, and will have an even growth forest coming back that will be harvestable again. Our deer camp drives my old clear-cut jobs and they have plenty of cover/food in that brush.

I don't see the reasoning to hinge cutting hardwood, the tree dies so it does nothing but possibly provide a comfort zone for a short period, if you leave the tops it would do just the same thing. the stumps will still sprout and provide the browse, even if you clean the trees up, the deer will come to browse.
as far as backcutting with a chainsaw, it works well as long as the top edge of the tip does not contact the tree from the 10 till 12 o'clock position on the tip. I make a living in the fall with a chainsaw, if I hinge cut, its because another tree is hung up in it, sometimes they lay down easy sometimes it gets pretty violent. always use common sense, evaluate the situation before you start the saw.
RR

I think I read maples were the best trees or maybe certain hardwoods vs. pines.

I believe I read 2-3ft above the ground and trees diameter 3-5" ideal.

Personally I'd hing them in the spring, not now...

definitely can help add cover.

also if you're clearing trees, rather than cutting them completely down, why not hinge cut them?

one patch of woods we use to hunt naturally had a big oak fall every year or 2 and that alone created cover and did notice deer seem to like that area.

I cut my fire wood in the winter and leave the tops for the deer till spring. I have a lot of green stuff come up from that in the spring that the deer could browse on but they seem to prefer the corn fields. Surprising what the new combines let go straight thru.

Al

If you hinge cut properly, the trees live quite a long time. Thus it creates a living brushpile effect that has a built in buffet table, that deer can typically maneuver through and under. My buddy did a section at his place about 10yrs ago...its a great bedding area.

Absolutely right WV hunter, that is the whole point of leaving the hinge, so some nutrition continues to get to the tree. Otherwise, it would make no sense to do it.

look at it like this, cut the tree down, drag it out, when you bare the ground at spring greenup, every seed in the ground will now germinate and grow. hinge cut it and you have a bit of browse and will still take a full year to get ground cover.
RR

However, when you hinge cut you have food right now and in the spring from that tree and you have regeneration on the ground where it was opened up to sunlight, and you create some cover.

leaving the tops does the same exact thing, not much cover around a 6" stump, just opening the ground to sunlight isn't much for regeneration if you don't bare the ground, 4" of dead leaves slows regeneration down just as much as not cutting the trees to start with
RR