Hinge cutting.
 

A friend of mine spent the week before Christmas with the flu in bed. Said he watched a sportsman show and they were cutting hinge cuts in trees about 4 to 5 feet above the ground and pushing the trees over to make safe bedding areas for deer.

He is well now and cutting a bunch of trees like they did. I saw it and said he sure was making a mess in the woods and how could the deer bed in there and be safe from other than maybe poachers. No way a coyote can't get in there and/or wolves for that mater if you have wolves or if the government decide to turn some loose in your area.

Whatca think?

Found this on the net.
https://www.qdma.com/articles/create...-hinge-cutting


:D Al

if it was cedars, I is done here mostly for late winter browse and cover for small game.
RR

IMO any cover is good cover for all game...

Lot of decent vids on youtube about hinge cutting. Seems to make sense in certain applications - winter browse, channeling game, creating possible bedding and such.

There is a guy that seems to be the main authority on this, he has posted here (bioactive) and is a regular on the qdma site. You should look at his vids.

EDIT - The man's name is Jim Brauker. Google/youtube his name or "extreme dear habitat." Given the way the rest of this thread has gone, I should point out that he is extremely safety oriented.

The PGC does some thing like that and call it Deer Focus Areas. The deer sure like to hide in them places. Its the way they justified cutting down the oak trees.

I'm looking at their recommended cut and IMO it is a broken bone waiting to happen. You really have to think of that tree as a giant spring. A lot of stored energy the way they are cutting.

I wouldn't do it, not on purpose.

I've seen 6-10 ton trees pop an jump, spring loaded like that. Especially if they have fallen across another tree making a fulcrum.

I watched a guy get flipped 10-15 yards through the air dealing with tornado damaged forest. Made me a believer.

When we are cutting, the first order of business is to release the stress. Not to fell tress with built in stress.

No it is not the way they justified cutting down oak trees. The PGC has been doing it for decades, the hinge on the tree when cut allows the tree to continue to get sap ad part of the tree will live, it provides both food and shelter. It is an old method of providing both food and shelter. It also opens the canopy so there will be regeneration of new trees and shrubs that deer and other species use.

Once again you don't know what you are talking about! They don't do it with huge trees and there is no spring in the trees after they are cut to make them pop up. Try just once not to comment on things you only pretend to know about!

He can sure come up with some winners and that may be the best one yet! Springing back up, LOL!

All I got to say is for those not really familiar on how timber acts when cut, be very careful.

And for the other two, I hope they do just that way repeatedly and find out the hard way.