Clear-cut hunting land
 

the land that i hunt on is in the process of being clear cut by the loggers. they started 1 and 1/2 years ago and the land they started with is now over run by 7 foot tall popple trees. ive heard that the deer will graze on these all winter, but so far we havent or havent been able to see any deer doing this. They just finished doing some selective cutting near my deer stand and are done for the year i hope that doesnt have to great of an effect on the deer behavior. I dont think it should because my stand is like a peninsula of hardwoods surrounded by swamp and bedding area. the Zone T hunt and the Youth hunt are only 2 weeks away. anyone have experience hunting on logged land, any info is greatly appreciated.
thanks

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

I lease some land to a guy. I had some of it logged but told him in advance. He was upset until I explained to him that logged land can be great because of new growth, etc... Well they got finished logging the land about a month and a half ago and he has killed 3 deer in the cut over since. Cut overs can be a great place to hunt and I always have stands placed near and around them. Good Luck!! -- CDH

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

If anything the clearcuts will improve your deer habitat. There is actually a lot more food sources in the cutovers than in older timber. I have been hunting around clearcuts many, many years and have no problems with it. I am also the culprit behind a lot of clearcuts in N.W. Florida. I' m putting together sales on about 4,000 acres of clearcuts for next year at this time.

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

Back during the hunting season of 2001 they clearcut our lease during the season. Needless to say we didn' t see any deer with logging equipment sitting around but......the following year we saw deer everywhere. Clear cutting older timber does provide a lot more food sources and bedding areas for the deer. It is a good thing. Maybe not the best for this year because the new growth won' t get started until the spring but be ready for next year!!!

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

I hunted a property last year that was exactly as you describe. Those clear cuts with the 7' popple trees were absolutely amazing on the gun openner. Dozens of deer were flooding into them when the guns started going off on the surrounding properties. Midday a couple real nice bucks met there demise in there and deer were seen every day they were hunted. You have to get a good vantage point,, the more area you can see down into, the better. The intersection of multiple cuts is perfect. GREAT place for one of those 20' high outhouses!:D

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

do you think it would be worth it to do a srive through it? i thought they might bed in there but probably not because it is near a lot of swamp what do you think?

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

:D Clear cut area are good for rutting season.
Lots of little bushes for horning and usually its good and
brushy, hint good for cover

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

Seems like everyone likes clear cuts. Let me say this a deer enters a clear cut looks all around him and it is nothing but small trees and thinks he is protected. Deer in clear cuts feel surrounded by trees and undergrowth and let there guard down which is good for us. If i had to hunt 1 type of land the rest of my life it would be clear cuts. GREAT LAND

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

Also the deer like to eat the fresh leaves from the tops of the trees since they normally can not get them. 2 weeks ago, I had cut down a few saplings and later that day, a spike went by (he' s safe in PA) and I watched him eat the leaves from the trees I just cut down. Also, it opens up the hunting lands and should give you some more open land.

Good luck....

Tomster

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

Clear cuts are great if they are done right, around me we have had a few loggers(atleast that is what they think they are) come in and cut, but then they leave a mess. The deer don' t go into the clear cut because they can' t walk with all the tops and ruined land. Just make sure if ya have someone clear cut your land, make them clean up there mess. Other wise it could make an impact on the deer, bad impact that is.

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

Another deadly tactic with clear cuts is to go out in the middle and put in a couple of food plots, then you have food and cover. If you can catch it just right all of the overturned soil makes a great planting bed as long as it is still pretty soft and freshly turned.

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

We clear cut some of our land about a year and a half ago. I sat in the stand that over looks it a couple of times lat year and only saw a few deer. However, now that it has grown up a little ...... WOW !!! Gun season opened here in Georgia last weekend !!! BAM !!! Took 3 does opening morning !!!!!!!! I have sat there waiting on a mature buck on and off for the past week and I have seen deer almost every time I have been in the stand. My opinion ..... Deer will utilize a clear cut all day long..as long as it has grown up a little bit. They can seek shelter there , bed there , and the rut here is in full swing and they are using it for that too I might add.

RE: Clear-cut hunting land
 

I was born and raised in Northern Wisconsin and a tactic a lot of guys working in the woods would use is at the end of the working day they would just wait quietly at the job site until all of the others had left. At that point the deer would begin to drift into the area to feed on the tops of the freshly felled trees. Yes clear cuts and other timbered over areas are great.