Hey guys, just wanted to know your opinion.I have hunted this piece of property for 5 or 6 years now, that is fairly large about 700 acres and there is only 3-5 of us. It is in the hardwood region. It has been cherry picked through, going on for the last 6 years. It is part of a much larger farm and the farmer says he isn't in the business of growing trees he is in the business of cows. So, he has had much of the acreage that is suitable for pasture clear cut and the rest cherry picked. He has not cleaned out the clear cut areas and turned them into fields and not sure he is going to now that they are over taken. So, the clear cuts now are all grown up over your head so you can't see through them, walk through them or even consider setting a stand to look over top of them. The cherry picked areas are starting to get the same way with briers and seedlings. I have 2 box stands and have been checking them lately to see their condition to get ready for gun season in November (bow season I am running into the same problem but will end up moving my ladder and lock on stands to hopefully get in a area that will be good early season bow hunting). Unfortunately what you used to be able to hunt the area from the stands you are now limited to just the immediate area at the stands. Do you guys recommend that you clear out the brushy areas so that you can get longer shooting lanes then 20 yards, or open up your immediate area a little more and try to lure the deer through that area via funnels, or do you think that you should not do anything and work on trying to find other areas that may be more suitable? I realize this will help the bucks in the end, but will hurt me being able to effectively hunt that property for several years. Has anyone run across this problem and what did they do? Is there soemthing that I should be focusing on and taking advantage of the thick growth restricting the deers travels? What should I be looking for new bedding areas and feeding areas to take advantage of? Thanks for the opinions

I'd try this thread in the bowhunting forum.. Lot of guys know there stuff over there.

Thanks RockinChair will try that. New to the forum and really enjoy it. Thanks

I would take either a dozer or a heavy bushhog and knock some shooting lanes in 3 or 4 directions from your stands. Then use a sprayer with herbacide to keep them open each year.

I would love to do that. My consulting forestry company had a Fecon mulching head we used on a job on a park and I asked the guy if i could grind out the clear cuts and he didn't want me to. He said he was going to get them. But doubt he will since they are over head high now. I can get away with using a brush weedeater to clear out the area around the stand or lanes, but was wondering if anyone ran into a problem with doing clearing out deals this close to season. It would take a good afternoon to get them cleared out enough to see, but my main concern was doing more harm then good... Plus I guess I really shouldn't make too much damage to someone else's property.

Well if you can't do any clearing I would hunt the edges. Do a little light scouting around the edges where the cutover meets the standing tall timber and you should be able to find your entry and exit trails the deer are using. I would guess they are using the thick stuff for bedding. HUNT THE EDGES and stay out of the thick stuff unless you are going to clear a large area and put a food plot in it.

eerdog, I wouldn't worry about disturbing the deer. I hunt thick areas that have mountain laurel and I often cut paths through the Laurel, only to have deer start using it immediately. I cut a trail one day and marked it here and there with surveyors tape. I came back 3 days later to hunt it and the deer were already using it! One buck made a rub on a thick stalk of laurel, literally rubbing my surveyor's tape off the laurel I had marked.

Deer are lazy and they will take the easiest path as long as it makes them feel comfortable to travel through. After you make a trail, put a camera off to the side and see how long it takes them to use it. Try to identify areas they are already traveling through and improve the trails. Then go off to the side of the trail, find a good tree with proper wind and cut a shooting lane from your stand to the trail. I would rather be set up in an area like that and know deer are coming through than see for several hundred yards where they might come through.

Thanks for your thoughts there. I actually did a little clearing with a brush weeder a few weeks back. Nothing in regards to massive shooting lanes I just cleared out sections to help expand the view and gain smaller shooting lanes. Our gun season comes in Thanksgiving week, so we will see. Bow season now and haven't been successful as of yet. Did shoot a turkey on Saturday with the bow the first day of turkey season for us. That was my first and only 2nd turkey so was tickled to death. A lot of last year's deer on our property, and smaller bucks. We will see how things turn out the rest of the season and into gun season. Thanks