Depends on what is there and what is around you. Food, water, cover. If good cover exists for bedding then start with a food plot or water pits, etc. they are all important. Figure out what you have around you and fill in the holes.
Have you experimented with creating bedding areas? We have several foodplots, and watering holes. We have cover, it's just less attractive then an autumn olive field or swamp. It's a 11 acre scotch pine area that used to be a tree farm. The rest of the property is pretty much hardwoods or river bottoms. But the scrub pines don't offer good bedding or food.
You summed it up pretty well. Pines aren't worth much to a whitetail deer. The more that you can open the area up and get some food sources in them which will be a challenge as pines are so acidic, but you have to start somewhere. It sounds like a long term project, many years of work but doable. Get a plan together, fire up the chainsaw and get out there, and follow your plan. You will have to make it turn into what you want it to be.
So just thin out the pines? I know deer like to be able to bed down and feel secure but also like to be able to see, especially downwind since they obviously can't smell anything coming from downwind. The biggest thing our property needs is bedding, the mature bucks only hit our property in the morning, usually just passing through. We would like it to be their bedding area so the are on our property during the daylight more often.
Hinge cutting and making areas that they can feel secure in. Just a pine tree doesn't do it. Remember a deer is a lot closer to ground level than a human is and they look under a pine tree most of the time. We think that there is lots of cover. Make some deadfalls and areas that they can truly feel safe and secluded in.
I have not created bedding areas. I would think you could hinge cut some of the pines and make some nice areas. Make some nice set ups between there and food plots.
I learned a lot from these couple of guys. Go to youtube and search Extreme Deer Habitat. They go into depth on how and where to make doe and buck bedding areas
Pines won't hinge cut successfully, they generally will break. The best thing to do with pines is thin it out enough to get a lot of golden rod and other vegetation to grow up. Once thick at a deers eye level it should draw bedding.
Scotch pines are a weed the wood is worthless they are not native and they offer no cover. Take out every other row and then every other pine in the rows that are left. Probably won't be able to do that but it would help to allow some brush to take over.
The scotch pines we have are all still young so they are very dense and offer a lot of cover. It's to thick for them to even try to bed down in. It's a useless 8 acres that is unhuntable. I have watched all of Jim ward, Jeff sturgis, and Jim braukers videos on youtube. Pines trees are hard to hinge cut, luckily with scotch mines their canopies possess so many branches that when you fell them they offer good cover for a deer to bed up against but it creates an impassable wall. But then there is still the problem of it offering nothing but cover. Ideally I would like to incorporate a good food source in the bedding area or near it. I have also thought about planting switchgrass. It's just a little expensive for how much I would need. I will have to try thinning them over the winter and seeing how that goes.
I actually only own 15 acres of land but it is a magnet for nice deer all season. Number 1, it lays nicely in a valley with two funnels. I have been able to develop a pond at each end of it to create a heavy travel corridor. I also planted 3 acres of soybeans this year but normally it is turnips and a small area of clover. Over the past couple years I have started to cut out the locust trees which took over the property. Since eliminating the locust I have a jungle growing in the middle of the property, a big bedding area in which I can literally drive by deer as the lye down in the over grown weeds and small saplings. I have turned a super small property into a deer magnet. The deer used to bed on the ridge above but I have noticed they are now not leaving my small block of security. Opening night I had 23 deer come to my beans, 7 being bucks, 1 of those was a giant. While I know many of those deer aren't bedding on my property the fact that they are coming to my property says I have everything they need to survive.
What state are you in? I have heard of people picking up small plots of land like that and turning it into a heaven for mature bucks or does which inevitably will lead to bucks being on the property during the rut. Do you film any of your hunts?
What part of Michigan are you in? Sandy soil? rocky? Could try growing some native grasses and wildflowers for bedding and a food source around the pines. I know we just planted some white pines for a visual cover but they back up to some tall native grasses and a bean plot. If you don't have any fruit trees on the property that could be a good source of food as well, apple and pear trees.
I would not remove the pines in rows... ...while they are providing very little use for the deer they do grant you one thing; sight blocking. Which is a key security component for a deer to feel secure...now you don't want to 100% lock out their entire sight and make them feel trapped but it does help them feel safe. I'd go through and thin that stand of pines out rather aggressively....leaving clusters of 4-9 of them in rough circles or pockets. These pockets appear more naturally oriented and occurring as they would in nature. Depending on their size small clusters with bottom branches cut out could still yield a small amount of thermal cover for in the winters. You could even rough up the ground in and around these clusters and throw high dosage of clover/chicory down. You aren't looking for a lush plot but some will pop, fight back some of the weeds and provide security cover food source and bedding option in and around the pines (which is inside of your bedding area). The only rows I'd leave of pines is to represent the borders of the designed bedding areas. While it isn't as "natural" it gives a sight line break that you and the deer will associate with the sanctuary. This edge also will provide a slight sight barrier for things inside to not see out as well (good thing for hunting ). Inside this bedding area disc it up, and let's see what natural seeds are lying dormant. You might be shocked at how awesome this area will become and thick with natural brows and growth of grasses, weeds and such and tree seedlings. If you want you could even throw in some big blue stem or thinly sprinkle switchgrass in to help diversify the cover and brows options. I don't recommend planting Autumn Olives as they are not native and can take over...but look into other options in the shrub or short tree/bush variety for your area. Just a few quick thoughts. Pines are great but a highly congested areas of pines simply isn't doing much for you.
To add to it...diversify the food options....food plots are the knee jerk and often times the only thing people think about. Don't be afraid to brush hog and disc up small "plots" but don't plant anything, let the dormant seed bed just explode and deer love the variety that pops! Hinging over a preferred brows tree like a maple or even a young oak that needs thinned can produce a ton of food for the deer at their level...and steer the deer even if used with a purpose.
This is what we are dealing with, the small pines picture was from a few years ago and they have grown a bit but really filled in. Thanks for the advice I have been thinking about how to do all these things you guys are suggesting all day at work, I love it.
