one thing i am finding out this year with my new lease is that the deer seem to migrate away to diffrent propertys with winter months rolling in. the property was amazing all year and through the rut, but the last few weeks i have noticed that things are starting to thin out with deer sightings and pictures ( this is not because of pressure or lack of food). With talking to the farmer and just kind of what i have gathered this year the wood are pretty thin as lack of cover. with the cold months approaching i think they move to diffrent properties with more cover for the cold. does this sound like it could be right? but my question is does any one have any ideas on what i could do to help add cover and bedding areas in the woods for these deer.
:D Honestly working the ground is something I almost love just as much as the actual hunt. Believe it or not we've transformed (actually still am) my parents small 9 acres of woods to attract deer to it year round. Winter cover is "crucial" if you're a late season hunter, or just desire to keep deer around when old man winter hits. There are tons of options but as with anything you have long term options/solutions and short term. Some of the short term will yield good results quickly while they also encourage long term great results. -Hinging trees if possible. Hinging trees can do many different things. It provides ground level browse for the deer, BIG food source for whitetails. It provides a way to control deer movement, act as fences (if cut low enough to deter deer going through). They can also be used if cut high or fell strategically into bedding areas or beds with overhead cover (thermal cover). Hinging trees is a massive way of giving food, bedding cover and natural "fences". That's the short term...long term they'll still do the same as a logging operation would do. While the tops will stay alive for 2, 3 sometimes up to 5 (have heard of 10 year old hinged oaks) years by falling them you're opening up forest canopy allowing dormant seeds or saplings to BURST that were on the forest floor. -Long term think of plantings. One great resource is your state's forestry department. If like Indiana will offer tree sales almost yearly and man are they cheap. Last year we bought 25 white pines (came in at about 3 feet including roots) for less than a $1 a tree...that is insane! We also bought some spreading bushes, elms and willows. Planting these along or in hinge cuts will allow long term cover and such to grow up (don't be afraid to plant thick and thin later or protect them because nature can kill baby trees very fast). -Switchgrass...great cover in just a few years and is something which can be frost seeded, we are planning on doing some more switch planting around bedding and even in some of the open areas in the bedding cuts to provide better year round bedding. Overall always think safety, if the deer feel safe they'll be there. In my opinion good cover is the #1 way to make them feel safe, even before human intrusion. Lots more thoughts on this but I'll stop for now
well thanks for all the great advise. one thing i think i might run into with hinge cutting is the farmer may not go for it so much. planting is also a great idea and man if i could come across deals like you did i would be jumping all over it. what really caught my intrest is the switchgrass, i have some questions about it though since i am not really to familiar with it. First off planting this would it pretty much need to be planted like food plots where it it going to need good several hours a day of sunlight to grow or is it something where you can kinda clear the forest floor and get good contact with soil and plant away??
For switch yeah clearing the ground is good, we typically do that come february if no snow and can seed it then whenever (frost seeding is fine). It does require light to fully mature. Dealing with someone else's property can slow down or curb certain things, but just run everything by him. If hinging worries him, see if logging out the woods is something he'd consider...or if hinging certain kinds of trees is something he is against see if hinging some of the less "valuable" kind would bug him. Ultimately his call for sure.
ya thats my problem is i lease it or else it would becoming a whitetail heaven. Him and his dad do a lot of cutting for there wood burners which is why they are pretty open woods and where i would run into problems with him hinge cutting. i have yet been able to walk through the woods and get a good look being i came across this property in july and i dont like to push into the woods besides during the months jan. -april so i might be able to get some pretty decent sunlight in some areas. View attachment 24482 here is a pic of the property i have to hunt it is 600 acres. the two wood lots circled in red with x's through them are off limits and the one circled in green are the ones i have acces to. the wood lot on the NW is pretty thick and i am content with that wood lot just need to add a better all year round food source. the wood lot on the far east i dont hunt to much becuase it is very thin and smaller so it would be hard for me to make it into a stand without being spotted walking around the edge. the wood lot
If they're cutting wood for firewood that's fine! Cut stumps, especially ones done in dormant stage of winter, will create bush like shoots the deer will browse on and if not will provide cover. Those open areas created by cutting can be great spots for plantings. Whether that be evergreen, bushes or cheap willow shoots anything to thicken it up is gonna be your friend. I'd just sit down with the land owner and explain you'd like to create better whitetail habitat, which in turn can only increase the recreational value of his property, but stress you didn't want to do or even really start planning anything without approval.
Ya that's my plan this winter to sit down and talk to him about about a few things I would like to do and options. When u say cutting stumps what by means do u mean by that because I'm pretty sure your not saying cut them all the way off?
If they're cutting for firewood, yep cut that puppy with about a foot sticking out from the ground. If hinging, you're right you don't cut all the way through.
Alright we'll thanks for all the input pretty much now it comes to sitting down with the farmer and talking to him about the rest. What do you think about that finger I'm going to plant, plant half food plot some sort of grass bedding or just give them as much food as I can.
