Clear Cut vs Select Cut for max deer habitat

[JCDEERMAN]

So much great info in this thread.

We designed our property like a checker board of select cuts, long narrow food plots and hardwoods. Soon we will get the dozer back there to create a better road system, which will also be our fire breaks to burn large portions of the property. We have 13 food plots scattered out, 9 select cuts scattered out, with hardwoods intertwining throughout. One of our neighbors clear cut their entire 150 acres about 10 years ago. He doesn't hunt, but if he did, he wouldn't be able to.

On the land-locked aspect, a 50 acre portion of land was land-locked way back in the middle with no roads to it. I looked up the address for it and the address was OUR address. I'm talking a 1.4 mile drive through our property to get to it. The guy lived in Louisiana and never visited it. I found his number and talked to him for a long time and told him if he ever wanted to sell it, please contact us first. About 3 months went by and he called and said he wanted to sell. We jumped on it. Lucked out on that one

 

[DoubleRidge]

So much great info in this thread.

We designed our property like a checker board of select cuts, long narrow food plots and hardwoods. Soon we will get the dozer back there to create a better road system, which will also be our fire breaks to burn large portions of the property. We have 13 food plots scattered out, 9 select cuts scattered out, with hardwoods intertwining throughout. One of our neighbors clear cut their entire 150 acres about 10 years ago. He doesn't hunt, but if he did, he wouldn't be able to.

On the land-locked aspect, a 50 acre portion of land was land-locked way back in the middle with no roads to it. I looked up the address for it and the address was OUR address. I'm talking a 1.4 mile drive through our property to get to it. The guy lived in Louisiana and never visited it. I found his number and talked to him for a long time and told him if he ever wanted to sell it, please contact us first. About 3 months went by and he called and said he wanted to sell. We jumped on it. Lucked out on that one

JCDeerman...Sounds like an awesome management plan!....and congrats on the addition of 50 acres! Those opportunities don't come along very often if ever!

 

[Ski]

Great post Ski. It's amazing how true "Build it and they will come" really is. And I'm not all surprised by your comments on more bucks than does. I've seen this occur on several occasions. Usually it's one property with habitat being intensively managed surrounded by properties that are not. The managed property has good cover. The surrounding properties don't. I've heard hunters here and elsewhere say over and over that bucks will go to where the does are. This sounds reasonable and logical. However, in the real world, I haven't seen this to be the case very often. What I see in reality is bucks go to where they feel safest from hunting pressure, and that usually includes the best cover to hide in.

Sure enough as you say, it's the only managed property for miles. It's surrounded 3 sides by a 10,000 acre public land, all hardwood forest. My plots are the only thing even resembling ag for at least a mile any direction.

 

[13pt]

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. My 100 acre woods is entirely over mature hardwoods in hill country. It was a deer desert before the first plot. First year I made a plot, deer moved in and stayed, including several big bucks. As I added plots, a couple mineral sites, a couple water holes, and some trail work, I now have around a dozen does and a dozen bucks calling the place home. It feels like bucks grossly outnumber does but it's because of all the visiting bucks who come through for a day or week at a time. This year I'll be doing some of the timber work. It's a work in progress but results happen pretty dramatically and pretty much immediately, in my experience.

That all said, even with a disproportionate amount of deer, you still have to hunt them. I'm doing some work this year to make more cover, more predictable movement, and more concealed access. But it's sure nice being able to pick and choose the deer I want to hunt. I'm like a kid in a room full of Legos, chomping at the bit with ideas. I truly enjoy the work more than the hunt.

Very encouraging!! I've leased this 77 acres for probably 8 years. I've taken a 142" 14pt (which was 5.5 years old according to DeerAge analysis…I think that's their name), and a 132" 10pt I'm guessing 4.5 years old, so I know it has potential. The open timber just made it harder to hunt in my opinion, and certainly wasn't helping with deer density like you've seen. So looking forward to this project and yours words are very encouraging. I started a conversation with TWRA biologist Micheal McCord today. He will be here end of February to help with the project.

 

[Mattt]

Keep in mind root structure. When I want to keep a tree my rule is they don't even drag through the drip line of said tree.

 

[BSK]

Keep in mind root structure. When I want to keep a tree my rule is they don't even drag through the drip line of said tree.

Good luck getting a logger to follow THAT rule!

 

[Boll Weevil]

Good luck getting a logger to follow THAT rule!

With a horse/mule maybe but with a cutter head, forget about it.

 

[BSK]

With a horse/mule maybe but with a cutter head, forget about it.

Heck, I had a hard enough time getting them to not destroy the remaining forest. Lots and lots of trees damaged as trees were felled into them.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Thanks for posting the vid BSK. When big timber comes down it's taking something with it for sure.

 

[BSK]

Thanks for posting the vid BSK. When big timber comes down it's taking something with it for sure.

I knew what I was getting into. What we wanted was good deer habitat, and deer habitat is often very, VERY messy. Well, we got it! Lots of tops down for deer to hide in and to act as "exclusion cages" to protect new growth.

 

[DoubleRidge]

I knew what I was getting into. What we wanted was good deer habitat, and deer habitat is often very, VERY messy. Well, we got it! Lots of tops down for deer to hide in and to act as "exclusion cages" to protect new growth.

Interesting....never thought of a top serving as an exclusion cage for new growth....makes sense.

 

[BSK]

Interesting....never thought of a top serving as an exclusion cage for new growth....makes sense.

Go into a heavy cut one growing season after the cut. You'll find species of plant growing up out of the downed tops that don't exist anywhere else. Away from the tops, the deer will have eaten that species to the ground.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Go into a heavy cut one growing season after the cut. You'll find species of plant growing up out of the downed tops that don't exist anywhere else. Away from the tops, the deer will have eaten that species to the ground.

Extremely interesting.... Thanks!

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I remember our first cut on our place. We were all thinking, "What have we done?" Once it all grew up and the deer filtered in, all was good. When the cut was made last year and looked like a bunch of junk from a bomb going off, everyone liked the way it looked. Only because we know what the future holds.

 

[BSK]

I remember our first cut on our place. We were all thinking, "What have we done?" Once it all grew up and the deer filtered in, all was good. When the cut was made last year and looked like a bunch of junk from a bomb going off, everyone liked the way it looked. Only because we know what the future holds.

I warned my family about how bad the timbering would look last winter. And it did! Looked like the end product of nuclear war. Or something you would see in No-Man's-Land from World War 1. But I know what it's going to look like in 3-4 years and how much wildlife will use it.

 

[westtntoms]

I warned my family about how bad the timbering would look last winter. And it did! Looked like the end product of nuclear war. Or something you would see in No-Man's-Land from World War 1. But I know what it's going to look like in 3-4 years and how much wildlife will use it.

what did you do with all the mess left behind (tops, trunks, etc.). Leave it where it lay?

 

[TNGunsmoke]

I warned my family about how bad the timbering would look last winter. And it did! Looked like the end product of nuclear war. Or something you would see in No-Man's-Land from World War 1. But I know what it's going to look like in 3-4 years and how much wildlife will use it.

They did that with a section of the neighbor's place that joins the farm I hunt. Thin strip of trees left on us and then it looks like a bomb went off. We have a stand that needs to be moved next to it, the hickory tree it is on died a couple years ago and we just haven't done it. I look forward to hunting on that corner again next season, and more so the one after that.

 

[Mattt]

Good luck getting a logger to follow THAT rule!

Can be tough. The guys cuttin go for me right now have actually done pretty good at this. He's been leaving trees as guards to protect one's we marked and coming back and cutting the guards out last. Now he s torn up plenty also but overall coming out good. His brother cut for me last time and pretty much destroyed the place.

 

[Mattt]

I warned my family about how bad the timbering would look last winter. And it did! Looked like the end product of nuclear war. Or something you would see in No-Man's-Land from World War 1. But I know what it's going to look like in 3-4 years and how much wildlife will use it.

That brings up a good point too. Time of year.

 

[BSK]

what did you do with all the mess left behind (tops, trunks, etc.). Leave it where it lay?

Yup. I WANTED the mess. The mess gives all sorts of wildlife places to hide until the regrowth creates that for them in the following years. It also protects high-value plants from over-browsing (acts as an exclusion cage).