I'm in shock

[RLH]

Finished up my food plots this last week. I had plowed, disced and leveled it Labor day weekend, but did not plant seed. Went up this week and seeded and finished up.

Last year my neighbor to the west started logging their farm before deer season. Well apparently they are still not finished. I went to the west property line to check it out and it just stunned me what they have done. I guess this is clear cut, because there is only a few skinny trees left standing. I think that farm is about 375 acres and I think they cut every tree on the property. They farm about 70 acres, the rest was old hardwoods timber. That property was full of deer, big nice deer. The owner's son was very selective with what he shot.

This summer they have started logging a pine farm to my south. Truck loads after truck load of logs coming out of there. My neighbor on the east passed away a couple years ago and now his grandson is logging the big trees off of his property now.

So going into the 2019 deer season, I have loggers actively cutting trees on 3 sides of my property. Where are these deer going to go? They didn't all come to my property, I did not see much sign at all. I don't know what to think, I'm just in shock.

Could be a very interesting season or very disappointing.

These pictures are my west property line.

 

[muddyboots]

In my experience. If you have any cover you will have deer with logging nearby.

 

[Andy S.]

Those clear cuts will be FULL of deer in about two years and it will remain a great bedding area for several years.

 

[csi-tech]

I hate clear cutting but I concede a landowners absolute right to do it. The fact is, it's good for wildlife in the long run. I have seen a three year old clear cut absolutely crawling with deer because of the new geowth. Provided it doesn't become fields, hang on. It's fixin' to get good. Remember, hunting is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[RLH]

Those clear cuts will be FULL of deer in about two years and it will remain a great bedding area for several years.

And I'll have the acorns.

 

[MUP]

^^^^ agree. The deer will either filter to your property, or to the adjacent properties on the other side of the logged properties. Hope you have good cover on your place along with the plots. The landowner behind my land clear-cut about 5 yrs ago, and it's really helped retain deer on my all wooded property.

 

[Mike Belt]

If this land has just been cut you may not benefit this year but look to down the road. The deer should still travel through the cut area and feed on what browse is available this winter.

 

[Tiny]

They will will also cross through the clear cut right now.. believe it or not..
Not they did but will still go through.
Point being all ain't lost ..
Killed my Biggest to date n friend killed several Does in a Hunt in Ga ..in a corner of a 1yr old n new recent cut..Next 3 yrs killed several more n missed opportunities on more..

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[cbhunter]

You will have some good edges to hunt in the next 10 years after it starts to thicken up


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[megalomaniac]

I'd suspect your hunting this year will be seriously hurt this year. But will be better in 2-3 years if you have the food to pull the deer out of the overgrown clearcut

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[bigtex]

Clear cuts are ugly for sure, but Mother Nature can heal her scars pretty fast.

 

[Lost Lake]

Even though we all know it'll be better when that new growth comes up and deer will be drawn to it, it still hurts to see those pretty oak trees that are deer magnets, just gone.

Had the same thing happen to me on my hunting spot, and it will get better. This year will be different though. Good luck and hang tough.

 

[rukiddin]

You give me a clear cut like that and I'll be sitting on the edge of it the first watching it. There's no finer place than a first and second year clear cut on a clear bright sunny cold morning. If they left tree tops or lap piles, deer will bed down in'em as well. Didn't sound like you could hunt it but I love hunting clear cuts. Logging bothers deer hunters a lot more than it'll ever bother deer.

 

[RLH]

I'm a little disappointed too, that one of the loggers decided to take one of my ladder stands. I had this stand near the property line and when I heard them cutting trees last year, I took it down and moved it further up on the ridge. I just left it laying down on the ground. One of the first stands that I put up 17 years ago. They were probably using my trees for shade since they had cut all the shade on that property.

This is like starting all over from scratch. The way the deer have used my land is going to change and everything I have learned is probably going to change.

Clear cutting a forest is part of the cycle of life. As some things die, other lives start. Anyway, going to make the best of it and have fun.

 

[treefarmer]

Three years ago we cut timber on our Tree Farm and I insisted on a clear-cut. It is much better than a "select" cut, or diameter limit cut, which leave behind the elm, maples, sweetgum, hickory, etc. A clear-cut insures full sun, which oaks seedlings need to thrive. After two years all the mess was gone, covered by new seedlings. Hoping this third year after the cutting is better hunting than ever, unless EHD took out the deer.

 

[MUP]

As has already been said, you'll have the "woods", and the "edge" to hunt now on your property. All is not lost! Should still be some good hunting IMO, as it was for me when the property next to mine was clearcut. Good luck!

 

[Headhunter]

If I had that land to hunt, the land that was clearcut, I would hunt it everyday. Deer love those places, especially right after it is cut.