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Post by benmnwi on May 9, 2022 11:15:53 GMT -6
Areas like those shown in his video are good bedding areas in the places I hunt. I try to keep the deer from bedding that close to my field edges though whenever possible since it makes it tougher to slip in without spooking them.
If your place was logged within the last 5 - 10 years, then I bet you have some pretty great bedding already. Once areas start to canopy over and the understory opens up I start dropping junk trees to get things thicker at ground level.
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Post by Foggy on May 9, 2022 11:23:30 GMT -6
Areas like those shown in his video are good bedding areas in the places I hunt. I try to keep the deer from bedding that close to my field edges though whenever possible since it makes it tougher to slip in without spooking them. If your place was logged within the last 5 - 10 years, then I bet you have some pretty great bedding already. Once areas start to canopy over and the understory opens up I start dropping junk trees to get things thicker at ground level. Yep.....good observations. I was partially logged about 5 years ago now....and do not have a mature canopy yet in most areas. Tho there are a few spots where this could be useful. I may try to get some family on board with an effort like this in select areas. It's gotta be winter work....and I am not about to take on allot of chainsaw work. FORE! |
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Post by benmnwi on May 9, 2022 11:33:13 GMT -6
Areas like those shown in his video are good bedding areas in the places I hunt. I try to keep the deer from bedding that close to my field edges though whenever possible since it makes it tougher to slip in without spooking them. If your place was logged within the last 5 - 10 years, then I bet you have some pretty great bedding already. Once areas start to canopy over and the understory opens up I start dropping junk trees to get things thicker at ground level. Yep.....good observations. I was partially logged about 5 years ago now....and do not have a mature canopy yet in most areas. Tho there are a few spots where this could be useful. I may try to get some family on board with an effort like this in select areas. It's gotta be winter work....and I am not about to take on allot of chainsaw work. FORE! On my Rusk County place I do a fair amount of public land hunting and shrub thickets are really good long-term bedding areas (also great areas for grouse and rabbits). Eventually some of the shrubs can take over an area and it doesn't take much work to keep them great bedding areas. If I see an area with a decent amount of dogwood, wild plums, hazelnut or hawthorns I'll drop adjacent trees so the shrubs have less competition. If you gave the grandsons a chainsaw and a shrub ID book I bet they could create some longer term bedding areas with a day of saw time. |
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Post by batman on May 9, 2022 11:39:14 GMT -6
Yep.....good observations. I was partially logged about 5 years ago now....and do not have a mature canopy yet in most areas. Tho there are a few spots where this could be useful. I may try to get some family on board with an effort like this in select areas. It's gotta be winter work....and I am not about to take on allot of chainsaw work. FORE! On my Rusk County place I do a fair amount of public land hunting and shrub thickets are really good long-term bedding areas (also great areas for grouse and rabbits). Eventually some of the shrubs can take over an area and it doesn't take much work to keep them great bedding areas. If I see an area with a decent amount of dogwood, wild plums, hazelnut or hawthorns I'll drop adjacent trees so the shrubs have less competition. If you gave the grandsons a chainsaw and a shrub ID book I bet they could create some longer term bedding areas with a day of saw time. I encourage everyone I work with to hire out saw work unless they are very well versed. Dangerous stuff. |
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Post by smsmith on May 9, 2022 11:54:20 GMT -6
Chainsaws are dangerous, that's for sure. I cringe when I see some of the people on the "Alaska shows" running saws. Zero PPE and plenty of inexperienced users. I spent many hours as a kid working with the old man. He wasn't a great teacher, but I was a decent observer.
I've had some close calls when sawing. I'm glad that I've got most of the saw work done here now. I used to go through 5-6 gallons of saw gas most winters. I'm down to 1.5-2 gallons now.
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Post by benmnwi on May 9, 2022 12:00:50 GMT -6
Chainsaws are dangerous, that's for sure. I cringe when I see some of the people on the "Alaska shows" running saws. Zero PPE and plenty of inexperienced users. I spent many hours as a kid working with the old man. He wasn't a great teacher, but I was a decent observer. I've had some close calls when sawing. I'm glad that I've got most of the saw work done here now. I used to go through 5-6 gallons of saw gas most winters. I'm down to 1.5-2 gallons now. I'm really surprised at the % of guys I see cutting wood without any PPE . I don't make a cut without wearing the chaps and helmet/faceshield. I'd be walking with a limp if I didn't have the safety chaps on when I had one brief lapse of attention 10 years ago. |
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Post by smsmith on May 9, 2022 12:07:13 GMT -6
I once had a huge aspen barber chair on me as I was 3/4 cutting it. Just as I removed the saw from the trunk it split and lifted, taking my saw helmet off as it went up. A couple inches closer and I would have likely been decapitated.
I shut the saw down right then and didn't fire it back up for a few days. That experience still gives me pause when I fire up the saw.
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Post by benmnwi on May 9, 2022 12:24:12 GMT -6
Did you notch the aspen tree or were you trying to hinge cut it? I also learned that hinge cutting large trees can be very dangerous.
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Post by smsmith on May 9, 2022 12:27:26 GMT -6
Did you notch the aspen tree or were you trying to hinge cut it? I also learned that hinge cutting large trees can be very dangerous. I have done a lot of 1/2-3/4 cuts on large, mature aspens with straight trunks. I make a bunch of cuts, then GTFO of the area and don't go back in until a big wind takes them down. A dangerous (and dumb) activity and not one I'd ever allow anybody else to do on my property. |
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Post by Foggy on May 9, 2022 12:34:00 GMT -6
^ Safety check Isle 4. Grin. Yep....I too have had some near misses (and got swatted a few times too.) with the saw and firewood or trees. You almost can't tell folks enough about chainsaws and danger. After long periods of operation everyone gets sloppy habits.....and take shortcuts, etc. I've cut more than one pair of jeans to my flesh. I have chaps now....but dont use 'em for small jobs I do. Never even wore safety glasses back in the day (sadly......or hearing protection either for that matter.....WHAT?  |
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Post by smsmith on May 9, 2022 12:40:00 GMT -6
^ Safety check Isle 4. Grin. Yep....I too have had some near misses (and got swatted a few times too.) with the saw and firewood or trees. You almost can't tell folks enough about chainsaws and danger. After long periods of operation everyone gets sloppy habits.....and take shortcuts, etc. I've cut more than one pair of jeans to my flesh. I have chaps now....but dont use 'em for small jobs I do. Never even wore safety glasses back in the day (sadly......or hearing protection either for that matter.....WHAT?  Yep. I will say the resulting Godawful mess is exactly what I wanted however. Deer love those "tornado zones" I created |
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Post by Bwoods11 on May 10, 2022 19:18:56 GMT -6
I did some hinge cutting in an area with almost all Boxelder. It’s now a 3/4 acre bedding jungle. Not uncommon to see 6-7 does and fawns bedding in there.
Rut time, the bucks scent check it . Unfortunately when I did the cuts I should have set the stand farther away as it’s too close to the actual bedding. Lesson learned.
This year I’ll hit it a bit more and then move my stand back another 40 yards (intercept those bucks)!
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Post by batman on May 10, 2022 19:39:49 GMT -6
When you take the time to break down where you can legitimately improve parcels without burning your access it can hurt.
Spook food n the dark? Spook beds in the day?
Seems an easy concept but many fail.
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