Whitetail Strategies

Another round of cuts today. New property same goal. The plan is simple. We’re cutting south facing slopes heavy. Opening the canopy and building side cover. We cut the flat ridge tops, benches, and bowls anywhere a deer can bed where it’s not too steep we cut. We cut lightly on the north facing slopes just enough to open some canopy and gain a little side cover. FYI many don’t know but we will travel to Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri to cut timber creating bedding areas. This is very dangerous work if not done right. So if anyone is interested in future timber improvements feel free to message.

Today’s project. Cutting edges around a switch grass field for more bedding and cover, mixed with hinge cuts behind it to create layers of bedding. First was the edges.

Last year I planted switch in this field. I wanted to create more bedding on the edges and pull deer closer. So I went along the edge around the whole south side of the field and cut trees every 30 feet into the field. I cut these trees about belt line high and 3/4 the way through. A hinge cut. I did this so the whole trunk of the tree could be used as cover to bed against and the tree will still survive and produce browse for years to come.

In the pic below the yellow is the switchgrass and the red lines are examples of where I dropped trees into the field around the whole edge. This will create a lot of bedding and add another layer of depth to the property.