Tied down some of last year’s growth in my hinge cut area this week.

[Rusty]

Nice work, looks good     Not only for deer but gives a lot of good cover for cottontails from hawks/owls

 

Very true, we always see an increase in rabbits when we open up an area and let sunlight in for deer cover.  

Edited February 11, 2018 by Rusty

[tpr1921]

What type of terrain are you making these beds? Flat, hills, benches?

The property which I’m working on is basically flat terrain. I am primarily focusing on a 5 acre area where initially very few deer entered to feed/bed. This same property is now revealing deer activity which I can only describe as magical to me. It’s being transformed from a place where you would occasionally see deer - to one of the best properties to see deer (Fawns, Does & Bucks), especially in daylight hours, that I have ever witnessed in my area. I can only see it getting better as I keep working the property solely for the benefit of deer, turkey and other wildlife.

 

 

[Scotty155]

Seems like hinge cutting really turned the property around.  In your experience does it seem like deer prefer to bed very close or with their backs touching a log or stump? Jim ward of whitetail academies seems to be a big proponent of creating bedding utilizing canopy growth and strategically placed logs. Just wondering if you have noticed the same? Great bachelor group!

[Livesintrees]

The property which I’m working on is basically flat terrain. I am primarily focusing on a 5 acre area where initially very few deer entered to feed/bed. This same property is now revealing deer activity which I can only describe as magical to me. It’s being transformed from a place where you would occasionally see deer - to one of the best properties to see deer (Fawns, Does & Bucks), especially in daylight hours, that I have ever witnessed in my area. I can only see it getting better as I keep working the property solely for the benefit of deer, turkey and other wildlife.August 13, 2017 Seven Bucks.jpg

Keep updating as you go! Love seeing these types of topics. It’s not magical. It’s just what happens when you make a plan and follow it. I’m working on my own recently acquired piece as well. Mine however is varied terrain. Hills, saddles,benches, ditches, multiple ridges etc. very little truly flat terrain. But the deer are responding. I knew they would. Just takes time.

[tcook8296]

The property which I’m working on is basically flat terrain. I am primarily focusing on a 5 acre area where initially very few deer entered to feed/bed. This same property is now revealing deer activity which I can only describe as magical to me. It’s being transformed from a place where you would occasionally see deer - to one of the best properties to see deer (Fawns, Does & Bucks), especially in daylight hours, that I have ever witnessed in my area. I can only see it getting better as I keep working the property solely for the benefit of deer, turkey and other wildlife.August 13, 2017 Seven Bucks.jpg

I have experienced the same. This is the 3rd season on my 50 acres. I have 40 acres of hinge cuts.

It is not uncommon to see 30 to 40 deer in the peak of hunting season. When the neighbors are banging away, their deer sightings are going down while mine are going up. I can drive down my driveway and see deer laying around like cattle. You can tell the new comers as they get up and run abit but the residents dont even move. When they are relaxed, they are very curious too, when Im working out there, I always see them standing in the shadows watching me. My wife likes to cut the grass on the tractor and she has to damn near run them over to get them out of the way. The down side to all these deer around is they browse everything. Even stuff that is supposed to be deer resistant is browsed and rubbed. The hinge cuts put tons of browse at deer level. When things quiet down, majority of the deer filter back off the property leaving the 12 to 15 residents.

When I first bought the farm 3 years ago, it was so heavily hunted, the deer didnt live there, they pretty much were just passing through.

I had a feeder on the farm, the more mature bucks wouldnt touch it. I see you have your feeder in what looks to be your bedding area also. I started with mine in the woods also, however when you go to fill it or check the cams you are bumping deer.

I am very cautious especially during hunting season to not bump deer. It only takes one deer crashing through the woods to alert every deer in the woods. The last thing you want to do is put one of your bucks on his feet and bump him to a neighbor sitting on stand. Try moving the feeder away from the bedding area. Set it up someplace on the property where you can maintain it without bumping deer. You want to draw them out of the bedding area and get yourself on the trails coming out. Do not hunt over the feeder. The main objective is to give the deer a false sense of security. Nj deer are programmed that feeders are danger. When a buck shows that you want to target, you will get your shot if everything is planned out properly. I try to check my cams at night, that way when I bump them, they have plenty of time to calm down and return to their beds.

When they feel no pressure,the deer move all day long. I also only hunt evenings with the exception of those last days of Oct into early Nov.

I also never hunt to hunt.

When I hunt it, I am looking for 1 or 2 specific bucks.

I didnt kill a buck this season, I think Im my expectations are much higher now, I did kill 3 good bucks the 1st 2 years for my neighborhood when they let their guard down.

I know I have created some of the best bedding in the neighborhood but Its still Nj.

Your neighbors can ruin your efforts especially with 6 months to do it

Edited February 11, 2018 by tcook8296

[tpr1921]

Seems like hinge cutting really turned the property around.  In your experience does it seem like deer prefer to bed very close or with their backs touching a log or stump? Jim ward of whitetail academies seems to be a big proponent of creating bedding utilizing canopy growth and strategically placed logs. Just wondering if you have noticed the same? Great bachelor group!

I have applied the instruction of Jim Ward, Jake Ehlinger and Dr. Jim Brauker extensively on my property. I purchased Dr. Jim’s e-book called Extreme Deer Habitat online and found it to be a great source of information. As far as I am concerned they are my end all source of information on deer habitat enhancement. I make deer beds with log backrests and without, depending on the surrounding screening cover.

The pay-off is finding deer hair in the beds you construct.

[tcook8296]

Check out books by Jeff Sturgis specifically "Success by Design"

Steve Bartylla has a few good books also and both have several videos on Youtube.

Jeff Ward like to build buck beds.

I personally dont try to build a single bed for a buck that he may or may not use.

Instead I prefer to build sperate pockets of beds for several doe groups to give them a little seperation. The does will bring the bucks. I have done this in the midwest also and have not been able to get a buck to lay in a particular bed. Id prefer to enhance a large area and let the deer decide where they want to bed

Edited February 11, 2018 by tcook8296

[Livesintrees]

The biggest thing I’m doing first here is making the deer bed where I want them to bed. Aka I have buck beds ready to go on the opposite side of ridge. Meaning they like it bc they can stare off 400-500 yards into the neighbors property. They can’t walk out their back doors without the buck seeing them immediately. On the flip side where they bed allows me to access the property without them seeing me whatsoever. The major factor here are thermals and wind with the terrain. So I can see already that some stands will be able to be hunted 90% of the season. While the others are going to be a handful of days a year. Keeping them oblivious to my presence will keep them here when the neighbors start putting the pressure on. I expect to see more deer as the season drags on.

[Livesintrees]

Get on you tube. And check out whitetail habitat solutions, in addition to Jim Ward. Not al of it applies. However you’ll be watching a couple videos a night and say “that would work here”. Then you try it. If it doesn’t work destroy it and experiment with something new

[tpr1921]

Get on you tube. And check out whitetail habitat solutions, in addition to Jim Ward. Not al of it applies. However you’ll be watching a couple videos a night and say “that would work here”. Then you try it. If it doesn’t work destroy it and experiment with something new

Before I started this habitat project 2 ½ years ago I knew nothing about the idea of what can be accomplished through hinge cutting. I just happened to stumble onto a YouTube video like you said and started from there. Though there are other deer hunters in my family, I am a one man show for this project. Hinge cutting practices were my springboard into discovering the benefits of planting warm season grasses like Cave in Rock which won’t lie down in the snow and using Miscanthus X Giganteus for screening. To me deer cover/bedding is King, followed food and water. I have 2 small food plots which I planted but if I need to expand my cover/bedding they will go. My efforts are focused on bringing deer into the property and holding them there for as long as possible. I am more concerned about attracting any deer as opposed to targeting just bucks. Every property is different regarding what you initially have to work with from the start. Good luck on your ground and please keep me posted.

Thanks

[Bucndoe]

How many acres is the piece that you are doing this on ?

[tpr1921]

How many acres is the piece that you are doing this on ?

10 acres out of a 22 acre property.

[trapperjake]

Wow things look really good. Is that the grass that grows like ten feet tall in a couple of years? Think I remember you posting pictures when you planted it.

[Livesintrees]

Try and get some daytime food established in your bedding areas. You’ll hold more deer in general. I’m sure you know that. I’m going to try and get some honeysuckle going in select areas. I’ll be able to Keep in under control that way while giving the deer candy in the bedrooms.

[tcook8296]

Try and get some daytime food established in your bedding areas. You’ll hold more deer in general. I’m sure you know that. I’m going to try and get some honeysuckle going in select areas. I’ll be able to Keep in under control that way while giving the deer candy in the bedrooms.

By hingecutting, you are providing more natural, diverse browse than a food plot can provide.

If all your food is in your bedding area, the deer have no reason to leave. By dictating where they bed and where they feed, it is much easier to intercept these deer somewhere in between not to mention being able to get in and out without walking into the bedding area bumping/alerting deer. If you continually hunt your bedding area, you are no longer creating a sanctuary rather than a tangle of thick that you are blowing deer out every time you go in. You will see the best results by not going into the bedding area. Save the candy for the food plots to draw them from point A to point B. They develop a routine and become much more predictable. You need to give them a reason to leave the bedding area. Also, too many locations to feed can make the deer harder to hunt. I have a small clover plot on the edge of the bedding which gets them to head to my bigger field planted strips of different food.

I plant it in strips for a few reasons, its easier to plant, strips keep the deer moving especially along the edges. When planted in strips along the edges, it is more effective for bowhunting. Planting big fields of food can be difficult with a bow if its bigger than you can shoot. You can also make the deer enter the food plots where you want them too by dropping trees along the edges of the plot and leave an opening for them to walk through. Deer like easy, they will take the easiest path.

Edited February 11, 2018 by tcook8296