Clear cuts..
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Re: Clear cuts..
The problem I have found down there with clear cuts is that every other hungover ya-who in the woods can stumble out to a new clear cut. Find a lot of permenant stands out on the edges(I assume mostly the opening weekend warriors). But i Missed the biggest buck I have ever shot at down there within a few hundred yards of a new clear cut.
Seems you need to be in more secluded cuts or on the backside awhile from a logging road access in order to see deer.
Seems you need to be in more secluded cuts or on the backside awhile from a logging road access in order to see deer.
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Re: Clear cuts..
bigwoodshuntn wrote:The problem I have found down there with clear cuts is that every other hungover ya-who in the woods can stumble out to a new clear cut. Find a lot of permenant stands out on the edges(I assume mostly the opening weekend warriors). But i Missed the biggest buck I have ever shot at down there within a few hundred yards of a new clear cut.
Seems you need to be in more secluded cuts or on the backside awhile from a logging road access in order to see deer.
How new are you talking. From that summer or the year before?
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Re: Clear cuts..
Jonny wrote:bigwoodshuntn wrote:The problem I have found down there with clear cuts is that every other hungover ya-who in the woods can stumble out to a new clear cut. Find a lot of permenant stands out on the edges(I assume mostly the opening weekend warriors). But i Missed the biggest buck I have ever shot at down there within a few hundred yards of a new clear cut.
Seems you need to be in more secluded cuts or on the backside awhile from a logging road access in order to see deer.
How new are you talking. From that summer or the year before?
I believe it was from the winter before. So it was around 8 months old. It was during the rut though so that obviously had something to do with why that buck was there but i knew there was deer in that area early season also.
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Re: Clear cuts..
bigwoodshuntn wrote:Jonny wrote:bigwoodshuntn wrote:The problem I have found down there with clear cuts is that every other hungover ya-who in the woods can stumble out to a new clear cut. Find a lot of permenant stands out on the edges(I assume mostly the opening weekend warriors). But i Missed the biggest buck I have ever shot at down there within a few hundred yards of a new clear cut.
Seems you need to be in more secluded cuts or on the backside awhile from a logging road access in order to see deer.
How new are you talking. From that summer or the year before?
I believe it was from the winter before. So it was around 8 months old. It was during the rut though so that obviously had something to do with why that buck was there but i knew there was deer in that area early season also.
Good deal. Need to scout a bit early season around some of these cuts. Clark and Eau Claire county publish what is getting cut but you just never know when
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Re: Clear cuts..
Great info here. I have a spot that I want to check out in hill country about a mile back that is a crows foot that was clearcut a few years ago. I cut a big track right in the edge of it last spring. I need to dive in and search for beds
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Re: Clear cuts..
Do mature bucks bed in a 5-10 year old clear cuts? If so, what do you guys look for i.e. on the edge of transition of clear cut and other veg, right smack in the middle or else where? This is in reference to relatively flat areas.
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Re: Clear cuts..
ttawh33 wrote:Do mature bucks bed in a 5-10 year old clear cuts? If so, what do you guys look for i.e. on the edge of transition of clear cut and other veg, right smack in the middle or else where? This is in reference to relatively flat areas.
I think there's a lot of concensus that the sweet spot is 2-4 year when browse is still within easy reach. I know they use the older cuts for bedding. I find the bedding in the usual topographically advantaged locations- where there is a rise below them and wind to their backs. It's tough for predators to approach because of scent and noise.
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Re: Clear cuts..
bigwoodshuntn wrote:The problem I have found down there with clear cuts is that every other hungover ya-who in the woods can stumble out to a new clear cut. Find a lot of permenant stands out on the edges(I assume mostly the opening weekend warriors). But i Missed the biggest buck I have ever shot at down there within a few hundred yards of a new clear cut.
Seems you need to be in more secluded cuts or on the backside awhile from a logging road access in order to see deer.
This is very much true, clearcuts are like beddings areas, they are not all the same and you have to find the right mix of elements to get a buck in the area during shooting hours. For bedding purposes a lot depends on the lay of land, they aren't going to bed there if the conditions are more favorable somewhere else. One really needs to scout a lot of clearcuts to find the right ones to hunt. It doesn't mean they have to be crazy remote but that can help.
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Re: Clear cuts..
ttawh33 wrote:Do mature bucks bed in a 5-10 year old clear cuts? If so, what do you guys look for i.e. on the edge of transition of clear cut and other veg, right smack in the middle or else where? This is in reference to relatively flat areas.
For me I don't find that bucks bed in clearcuts just because they offer thick cover, there has to be something else there as well. When I think of the clearcut bedding areas I have hunted the spots offered good bedding if the woods had not been cut. That is not to say they don't love that cover but there has to be other advantages as well. A couple of the clearcuts I hunt had points of bedding near the edge of a swamp. The other had a small ridge with a large beaver pond downwind so the buck had a nice barrier downwind and a nice few of anyone coming at him from the flanks. Another has a natural bedding point in hill country, other times there are thermal advantages or swirling wind that helps give the buck more than one reason to bed there. Sometimes I just look for places that are plain old hard to hunt because of numerous factors, find a place like that and you often find good buck bedding.
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Re: Clear cuts..
A lot of good info so far. I spend a lot of time in the timber stands before they're cut while they're being cut and after they are cut. They are just like any other feature. You need to look at a bunch of them to find the gold mine
A lot of times there is one sweet spot in a cut. It might be on a edge point skid trail etc
Something else to look for is small fingers on a cut even in flat topi tend to have a parallel trail brush the end of them
A lot of times there is one sweet spot in a cut. It might be on a edge point skid trail etc
Something else to look for is small fingers on a cut even in flat topi tend to have a parallel trail brush the end of them
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Re: Clear cuts..
If I had to put a number on it, 4-5 years old. Lots of variables go into that number. The type of terrain and the way they cut it go into account. Overall though, I prefer hunting them as a food source in bigwoods. By me we have a lot of swamps and the bucks still choose the swamps over the maturing CC. Instead of hunting directly over them I find their staging in the mature woods. Good place to walk and find big tracks and of course large droppings. Mostly see doe's, fawns and small bucks hitting them during light.
Lone trees and pockets (island) of mature trees left in the cut will have the best buck bedding when it grows up. That's my .2 cents on them.
Lone trees and pockets (island) of mature trees left in the cut will have the best buck bedding when it grows up. That's my .2 cents on them.
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Re: Clear cuts..
Giving this one a bump. Not all seasons are over yet, but I know a lot of us are starting to scout already. This thread has some good info about clear cuts.
- moondoondude
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Re: Clear cuts..
Out here, clear cuts and selective cuts are like gold. They produce the best habitat for big bucks in my opinion. Their regeneration is based on a number of factors but in general, 4 - 9 years are the sweet spot for bedding areas, food sources, and maximum utilization. You can't beat a clear cut or selective cut in my opinion, all the ingredients for big bucks.
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Re: Clear cuts..
I really like the older clear cuts during the rut. Around where I'm hunting the orange army pretty much posts up near everything that looks remotely close to a feild, or new cut. The older cut I hunted this last season is over 10 years old, but it's super thick and holds does year round. Seen good chasing action everytime I've sat that cut, and even killed a nice 8 this year.
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Re: Clear cuts..
Understanding how deer utilize clear cuts at different stages of growth, in different regions really seems to vary. Adjacent cover, hunting pressure also seem to dictate how the deer go about using them as well from my experience.
This is a an opening in a pine stand here in the Southeast. Does will bed on the highest points and the bucks will bed on the leeward transitions IF there is corresponding cover (Briars, saplings, cedars etc) from my experience. These edges are not found on maps, they’re found in person.
The biggest issue I’ve found is that even the slightest human pressure or presence in these areas will push bucks out, because they have so many other options to choose from. Another issue is that a lot of these deer will cluster together, especially in the late season when there’s little foliage left. So bumping 1 doe means dumping the entire bedding area and they’ll go into a different section or nearby clear cut.
Another challenge has been light and variable winds. When the sun hits the open forest floor, it heats the pine needs etc up and unless you have a steady 7+MPH wind the thermals will pull to the highest points (to the does) and you’re bumping the bedding area. Hunting these areas only works on certain days, given we have light winds consistently unless a front pushes through.
I hope this helps, the deer sign will tell you which areas to focus on and which to ditch.
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