Massachusetts Green Briar...how to deal with it?

[mainebowhunter]

Any you Mass swamp guys figure out how to make it through the green briar scouting swamps without wrecking your clothes? I am thinking of working over some MASS swamp ground this coming week and trying to figure out what kind of clothes will stand up to the green briar?

I was thinking about picking up some carhardt coveralls to see if they would stand up to the ripping and tearing. Our swamps here are nothing like that.

[ThePreBanMan]

I carry hand pruners and cut my way though. Pay attention to it though... You'll notice that many of the small green briar plants will have the tops chewed off. During late season it's about the only thing left in the woods that's green. It's a food source for them. So - it's a blessing and a curse at the same time... But hand pruners man - I always have a pair on me. Also try to wear pants that have a nylon blend. They're a lot tougher and can shed the thorns better then fleece or wool. The patches can be big and it gets worse when it's inter-tangled with scrub oak and other underbrush. Then it's like a straight up barbed wire field. I usually just try to find a way around it... On Aerial photos look for pine tree flats. Pine trees typically will not have green briar under them. They make the soil too acidic and there's less of an under story. So when it comes to access I try to use the pines... Holly trees too.... In fact you will usually find deer trails use pine tree and holly tree flats too because it's easier for them to get around as well. Guaranteed - a small island of pine or holly trees in a patch of otherwise swamp and hardwoods will be a hub/intersection point... Virtually guaranteed.....

What part of the state are you visiting?

[Edcyclopedia]

Either leather chaps or bird pants

[ThePreBanMan]

Oh - shotgun season opens next week. don't forget your flack jacket. Gun laws here are oppressive and egregious. Don't plan on even handling ammo in the state absent a non resident license to carry or FID. It's a felony with a mandatory 2 years minimum in the slammer.

[Horizontal Hunter]

Like PreBanMan said clippers are the way to go for the green briar and I also use them in the laurels as well. When it gets too thick you just have to go around as that will rip you up.

Oh - shotgun season opens next week. don't forget your flack jacket. Gun laws here are oppressive and egregious. Don't plan on even handling ammo in the state absent a non resident license to carry or FID. It's a felony with a mandatory 2 years minimum in the slammer.

Non-residents with a hunting license have more rights than residents. Sad but true.

Just bring plenty of ammo as you can't buy that here.

Non-residents
Non-residents with a valid Massachusetts non-resident hunting license do not need a firearm license to possess or carry rifles and shotguns and ammunition during the hunting season.

Non-residents do not need a firearms license to transport their firearms in or through the Commonwealth, provided the firearms are unloaded and enclosed in a case while traveling.

Non-residents may not purchase guns or ammunition in Massachusetts without authorization. To obtain a non-resident License To Carry or a non-resident permit to possess handguns, contact the Criminal History Systems Board (CHSB ) Firearms Support Services (617) 660-4780.

https://www.mass.gov/service-details/gun-ownership-in-massachusetts

Bob

[wickedbruiser]

Beat me to it pbm. Although pruning through is the best way to not get tangled up, it will blow every deer out of there. If it's not already pre cut/prepped. Sitting the outskirts on exit trails is your next best option. Gotta love me some greenbrier battle wounds! You here now?

[SamPotter]

Are we talking about multiflora rose?

[mainebowhunter]

Beat me to it pbm. Although pruning through is the best way to not get tangled up, it will blow every deer out of there. If it's not already pre cut/prepped. Sitting the outskirts on exit trails is your next best option. Gotta love me some greenbrier battle wounds! You here now?

Not yet. I will be in a couple of days. Not sure how much hunting I am going to be doing. Really looking to scout more than anything for future years. The pressure in some of those areas is hard to get away from during Thanksgiving. Killed a couple small bucks but thats it. When you see more treestands than buck sign, time to try and get away from the pressure.

I am not sure just what I am going to do yet.

[mainebowhunter]

Are we talking about multiflora rose?

I am not quite sure. Could be the same thing. I have also encountered it in Ohio.

[mainebowhunter]

I carry hand pruners and cut my way though. Pay attention to it though... You'll notice that many of the small green briar plants will have the tops chewed off. During late season it's about the only thing left in the woods that's green. It's a food source for them. So - it's a blessing and a curse at the same time... But hand pruners man - I always have a pair on me. Also try to wear pants that have a nylon blend. They're a lot tougher and can shed the thorns better then fleece or wool. The patches can be big and it gets worse when it's inter-tangled with scrub oak and other underbrush. Then it's like a straight up barbed wire field. I usually just try to find a way around it... On Aerial photos look for pine tree flats. Pine trees typically will not have green briar under them. They make the soil too acidic and there's less of an under story. So when it comes to access I try to use the pines... Holly trees too.... In fact you will usually find deer trails use pine tree and holly tree flats too because it's easier for them to get around as well. Guaranteed - a small island of pine or holly trees in a patch of otherwise swamp and hardwoods will be a hub/intersection point... Virtually guaranteed.....

What part of the state are you visiting?

I have spent a good bit of time in Middleboro / Lakeville / Wareham area. I still find a lot of it on pine flats. As a food source, its tough. Its not a destination food source because its everywhere.

[Razorhead]

Greenbriar and Multiflora Rose are two different species. Both of them are nasty and will tear you up pretty bad.

[ThePreBanMan]

Like PreBanMan said clippers are the way to go for the green briar and I also use them in the laurels as well. When it gets too thick you just have to go around as that will rip you up.

Oh - shotgun season opens next week. don't forget your flack jacket. Gun laws here are oppressive and egregious. Don't plan on even handling ammo in the state absent a non resident license to carry or FID. It's a felony with a mandatory 2 years minimum in the slammer.

Non-residents with a hunting license have more rights than residents. Sad but true.

Just bring plenty of ammo as you can't buy that here.

Non-residents
Non-residents with a valid Massachusetts non-resident hunting license do not need a firearm license to possess or carry rifles and shotguns and ammunition during the hunting season.

Non-residents do not need a firearms license to transport their firearms in or through the Commonwealth, provided the firearms are unloaded and enclosed in a case while traveling.

Non-residents may not purchase guns or ammunition in Massachusetts without authorization. To obtain a non-resident License To Carry or a non-resident permit to possess handguns, contact the Criminal History Systems Board (CHSB ) Firearms Support Services (617) 660-4780.

https://www.mass.gov/service-details/gun-ownership-in-massachusetts

Bob

I learned something today... Hey do you know what's up with NES? Been down for a few days...

I carry hand pruners and cut my way though. Pay attention to it though... You'll notice that many of the small green briar plants will have the tops chewed off. During late season it's about the only thing left in the woods that's green. It's a food source for them. So - it's a blessing and a curse at the same time... But hand pruners man - I always have a pair on me. Also try to wear pants that have a nylon blend. They're a lot tougher and can shed the thorns better then fleece or wool. The patches can be big and it gets worse when it's inter-tangled with scrub oak and other underbrush. Then it's like a straight up barbed wire field. I usually just try to find a way around it... On Aerial photos look for pine tree flats. Pine trees typically will not have green briar under them. They make the soil too acidic and there's less of an under story. So when it comes to access I try to use the pines... Holly trees too.... In fact you will usually find deer trails use pine tree and holly tree flats too because it's easier for them to get around as well. Guaranteed - a small island of pine or holly trees in a patch of otherwise swamp and hardwoods will be a hub/intersection point... Virtually guaranteed.....

What part of the state are you visiting?

I have spent a good bit of time in Middleboro / Lakeville / Wareham area. I still find a lot of it on pine flats. As a food source, its tough. Its not a destination food source because its everywhere.

Yes it is. Deer don't have to go far to get food so it makes it tough. I find they also like to bed behind thick plots of the stuff on the downwind side. When I kick them up I ask myself how the did a deer even get back in there? I didn't mean to imply that pine flats would be devoid of an under story - just that it would be easier to pass through. Couple of reasons for that. Pines are ever greens so they block the sun from reaching the forest floor year round depriving underbrush of sun, and the needles they drop lower the PH of the soil and a lot of other plant species don't like acidic soil. But - there will still be an under story.. Probably pine whips and some green briar mixed in. But it won't be nearly as thick.

If you plan on hitting a WMA plan on a long hike to get away from pressure. I would outright avoid Freetown State Forest. It's a war zone. They stock it for Pheasant and bird hunters trample it pretty hard. Bird hunters are swinging and shooting skyward and you're in a tree in full camo... Not a good combination. You'll be tempted because it's close to Lakeville... Don't do it. I'll send you a PM with a few spots on WMAs I know don't see nearly as much pressure.

[Horizontal Hunter]

I learned something today... Hey do you know what's up with NES? Been down for a few days...

Sent you a PM.

Bob