Hinge cutting trees to create bedding areas.

[Stump]

Has anyone attempted to do this in order to create bedding areas or to cut off multiple travel routes? Is there anything specific to know before taking on this task?

[MarkJUrban]

I'm learning how to do this myself. I recently joined a sited called whitetailambushsecrets.com They are currently uploading videos on how todo this. They also have some free videos on their site.

Mark

[Brownsville Bomber]

I did quite a bit of hinge cutting on my farm around bedding areas and also to help funnel deer past my stands.If you go on outreachoutdoors forum there is really good post by doubletree who is also on Iowa whitetail that gives pictures and instructions on hinge cutting he also has wrote articles for QDMA magazine on hinge cutting

[MuscleOnTheRidge]

Stump,
I did this at my place in an area where I had a box elder grove that really had nothing to offer wildlife. It was canopied over so nothing grew on the ground, and obviously not a nut or food bearing tree, so basically a pain in the @$$. Here are a couple of tricks that I used. The area was about 1/4 acre in size and adjacent to my food plot, so I wanted to create a bedding area or a sheltered area where deer could hide or stay when the pressure was on. The trees were quite close together and most were 10 - 15 years old. The wind prevails out of the NW on the ridge where I live, so I made a 3/4 cut at a slightly downward angle on every single tree in the area on the NW side of the tree. Make sure you take on this task on a VERY calm day. You don't want the tree's to start coming down while you are in the middle of the grove. Some trees will naturally fall whether you want them to or not because of their natural angle, but try and keep everything standing. I made my downward cuts right at shoulder height, knowing that a deer and other small animals would be able navigate in and around or under the still clinging trunks and trees.
With the first big wind from the NW, your bedding area will create itself and believe me, it is worth watching.
Because the trees still have a path through the bark due to the 3/4 cut, the tops remain green and will potentially continue to bud in the spring. The trunks will sprout ( Box Elders) new growth that deer and other animals prefer, and the sun exposure will allow other small tender plants to grow in the virgin soil. For me it was a great move, and the animal life in the little grove is amazing and a stark contrast from the dead zone that it was before.
Obviously, I planned the cut so the tops of outside edge trees would leave an apron of standing trees all the way around the area so my trails and food plot are not affected by downed trees.

MOTR

[Stump]

Good info MOTR! A great example of how to turn a junk area into something that will be productive.

[WayOutHereOutdoors]

We did something similar to what MOTR described, in two Norway Pine plantations. We assembled some scaffolding on the back of the Ranger (I drove while my cousin was on the scaffolding with the chainsaw which allowed us to cover a good deal of ground quickly) and went through sporadically cutting trees. These plantations were 25-30 years old so the trees were a bit larger than what MOTR described but still cut about 3/4 of the way through the trees as high as comfortably possible from the scaffolding on the Ranger (on a calm day). We did this last March/April and haven't been back in since, as they are located within the interior of the property within our designated sanctuaries. We'll go back in, in a couple of months and see what the wind did last year and make adjustments accordingly.