Dogghr's Theory of Random Clusters or Hinge Cutting Manipulation

[dogghr]

Random Clusters - really similar to what the MSU Deer Lab is finding for "focal areas".
http://extension.msstate.edu/deer-u...ode-030-buck-movement-patterns-during-the-rut
They dive into these focal areas at about 45 minutes.

That was a good conversation Ben, thanks for sharing. And I'm glad you gave me the time to start listening as my ADD tends to put me to sleep in podcasts as they have no pics to keep me awake. Focal point is a good description of much of what habitat managers tend to do with any of their endeavors.
My hinge cutting which helps drop food browse to deer levels was perfect timing this past week as the weather has been evil with snow/ice/rain. This is a very stressful time for deer survival particularly the young and old. Couple more weeks and my grains and clovers will begin to green up as well as natural browse especially MFR and GB providing a much needed start of the spring buffet.

 

[TreeDaddy]

clover and grains poised for lift off here

should be a good spring if the sun will ever come out again......

bill

 

[BenAllgood]

What about random clusters in fields? I have about 16 acres of hay field. For a couple reasons, I probably won't convert the whole 16 acres at one time to early successional habitat. What if I took the same approach and created clusters and let the rest go? One if my concerns with that is making easier hunting areas for coyotes and hurting fawn recruitment.

 

[dogghr]

What about random clusters in fields? I have about 16 acres of hay field. For a couple reasons, I probably won't convert the whole 16 acres at one time to early successional habitat. What if I took the same approach and created clusters and let the rest go? One if my concerns with that is making easier hunting areas for coyotes and hurting fawn recruitment.

I def think the concept can be applied as you say Ben. If you allowed thickets of 1/2-1 ac grow in sections across your field I think it would promote a safe feeling for the deer that fees there and if following a safe path would devlope a path deer would tend to access and perhaps bed within. It would allow more pockets of safety from predators for fawning cover.


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[Chainsaw]

The focal point presentation was excellent Ben. Thank you for posting it. It was interesting how they hunted and darted the mature bucks to attach the GPS into. I remember around twenty-five years ago Dr. Kroll saying that it was difficult if not impossible to GPS track wild mature bucks because the collars were put on captured fawns then and by the time the buck hit 2 1/2 the GPS would stop working because the batteries would likely be dead by then. Thus some of their findings then regarding mature wild buck movement were based on very limited data. Still it was very exciting that the findings discovered in that era that have become some of the paradigms of today were substantiated in the findings of the modern day study in discussion.

There is a field project such as yours in the future here and what is naturally happening while I haven't gotten to it yet is interesting. The areas growing up into dogwood and willow(making their own cover/natural food clusters) are the natural low areas of the field leaving the drier areas available for trails and plotting or even fruit tree or nut tree planting. I like the contrast between the wet and dry, low and high spots that hiring a bulldozer to accentuate it or simply add more of it is under consideration. It would probably be returning the field to what it was before it was fixed up for Agricultural use.

Great thread dogghr!

 

[dogghr]

Harmony, Balance, and Rhythm .
So what does this theory talk all mean? This off the wall term of Random Clusters? Is it the end all of habitat management or buck patterning? Not at all. It is simply a treatment that became a method to compensate for a void my land exhibited. It filled a need and developed within a technique that would allow management among mature acorn producers that would some how tempt deer, particularly bucks, to travel in a more predictable pattern and indirectly improve their health and safety.
What one should take from my ramblings, is not so much this technique I use and share with you, but that each of us should look at their own land and habitat, and with that inspection, begin to develop a method to improve your land and indirectly, your hunting. Each person has their priorities and it is not up to me or any other to decide that for you. Watch your land closely, spend hours, not minutes, just listening and observing, not just the major players, but take notice of the tiniest of contributors to your habitat. And if you spend more time in observation than action, then you will determine what your own Theory of management shall be. Good luck and thanks for reading. Peace.

"Harmony, balance and rhythm. They're the three things that stay with you your whole life. Without them civilization is out of whack." --- George Yeoman Pocock -- The Boys in the Boat by Daniel Brown.

 

[TreeDaddy]

What one should take from my ramblings, is not so much this technique I use and share with you, but that each of us should look at their own land and habitat, and with that inspection, begin to develop a method to improve your land and indirectly, your hunting. Each person has their priorities and it is not up to me or any other to decide that for you. Watch your land closely, spend hours, not minutes, just listening and observing, not just the major players, but take notice of the tiniest of contributors to your habitat. And if you spend more time in observation than action, then you will determine what your own Theory of management shall be. Good luck and thanks for reading. Peace.

.......Habitat Gospel

would make a great preface/foreward to every habitat book written


bill

 

[dogghr]

Some tweaking of the Clusters today. Mainly worked where #2 junctions against #3. Again I jumped deer bedded against #5 cutting where they never spent any time until a RC was begun last year. #5 sits on the ridge and above #2,3,4. RC 2 has bedding around it but 3 and 4 are just pathways.
Now what I'm trying to do is create the illusion of a more open path that the deer will inadvertantly follow. Again, Im not doing much thickening, just dropping trees horizontal to give that pathway effect to the deer. This is a good buck stand and where I took last years buck after missing one of the 8 or so I saw that morning.
Now where do resturants typically go along highways. At intersections that will probably have high traffic. Thus this is what I want, I created three pathways/highways that meet at the offramp/my stand, which should give greater chance of exposure to a buck. I cut so they are passing downwind of my plots several hundred yards away but intersecting on the upwind side of my stand giving me a 15-25 yd shot with the recurve. Part of these RC are within a 15 ac santuary and the other 2 are on its fringes. I can access this and another couple stands by staying downwind and along property line without invading the sanctuary. I don't gun hunt this stand due to its proximity of property line.
I know it looks thin, but it is only the illusion I'm trying to create with the horizontal cuts against the vertically growing mast producers.
This particular stand I'n showing is called the Bear stand due to reasons I've described in past years. The other ones are out of sight of any of these pics.
Just a log cut and some adjacent hinging is enough.


Just a slight path opening .


Stand is in the background to right. Deer trails intersect just to its left.


The deer view on the downwind side of my stand. It was here that the 8 I shot appeared as a shadow on the ground as he stood behind a 80 yo white oak. I stood and was ready to draw as he finally stepped from behind the tree and the Hellraiser solid blade sent him down the hill as his life ended 50 yds away along one of my early trail cuts.


Hinge high or low, you still provide new growth and browse.

 

[dogghr]

I do hope you stop and count the rings occasionally while taking down a tree. I got to 20 on this one before I quit counting. Try to determine the years of drought and monsoon bases on size of rings. Take note how quickly it grows early then slows as it matures.
Imagine what it takes for a 75 yo mast/deer food supplier to reach its potential.
If you think old forests were devoid of a thick understory, YouTube some axe and crosscut timbering from the early days and pay close attention to the thick crap in the background. Don’t fall for today’s teaching that mature trees must be cut for deer management. They can be managed quite well if you so choose.

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[Native Hunter]

Nice work dogghr. What would you think about just randomly hinging some big soft maples on my new property just to thicken up a hillside and improve bedding spots?

 

[dogghr]

Nice work dogghr. What would you think about just randomly hinging some big soft maples on my new property just to thicken up a hillside and improve bedding spots?

They will def like the browse that Maples provide and they certainly will thicken the understory in quick order. As for bedding, one never knows, I've got 2 clusters that are used for bedding and the others are simply pathways. I would cut yours thick then cut a path about 3 feet wide thru. But if they bed, mine always bed on the downwind edges of the clusters.
I am watering at the mouth of your new property. I hunted a similar place with a bluff on one side and fields on another. It was almost unfair with the bucks during the rut and post rut.

 

[Native Hunter]

They will def like the browse that Maples provide and they certainly will thicken the understory in quick order. As for bedding, one never knows, I've got 2 clusters that are used for bedding and the others are simply pathways. I would cut yours thick then cut a path about 3 feet wide thru. But if they bed, mine always bed on the downwind edges of the clusters.
I am watering at the mouth of your new property. I hunted a similar place with a bluff on one side and fields on another. It was almost unfair with the bucks during the rut and post rut.

Your making me excited by talking like that!!!!

 

[dogghr]

A little off topic but does apply as to why I'm careful of how many trees I'm willing to lay chainsaw to. Nature is thinning our forests of mid-mature trees from Maples to Oaks and even invasives. So I don't take a lot of trees simply because I fear numbers that will die from disease. I have mentioned how some have died already on my place and how some, especially black oaks, are hollow from disease. Which also means being careful with your cutting.
Here is the article...
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/outdo...cle_edb37e72-25ff-553d-86d9-9877bfebc06f.html

 

[dogghr]

And not all diseased/ hollow trees are old. Always tap a tree withblunt side of your axe before cutting for that hollow or weak sound. You do carry an axe of some type when you run your chainsaw don’t you??? I hope.

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[Tap]

And not all diseased/ hollow trees are old. Always tap a tree withblunt side of your axe before cutting for that hollow or weak sound. You do carry an axe of some type when you run your chainsaw don’t you??? I hope.

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I usually use my head instead of an axe but I stopped doing that... I could never tell if the hollow sound was coming from the tree or my skull.

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[dogghr]

Sweating in the frigid days of winter running the chainsaw to make the wood more deer attractive, can be aggravating when looking at nothing but brown. But look what happens as spring slides in, see that. Last year this was all barren leaf covered forests. Just removal of selective trees and perhaps a little help from the turkey feeding on spread oat seed to attract their scratching, and you can begin to see new growth beginning. Nothing planted here. No fire. No tillage except what natures animals do. You have be patient. The understory may not explode immediately. It may take a few years to do its work.
Notice the mature trees left standing, only taking what is competing and hindering these mature food producers of acorn. Is this a desert of deer foodless landscape? Will it become, an area of cover, of increased edge affect within the forest? You bet your sharpened broadhead it will. And all while leaving behind trees that are 25-75 yo, the prime mast producers , and forest rejuvinators of this land. Why would anyone remove such and then complain of the invasion of a variety of deer poor habitat? And its all done in small sections dooable by a property owner, allowing, tempting, forcing deer/buck to hop along each ramdom cluster scent checking for a willing lady. I don't care if he beds here. I just want him to pass along a semi predictable route which brings him near my stand. Same as we do with any wood hunting, but just increasing my odds of where he might be in his travels.
Go sit on your ridge for an hour. Think as if you were an animal looking for a hot date. How , where, when, would you do that on your property?? Then pick out areas, yes random pickings yet with a pattern, that would/will tempt you, the animal, to spend more time in certain locales where you just might have a ambush prepared.
And BTW, notice the shiny tractor. I changed the fluids and gave it its spring wash. Green on green, now that is good. Best of luck to your efforts.






Last pick.... and one of the flowering trees that love your efforts. Folklore has it that the Dogwood is a bloom representing the crucifixion. Perhaps, but just to slip this in...I hope each of you had a great Easter and have embraced the Peace. No matter how deep the chasm may be that the worlds lies may seem to have trapped you in its depths, His hand is extended, waiting for you to choose to take hold. Your choice. Have a great week. Peace.

"You can't know, you can only believe---or not." C.S. Lewis

 

[Native Hunter]

Looking good.

I love those conifers out in the forest. In the second pictures it looks like white pines. In the third picture it looks like maybe a different type of conifer. What say you?

 

[dogghr]

Looking good.

I love those conifers out in the forest. In the second pictures it looks like white pines. In the third picture it looks like maybe a different type of conifer. What say you?

Your eyes miss nothing Native. Correct on the first. The second is Eastern Hemlock probably. Those two and Cedar are intermixed thruout the property. Until I began managing for deer instead of the farmers cattle, the conifers were limited. Now I have pockets of those 3 evergreen type in particular across the habitat. I'll look closer next time I'm up there to confirm, you know me, I tend to look down at the small stuff.
Guess what the shrub growth in the second pic, I'll give you better one later. Hint, it has thorns.

 

[lakngolf]

When the guys clear cut 10 acres back in 2015 their access path really left an area wide open from the road. I took front end loader, dug some holes, and filled them with wild cedars. I just dug them with loaded and placed in holes.
My Mom was always curious how they were doing because I used lazy man method to plant.
Today I saw them, now about six feet, and thought of Mother.
Good thoughts

 

[Native Hunter]

Your eyes miss nothing Native. Correct on the first. The second is Eastern Hemlock probably. Those two and Cedar are intermixed thruout the property. Until I began managing for deer instead of the farmers cattle, the conifers were limited. Now I have pockets of those 3 evergreen type in particular across the habitat. I'll look closer next time I'm up there to confirm, you know me, I tend to look down at the small stuff.
Guess what the shrub growth in the second pic, I'll give you better one later. Hint, it has thorns.

I'm going to say that third one is something besides hemlock. You can check it out next time you are there and let me know.

Speaking of hemlock - there is nothing more beautiful than a mountain stream covered with hemlock and mountain laurel. And there is nothing more shade tolerant than a hemlock. They can survive on 5% sunlight - and nothing looks more beautiful in the woods.

I'm getting some good white pine pockets going and increasing the cedars in strategic locations as well. I only have a couple of hemlocks growing at the farm, but have some dandies in my yard at home.