Double A Farm (NE Ohio) Updates

[Weasel]

That's a lot of work accomplished. I try to avoid those cleanup type cuts but sometimes they just make sense as in your case there. It may turn into one of your favorite spots. That is a good looking crab apple tree you found, a great bonus for your efforts. Will you be putting screen around the trunk before fall just in case? I'm thinking it is just the right size and will stand out now and maybe some buck will see it as a nice rub tree .

Thanks Chainsaw. I agree on usually avoiding the clean up type cuts but I want to get the most out of these soft-mast openings. Hopefully it makes sense in this case as you said and the results will be worth it. The problem I have in this old clear cut regrowth is the high stem count of maples & tupelo. It's difficult to even hinge any bigger trees without them getting hung up in the thick canopy, most of the time I make a mess. I have to get all the smaller trees out of the way to hinge-fell a larger tree and a spot can get cluttered up real fast. It's frustrating watching a spot go from deer desert open understory to blockade from the mess a pile of this junk can make. It's a ton of work but it's nice to take the time to drag and cut stuff up to make the area more useable for deer.

I didn't think about protecting that big crab. Thanks for the advice.

 

[lakngolf]

Good work Weasel. You and that chainsaw have been spending some quality time together lately. The maple stumps looked a little weird, like you did not want to bend over all the way to the ground (ha), so I am glad you explained your purpose. Good advice from Chainsaw. You never know what those creatures will want to rub and chew on. Only advice I would give on the new trees = get them as far away as possible from the edge of the woods. Edge-creep will occur over the years and your new trees need the space and sun.

 

[Weasel]

A guy I got to know through the old forum has a 60 acre property about an hour south of mine. We became friends and have toured each other's property. I was impressed with the layout and hard work he put into his farm. Beautiful fields of alfalfa, corn and soybeans accessorized with fruit and chestnut trees. The caliber of bucks he was harvesting on a regular basis was equally impressive. He invited me to a field event last summer where Erich Long was the guest presenter at a farm not far from my house in SW PA. Erich owns Drumming Log Wildlife Management and has done a lot of videos and other media with the guys from Management Advantage so you may be familiar with him. I was impressed with his knowledge, approach and heavy concentration on natural browse, growth and improving what you already have.

Long story short, my buddy tells me he hired Erich soon after buying his property. Between the field event and the results I had seen at my buddy's place, I decided to call Erich and have a conversation with him about my place. I decided to hire him and before long, he was walking my property, taking notes, asking lots of questions and making sketches. His passion for habitat management is contagious. I don't want to turn this into an infomercial for Erich, we all know there are a lot of good habitat consultants out there like Steve B. who is always willing to share here and help guys out, but I wanted to share my plan so it makes more sense while you are following along here and wondering why I'm doing what I'm doing.

The Hunterra map (I got 3 from Erich included in my consult) is pretty self explanatory. The food plots and edge feathering around them are already there, the one in the back field just needs re-shaped to fit the plan. The mast orchards in the back field are also already there along with the trail through the middle woodlot. The north sanctuary is untouched as of now and I will be cutting the trail through there soon. I am currently working on the lower soft mast opening (red color) and the wildlife cuts (yellow) around it. I need to get the other soft mast openings done soon as well because I have the fruit trees on order for them. As you can see, most of the improvements will be made to the west side of the property (prevailing W and NW wind), the power line and maple desert on the east border allow great hunting access without alerting many deer.

There were many factors that went into my decision to hire a consultant. I have read from some guys here, maybe even some of you, who have said oh I wish I wouldn't have put a food plot here, or I screwed up cutting here and it taking years to correct. So once my cabin and garage was up, the real habitat work began. I would waste so much time mulling over where I should do what and on this small property I can't afford to make too many mistakes. It would be different if I was 22 instead of 42. Then I saw the results my buddy was having, both in a perfectly laid out property/execution of hard work and caliber of bucks. And finally hearing a guy speak who does this for a living whose eyes have seen hundreds of properties then finding out just how reasonable his services were. It seemed like a no brainer for me.

 

[Weasel]

Good work Weasel. You and that chainsaw have been spending some quality time together lately. The maple stumps looked a little weird, like you did not want to bend over all the way to the ground (ha), so I am glad you explained your purpose. Good advice from Chainsaw. You never know what those creatures will want to rub and chew on. Only advice I would give on the new trees = get them as far away as possible from the edge of the woods. Edge-creep will occur over the years and your new trees need the space and sun.

Thanks Lak. I am definitely smitten with the new Stihl. You know how it is making due with something for years then getting the right tool for the job. Almost reminds me of my first pass on my first real tractor. Yeah we'll see what happens with these stumps. I thought at first I'd leave them high enough not to trip over and possibly come back and pull them out. But that probably won't happen with the sheer number of them now. Great advice on the edge-creep. I plan on putting the new fruit trees towards the center for full advantage of full sun. And no doubt will have to keep up on the edge feathering, which we should all be doing anyway to keep as much young forest around as possible.

 

[Chainsaw]

Good luck with your new plan Weasel. All of our time is limited and it is good to have a plan put together with someone more experienced than ourselves. I wish there were such a service when I was younger as it certainly jump starts ones understanding to spend time with someone that does this stuff more than us. Of course you had a great base of knowledge before and will continue to learn as you go along but it sure is nice to have the extra boost to what you have already accumulated in knowledge and understanding.

I found it helpful to remember and Steve had pointed it out to me as well that we the landowners have the boots on the ground experience though so if we feel something might not be perfect in our plans that we should listen to our voices and adjust our strategies to complement what we have seen firsthand. I'm looking forward to following your projects and am glad you are willing to share them with us.

All of us sharing our experiences collectively multiplies our knowledge and understanding many times over what we could ever hope to accomplish alone.

 

[dogghr]

Looks like a great plan Weasel. Going back a few posts, another thing of those maple trees, the deer love browsing on falling leaves from them almost as much a acorns. Some people blame leaf fall on spooking deer with change of habitat and they not moving as much, but I just think they spend more time in the woods browsing on those leaves. Good luck.

 

[Native Hunter]

Weasel, that is great about the plan. You have already done so much good habitat work and adding this will be like icing on the cake. I look forward to hearing about how this works for you down the road.

 

[Weasel]

Good luck with your new plan Weasel. All of our time is limited and it is good to have a plan put together with someone more experienced than ourselves. I wish there were such a service when I was younger as it certainly jump starts ones understanding to spend time with someone that does this stuff more than us. Of course you had a great base of knowledge before and will continue to learn as you go along but it sure is nice to have the extra boost to what you have already accumulated in knowledge and understanding.

I found it helpful to remember and Steve had pointed it out to me as well that we the landowners have the boots on the ground experience though so if we feel something might not be perfect in our plans that we should listen to our voices and adjust our strategies to complement what we have seen firsthand. I'm looking forward to following your projects and am glad you are willing to share them with us.

All of us sharing our experiences collectively multiplies our knowledge and understanding many times over what we could ever hope to accomplish alone.

Very well put Chainsaw. I appreciate your feedback as always.

 

[Weasel]

Looks like a great plan Weasel. Going back a few posts, another thing of those maple trees, the deer love browsing on falling leaves from them almost as much a acorns. Some people blame leaf fall on spooking deer with change of habitat and they not moving as much, but I just think they spend more time in the woods browsing on those leaves. Good luck.

No doubt dogghr. I've seen many deer over the years gorging themselves on freshly fallen maple leaves. I thought I was seeing things the first time I witnessed it.

 

[Weasel]

Weasel, that is great about the plan. You have already done so much good habitat work and adding this will be like icing on the cake. I look forward to hearing about how this works for you down the road.

Thanks N.H. It was nice to have someone who does this for a living look at the improvements I started and be impressed with my results. The only thing he would have done different was my orchard & chestnut grove placement in the back field. Not that it was wrong, he just would have laid it out a little differently. Another positive of having a solid plan laid out for you is the motivation is off the charts. Instead of wringing my hands about where & what to do next, I'm now full steam ahead at putting this plan into place. The big bucks are here, this plan should keep them here and make more opportunities to hunt them successfully. All the puzzle pieces are accounted for, I just need to finish putting it together.

 

[OkieKubota]

Good to have a fixed plan in place. I sometimes think about having someone come look and give me a new perspective. I have somewhat of a plan to make the north 40 sanctuary and make the south 40 food to draw deer toward our south access...

Your plan looks solid!

 

[dogghr]

Weasel, looking over your platt a little closer. What are the wild life cuts? Is that hinging and for what purpose? Bedding? or Manipulating travel? or just increasing natural browse?
Also, are you to access areas by way of the trails or are those to pattern deer movement? If not, what are your access points?
My land has difficult access as the fields are near the front due to elevation changes front to back. My main sanctuary tends to be in the back part of property. I can control access thru much of hunt year, but in peak rut, the best stands tend to be near the back sanctuary in middle of property.

 

[buckhunter10]

I have watched a lot of Erichs stuff and he is super impressive, I might hire him myself someday!

Good stuff buddy!

 

[Weasel]

Good to have a fixed plan in place. I sometimes think about having someone come look and give me a new perspective. I have somewhat of a plan to make the north 40 sanctuary and make the south 40 food to draw deer toward our south access...

Your plan looks solid!

Thanks Johnny. I think you are doing just fine on your own Sounds like a good plan to leave a big sanctuary.

 

[Weasel]

Weasel, looking over your platt a little closer. What are the wild life cuts? Is that hinging and for what purpose? Bedding? or Manipulating travel? or just increasing natural browse?
Also, are you to access areas by way of the trails or are those to pattern deer movement? If not, what are your access points?
My land has difficult access as the fields are near the front due to elevation changes front to back. My main sanctuary tends to be in the back part of property. I can control access thru much of hunt year, but in peak rut, the best stands tend to be near the back sanctuary in middle of property.

Wildlife cuts are openings in the canopy, a lot like your idea of random clusters. Just changes up the monotonous maple & tupelo canopy, gets sun on the forest floor and hopefully strategically placing them to manipulate travel. Yes, hinging and any other method of opening up the canopy, clear cut, girdling, etc. But you don't want a blockade, if you make a mess hinging, which I frequently do in my high stem count woodlots, you'll have to chainsaw a few deer paths through it. And yes, of course this will increase the natural browse available. If the deer start bedding in them, all the better.

The trail marked on the map is an existing trail to access food plots, etc. for habitat work. That is not used after August. All hunting access is made from the east border, there is a power line that runs the whole length for unimcumbered access. Plus the maple and tupelo desert along that edge discourages any lengthy deer stays. The trail in the back (top) sanctuary is not there yet.

Also consider that my neighbor to the west farms our front fields. In exchange, I am the only one allowed to hunt/trespass on his property. I just leave it alone as a big sanctuary.

 

[Weasel]

I have watched a lot of Erichs stuff and he is super impressive, I might hire him myself someday!

Good stuff buddy!

Thanks Al. I wish my buddy had a tour thread on here. We could all learn a lot from the plan he put into place with Erich's help and his property and harvested bucks are just incredible.

 

[Sam]

Its looking good

 

[Triple C]

Weasel...Plan looks great! Creating wildlife openings was one of the 1st recommendations made to me after purchasing our property in 2011. With the thinning we just finished, we have even more now where logging decks were created. Already an explosion of browse in these areas.

Great thread!

 

[CAS_HNTR]

Everything looks good and I'm jealous of all you've done recently. If you don't mind me asking.....who put up your building that I saw you mentioned on another thread?

 

[Weasel]

Its looking good

Thank you Sam.