Hinge Cutting Advice

All. being doing more and more research on hinge cutting and am curious to hear how it has worked for you all. Is it worth doing and did it work? What trees species did you find best to hinge? Anything you would do different? Thanks.
 
I tried it for a number of years, and gave it up, and for a host of reasons.

1. I couldn't get the tree to live.
2. The stump would resprout, but that just meant sprouts starting at 4-5' high, and all the browse and cover going straight up into the air, making it useless for ground cover and food.
3. Regen under the hinged areas seemed to be exceptionally poor.

I tried with maple, basswood, ash, aspen, and birch. Large and small, seemed like nothing good came of it. Now, I just flatten the stuff I don't want or want to restart, and use the trees and brush on the ground as temp cover and also cover for desirable stuff I leave to grow. The stump sprouts seem to provide far more cover and browse, and when cut low to the ground, it does both for a long time.

I think hinge cutting is a tremendous over-complication mimicking the logging process. Give your desireables some sunlight and elbow room and knock down the stuff that isn't providing a benefit. If stuff is straight enough, I pick a point and drop everything towards the center of a circle. That way you maintain walkways around where you cut, and you get some piling of debris.
 
I've done some on maple, beech, ash, and poplar. The best time I think is late winter, early spring before buds break. The smaller the stem the easier it is to keep intact. I wanted to block along a road. Beech hinge really well and make a nice landing spot for the more fragile maples. The deer eat the maple buds, and the beech make real nice cover. I don't know how much it helps, but hinging an 8" red maple without it breaking feels amazing. It also opens up the ground to light and that's what makes the magic happen.
 
Most of what I hinge will live for couple years and plenty of stump sprouts high or low depending on location of my cut on tree. Soft wood like maple is the easiest but I've had all work. Don't cut but 2/3 into tree to help preserve cambium. I've cut dead of winter and middle of summer with same results.
I certainly have changed my motives over time. I do hinge cut to provide structure visible to deer just as fish love structure initially then fell cut trees as years progress in that area. Fell cutting trees has some aspect to soil water retention but that is another topic somewhat. I don't get much bedding in the areas but they are definitely used as travel routes.
My main goals, although this may take couple years of hinge cutting, is to open the canopy to some degree. I walked thru thickets this past week, with a forum member on here, that occurred in less than 2 years of hinge cuts. Growth included everything from hard wood regeneration to native grasses and weeds. Some of them are a Vietnam like jungle.
You can read some of my theories, none of which are proven, and most of which are anecdotal , and most of which probably could be disproven by deer gurus, on a thread on here called Random Clusters and my somewhat discontinued Foodplotting in the Mountains land thread. Good luck.
 
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It’s been a tremendous boost on our property, but we did 23 acres of it. Regeneration has ranged from disappointing to mind blowing. A significant portion of our cuts are still alive 4 years later. I can’t explain the difference in regeneration....I suspect it’s more soil based than anything else. If I had to choose between substantial plots or hinge cuts, I’d pick the hinge cuts given the winter browse/cover it creates. We cut everything other than fruit trees and acorn trees. One of the amazing things all this has done is encourage natural browse outside of the hinge cuts because there’s so much browse available, everything gets a break. The final observation I’ll make is the importance of locating the cuts so as to create or facilitate flow by the deer in, or immediately outside of the cuts, and to and from plots.
 
There are a lot of variables to it.
Low cuts, on trees in shade are usually a failure regardless of the species.
If I cut ~ chin-high in areas that get adequate sun, I have great survival.
My favorite species are elm and black cherry. The elm along the feathered edges of plots gets pounded.
The higher cuts puts 50% of the tree at browsing level and keeps the other 50% above the reach of deer so the tree doesn't get eaten to death.
Try to minimize the amount you cut into the tree so more cambium stays in tact. Using a hook really helps minimize cuts and also helps lay trees exactly where you want them. They do survive better if they are supported by the previous stump that was cut...less cambium pinch means better survival.

Deciding what you are trying to accomplish with hinging will dictate how you do it. Cutting for blockages or steering deer movement is different than visual screening, or bedding, or perpetual food.
In my case, a hinged tree is not a one time deal. I have trees that have been hinged 3 times and a lot of them really need done again.

Down sides...
It can complicate property maintenance because access with machinery can be blocked.
Another problem is that it can allow certain vining plants to climb and blanket the roof of all your hinges. I have areas that grape vines, oriental bittersweet, and mile-a-minute are smothering my tops. Some of those species can linger in the shade of un cut trees, but when when the canopy is opened via hinge cuts, that crap can explode and climb the short distance and then spread across the tops of the hinged trees. Areas like that are very difficult to maintain if you are trying to get in to cut those vines. And left unmaintained, those vines eventually jump to surrounding trees we don't want to cut, like crabs and other small mast trees. I'm forever fighting to keep problem vines from spreading from my hinge areas to valuable trees. One of the reasons I've hinged is to open up sunlight for wild crabs and apples. My wild trees have really taken off, but only because I've kept the vining stuff from spreading onto them from adjacent hinge areas.
No doubt, for me hinging has created a lot more maintenance. I'm running out of the will and energy to keep my property in a growth stage of early succession. Man, I hate invasive vines!
 
To begin with, your land should be assessed by a professional to decide if the woods is right for hinging. A quality timber stand with timber sales and logging at the correct intervals should never be hinge cut, the timbering activities provide all the food and cover that the land is capable of sustaining, and hinging will only be killing quality young trees that are the next timber crop. Hinging is a method of providing food and cover in woodland that has been improperly managed in the past and is too thick with small trees that need thinning, or too many junk trees.
Randomly hinging a few red maples or equivalent low quality trees in mature woods for quick deer food in late winter is ok, but will do very little for longterm cover. IMO randomly hinging a few junk trees in mature woods is not nearly as effective as cutting a hinge at ground level to provide stump sprouts for longer term high quality deer food.
This is the most common hinging failure that I have witnessed, hinging a few random trees in mature woods, not enough sunlight is left to the forest floor to make a difference in growth of new cover, and other than shortening the sight distance in an otherwise open woods very little is accomplished. The other less common failure that I've seen is the extreme opposite, hinging everything like a clearcut, with no quality shelterwood trees left for seed trees and partial shade to protect the next timber stand. This situation allows invasives to take over totally unchecked by any shading or quality competition, leading to a longterm invasive jungle.
If you determine that hinging is right for you, cutting in a pattern and throwing low quality trees into a wagon wheel circle with the help of a pushpole to create an elevated canopy for the deer to bed underneath is the ideal goal, while leaving quality big trees standing throughout with crowns not quite touching. If no quality trees exist some lower grade trees should be left standing for some shading.
Have a plan on paper and focus on hinging areas towards the middle of our property, adjacent to feeding areas, food plots, or known bedding areas first rather than randomly picking an area to start. Hinging along property lines is generally only used when the goal is to make a screen along a road. The ability to identify tree species and invasive plants is a must before cutting is started.
 
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Hinging has benefits if used appropriately, about 80% of the time I use hinging for barriers (essentially fencing), 10% of the time its for bedding areas and the other 10% of the time is designed to eliminate access and protect planted or expected saplings (new growth). Generally, I conventional cut down trees that don't meet my criteria for future saw trees or seed trees... that said, have a plan before doing any of this as you could be losing out on long/short terms financial gains .

There are many people on this site that are knowledgeable that can provide you recommendations on plans, etc. again my first step would be develop a plan and go from there. I would have a layered plan that considers the tree species, harvested and non-harvestable areas, then micro manage that into smaller chunks and consider how to "control" deer movement by blocking, enhancing, etc. essentially draw a treasure map for success and ensure that you consider staging your habitat with ages of various tree growth (successional forest), if you do some cutting in stages you will lessen your workload and create various benefits to multiple species, which will ideally be the goal of most- to be deer focused only is quite foolish, considering we are impacting ecosystems on small scales when we make a change (like hinging a tree) and need to look at what already is benefiting from the forest as is... like leaving hollowed out trees for pecking and nesting birds, etc. Birds and other species work independently but in harmony to establish balance ....so as an example eradicating nesting area for birds could create a void to fight an insect that is pervasively invading in area (like caterpillars, beetles etc). My point is put some thought into your decisions and ensure you are best informed on how best to benefit your needs and the environment (off my soap box now)

One more item to mention, I do hinge trees in the winter time to provide browse, that would be a big benefit to the deer herd in colder climates as I suspect that's a consideration in your area.
 
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I missed your question what trees to hinge... any of them.... species are site dependent and relates to your goals, If u want preferred species to hinge and expect the hinge to remain then certain species will do better than other, boxelder, elm, maple do well as an example. Time of year is a consideration... I stick with before sap flow, generally, but I will hinge in the summer... stick with smaller trees, but don't be scared to hinge 10 inch trees if needed, Ive hinge larger trees with success... but I wouldn't really start with hinging as my first go around for establishing bedding if that's your goal. If you are trying to create back cover hinging does work well, the theory on complete overhead (doghouse like scenarios) cover is a little goofy if you ask me. Ive learned from my mistakes over the years and I have found that if you create a cove, similar to baseball backstop (on a smaller scale), you will have better results, assuming they are in the correct area.... hope this helps.
 
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Hinge cutting has its place and there have been some excellent ideas and observations expressed here already;some may seem to contradict another but therein lie more answers as the "it all depends' reasons. For example as Mennonite stated it can and sometimes does open the door for invasives. On Elk Addicts property though there was not an invasive explosion as there could have been because the invasive plants just weren't there in numbers to start with;his property had plenty of healthy diversity before and after hinge cutting.

Hinge cutting is simply a tool to get more light to the forest floor, create blockades or dead zones, create structure, or for us in the north a way to legally feed winter deer. As stated it is not the only tool to get those things done. For example if choosing between logging and hinge cutting to get more sun to the forest floor I'd choose logging if the cut is big enough to draw a good logger. Logging gets the job done by others easier,faster and safer than I could and it brings in a few bucks as a bonus. Logging also creates structure and can be followed with some wind blown "natural hinge cuts" after logging. If invasive plants already have a strong hold they will make even more inroads after either hinging or logging.

To answer your question as to what tree works best for my property, I'd say it would be poplar. It hinges the worst but dropped in the winter it provides a late winter boost of food otherwise unavailble to the deer here. And again in spring, summer and fall the resulting GROUND sprouts provide bud browse as well summer and early fall leaf browse. The sprouts grow quickly and eventually can be used for winter hinge cutting as the cycle starts anew.
 
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It's impossible to have a crystal ball to see the future of wildlife and habitat in a given area.
Here's a bit of how history has gone on my place. Bear with me, it eventually talks about hinge cutting.

I bought my 1st 20 acres in 1986. It was basically 75% hay fields and 25% mature hickory and black walnut with a few oaks, ash, and black cherry mixed in. There were some wild apples, too, but not many. The property had lots of edge, but it was mostly a hard edge. Thick cover existed on adjacent properties, but mine was not very thick.
The DPSM was probably more appropriate than it is now. IMO, we have too many now.

Then I started hearing about the wonders of Imperial clover, QDMA, the old forum, etc. I toured the Dougherty property, too. One thing kinda led to the next. Eventually I was jumping in with both feet. One very important aspect of why I chose how I was proceeding...I had no idea what the future held for the surrounding properties (all small acreages) so I was determined to make my small postage stamp as attractive to deer as I could make it. I wanted to increase my cover while maximizing food. If the surrounding property ever became developed, or off limits for me to hunt, I wanted to insure I would have my own little corner of paradise. We moved to our property to escape from a fast developing suburbia so I saw 1st hand how quickly the property ownership, development, and hunt able habitat and permission can vanish.

So I started developing cover around 1990 by just not keeping the hayfields mowed. Native stuff popped up and I was creating nice cover,
lots more edge and tons of food. In order to maintain the substantial, feathered edge that I created, I started hinge cutting trees that were trying to advance into 2nd growth stage. I did not want to lose that early succession growth to a maturing forest.

Fast forward to the present day. We've expanded to 31 acres and the surrounding properties have not been developed and appear to be stable in ownership. The ash trees are all dead. The amount of sun within what used to be shade is now substantial.
And my property has become a frickin mess. I do have great cover, 4 or 5 acres of plots, a few dozen soft and hard mast trees plus raspberry, etc. We have a ton of deer and a slew of turkeys.

Oh, but the invasives!! They are exploding within my nice cover that I created and maintained (via hinge cutting) which has become a "nursery" for all kind of highly undesirable stuff.
If I don't work my ass off to keep the crap at bay, my place will be nothing more than Mile-a-Minute, Stilt Grass, grape vines, Canada Thistle, and Oriental Bittersweet. Most of this stuff either vines and climbs and blankets desirable stuff or smothers the ground and prevents native forbs. Getting in with brush hogs to keep the sh*+ beaten back is nearly impossible without totally destroying the GOOD stuff that lingers within the losing battle. The stilt grass is now over taking my switch grass. How do I fix that?
I could do a property tour showing just how ugly invasive plants can become.

What led me down this road? Initially, it was the fear of development of the surrounding properties. In my case, those fears were unfounded but, at the same time, the reasons for those fears were very realistic. But none have come to fruition. Hind sight is 50/50. If I had it to do all over again, I would have maintained the property in the hayfield/mature forest state that it was in 1986.
Man, it's hard to see the future. Should you hinge cut? I wish I knew the answer to that a few decades ago. I still don't know the answer.
 
What's your goal / purpose? That is where you have to start. If you are looking to create a thicker area / bedding thicket, I would recommend cutting down 2/3 to 3/4 of the trees, and then only hinging around 1/4 to 1/3 of the trees. Ultimately, the goal is to get sunlight to the forest floor.

Now, if I am edge feathering or creating a blockade (steering deer), then I just go ahead and hinge them.

Honestly, we are focusing completely on timber work on our property right now, and really don't care about food plots. We did remove 25 acres of fescue 2 years ago in our bottom fields which is the center of our property, and the native seed bank along took off wonderfully. Food plots will be the last area we touch.
 
I just came in from ripping down Mile-a-Minute. It's absolutely heartbreaking and demoralizing.
Just be aware when you increase sunlight and create cover...You might not like the stuff that grows.
 
I just came in from ripping down Mile-a-Minute. It's absolutely heartbreaking and demoralizing.
Just be aware when you increase sunlight and create cover...You might not like the stuff that grows.

I feel your pain, I thinned cedars and killed autumn olive in Iowa just to end up with thousands more autumn olives. By the time that I got to the end of the property removing invasive plants I had to start over from the beginning.

G
 
It's impossible to have a crystal ball to see the future of wildlife and habitat in a given area.
Here's a bit of how history has gone on my place. Bear with me, it eventually talks about hinge cutting.

I bought my 1st 20 acres in 1986. It was basically 75% hay fields and 25% mature hickory and black walnut with a few oaks, ash, and black cherry mixed in. There were some wild apples, too, but not many. The property had lots of edge, but it was mostly a hard edge. Thick cover existed on adjacent properties, but mine was not very thick.
The DPSM was probably more appropriate than it is now. IMO, we have too many now.

Then I started hearing about the wonders of Imperial clover, QDMA, the old forum, etc. I toured the Dougherty property, too. One thing kinda led to the next. Eventually I was jumping in with both feet. One very important aspect of why I chose how I was proceeding...I had no idea what the future held for the surrounding properties (all small acreages) so I was determined to make my small postage stamp as attractive to deer as I could make it. I wanted to increase my cover while maximizing food. If the surrounding property ever became developed, or off limits for me to hunt, I wanted to insure I would have my own little corner of paradise. We moved to our property to escape from a fast developing suburbia so I saw 1st hand how quickly the property ownership, development, and hunt able habitat and permission can vanish.

So I started developing cover around 1990 by just not keeping the hayfields mowed. Native stuff popped up and I was creating nice cover,
lots more edge and tons of food. In order to maintain the substantial, feathered edge that I created, I started hinge cutting trees that were trying to advance into 2nd growth stage. I did not want to lose that early succession growth to a maturing forest.

Fast forward to the present day. We've expanded to 31 acres and the surrounding properties have not been developed and appear to be stable in ownership. The ash trees are all dead. The amount of sun within what used to be shade is now substantial.
And my property has become a frickin mess. I do have great cover, 4 or 5 acres of plots, a few dozen soft and hard mast trees plus raspberry, etc. We have a ton of deer and a slew of turkeys.

Oh, but the invasives!! They are exploding within my nice cover that I created and maintained (via hinge cutting) which has become a "nursery" for all kind of highly undesirable stuff.
If I don't work my ass off to keep the crap at bay, my place will be nothing more than Mile-a-Minute, Stilt Grass, grape vines, Canada Thistle, and Oriental Bittersweet. Most of this stuff either vines and climbs and blankets desirable stuff or smothers the ground and prevents native forbs. Getting in with brush hogs to keep the sh*+ beaten back is nearly impossible without totally destroying the GOOD stuff that lingers within the losing battle. The stilt grass is now over taking my switch grass. How do I fix that?
I could do a property tour showing just how ugly invasive plants can become.

What led me down this road? Initially, it was the fear of development of the surrounding properties. In my case, those fears were unfounded but, at the same time, the reasons for those fears were very realistic. But none have come to fruition. Hind sight is 50/50. If I had it to do all over again, I would have maintained the property in the hayfield/mature forest state that it was in 1986.
Man, it's hard to see the future. Should you hinge cut? I wish I knew the answer to that a few decades ago. I still don't know the answer.
That is a story that should be pinned at the top of the native habitat thread. I am in the midst of going through the same discovery process you went through. My property is almost all seasonally wet, but not wetland. I don't have much for normal dryland trees and shrubs. Everything has to tolerate or thrive in wet soil. I'm dropping a couple acres per year to kick start regen for browse and cover, and to also release the desirable stuff. I've been at it for three years now, and so far so good. Nothing bad has come, and I think that is the hidden value of wet forests. That and the pace of regen is impressive.
 
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Quoting from Stephen Covey..."Begin with the end it mind". Make sure you have a long-term plan for your property and determine if hinge cutting will enhance and improve your habitat. I hinge cut for a couple of years back in 2013 / 2014 when it was all the rage on the old QDMA forum. Prolly will never hinge another tree on my place. I just haven't seen a benefit on my place as I don't need to create additional bedding or native browse.

Hinging for feather-edging a food plot to direct deer movement would be the only thing I would consider again but doubt I ever head down that path as deer tend to enter and exit the larger plots in the same areas.
 
Quoting from Stephen Covey..."Begin with the end it mind". Make sure you have a long-term plan for your property and determine if hinge cutting will enhance and improve your habitat. I hinge cut for a couple of years back in 2013 / 2014 when it was all the rage on the old QDMA forum. Prolly will never hinge another tree on my place. I just haven't seen a benefit on my place as I don't need to create additional bedding or native browse.

Hinging for feather-edging a food plot to direct deer movement would be the only thing I would consider again but doubt I ever head down that path as deer tend to enter and exit the larger plots in the same areas.

Much as I came to conclude in Iowa, hinging is over rated and perhaps more of a future hindrance than a help.

G
 
Quoting from Stephen Covey..."Begin with the end it mind". Make sure you have a long-term plan for your property and determine if hinge cutting will enhance and improve your habitat.

Yep, but we also need a plan B to address the unforeseen stuff.
I went balls-to-the-wall with hinging in the beginning because I assumed there would be housing developments around me. The development hasn't come and it won't be coming in my lifetime. So it appears I did not need to create the cover that has also made for more problems for me than improvements.
 
I don't think the average landowner can do enough of it to make much of a difference. Think time can be spent better on other projects.
 
I don't think the average landowner can do enough of it to make much of a difference. Think time can be spent better on other projects.
Define "average". 5 acres? 50? 500?

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