Ugly Dog Farm-NC

[nchunter1989]

Hi guys,

I have this posted on another habitat site but maybe can get some fresh eyes & different opinions here.

OK- This is a 90Ac property in southeast NC. Was 80% clear cut 6 years ago, so we are getting quite a bit of regen & growth at this point. Property is roughly "L" shaped with the short end running NW to SE & the long end running W to E. We are bordered on the West by 50acs of planted pines & have a tenious relationship with the leasee there. To the east is 65acs with the majority being a large ag field, we have a great relationship with that leasee but not with the property owner.South is a 70ac pig farm that is owned by family.20 or so ac of huntable woods.

Currently we have 4 stands around the property. 2 on the North side, 2 on the Southeast side. We are trying to keep our stands on the perimeter of the property, just cut firelanes/access trails around the Northern side & back to the edge of the main access road in the last week.We have deer,bear,turkey & lots of small game, with the focus being deer & turkey.

Currently we are planning to let the property regenerate & start a burn rotation.I have hinged a 1/8 of ac section & want to increase that this winter. Along with hack & squirt for several sections of sweetgums that love the property. We have a few areas where we are getting decent pine regen, looking to enhance that by cutting/spraying some of the hardwood competition.

Some areas I'm making priority to work on-

6.5 ac mature stand to the East.looking to hinge more of this for bedding.
20+ac bottomland on the Eastern boundary.This is wetland so no commercial work allowed.Looking to hinge or at least drop brush & open the canopy on the higher spots here, currently considered sanctuary.

The LO doesn't deer hunt, mainly a bird & turkey hunter. So we are looking to improve some areas for quail habitat.



I'm posting a few property overviews & will update this thread as we progress.

Any thoughts or constructive criticism welcome.

 

[nchunter1989]

To give an idea what the regen on the ground looks like:

Stand on West side looking north- 2016

Southern side looking East along the foodplot.

Both of these stands have been moved this year, 200yrds or so away towards the perimeter. Interested to see how things go this year.


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[lakngolf]

Does LO give you free reign on hinge cutting and spraying?

 

[nchunter1989]

Does LO give you free reign on hinge cutting and spraying?

Yes- I manage the property in exchange for hunting permission. He wants me to purchase the place, but will be a couple yrs down the road.His only "no-no" is cutting the pines & profitable hardwoods if not necessary .In other words a little common sense.

 

[nchunter1989]

Quick mockup of this years stand locations & firebreaks. We were planning to cut around the eastern block completely but the track jumped off the skidsteer with just an hour or so left on the rental. We are not planning to burn that area soon, so wasn't a big loss, but was more excited about the shooting lane that would have provided.Also didnt get to clear out the planned S plot/lane on the North side. Attemping that by hand with chainsaws & brush saws next weekend.

 

[nchunter1989]

View from the box stand. This is the largest clearing/plot on the property right now. Pushing 2ac, planted in rye & oats last fall,buckwheat & IC peas in the summer & planting rye,oats & brassicas this weekend. Multiple deer trails through the pines, the bear is also traveling the lane.


Me & mr bear may have a "come to jesus" meeting this Nov..

 

[Charlieyca]

Looks good, looks like you have some variation in habitat there between clearcuts and replanted pines and mature trees. How did your deer feed on the buckwheat? They wiped my out the 2 times i tried a spring planting of buckwheat.

I hunted a similar bottleneck between a marsh point and mature pines in wallace, next to a pig farm as well!!! Looks like a great natural feature that would be be near property line for easy access.

 

[Charlieyca]

To give an idea what the regen on the ground looks like:

Stand on West side looking north- 2016

Southern side looking East along the foodplot.

Both of these stands have been moved this year, 200yrds or so away towards the perimeter. Interested to see how things go this year.


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That looks very similar to my stage of regrowth. Have not thinned around the our pines and they are overgrown with blackberries and vines.

 

[nchunter1989]

The pines have actually all regenerated naturally. The LO originally was going to do the Longleaf replant but just never happened.

They wiped the BW & peas out in a month or so.When I broadcast them I had forgot my chain link drag, so tried to pull the harrow around again & use the atv tires to pack. Bw is not cheap either. CNC busted me for not having enough thatch on the ground. Upping my grains this year.

That blue area is our sanctuary. 20+ac of federal wetlands. There is a big bowl to the left of those x’s, banks slope from 5-15ft around the edge.

I’ve talked with the District 4 biologist & he recommended going in there after season & cutting or hack & squirt everything on the high ground to encourage browse. Right now a lot of it is Chinese privet with hardwoods closer to the water. We’ve only set foot back there 2-3 times in 6 yrs.

Plan is to do some hinging & cutting in that mature block & the other mature block along the shared road for bedding. So I’m torn about hanging a stand there.


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[Charlieyca]

any sign of bedding or travel through the wetland? Lots of big bucks hang around swamps down here, a slight 1 or 2 ft hill creates a great bedding area. especially if they can see 360 degreees. My buckwheat was the same, hit knee high, then browsed to the ground. I went with straight buckwheat to improve soil on one of my plots, hoped to mow it down in fall over cereal grains but nothing was left.

 

[nchunter1989]

I honestly haven’t had a chance to check. I just cut a trail halfway around that block, so I’m going to pop down there this weekend & see. According to the guys that manage the hog farms, they saw a huge buck down in the overflow when they were mowing along the pond. So I’m sure the bucks are hiding out there.

Also to the east across the river is a 450ac block of Murphy Brown/fairclothe land that is rarely hunted.


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[nchunter1989]

That looks very similar to my stage of regrowth. Have not thinned around the our pines and they are overgrown with blackberries and vines.

Yeah here & on the north side it’s about 80% sweet gums with the rest being oaks or cherry saplings. One of the many projects is coming in here & eliminating the competition around the pines & oaks with potential.


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[Charlieyca]

Just from the aerial, that swamp is where I would be sitting. Is your main access from the south? We are probably 50% sweet gums, 49% pine, and 1% water oaks. With the sweet gums, I had great success this summer hack and squirt with roundup. Anything under 10" was stone cold dead. Everyone I cut last fall with a saw is a 4ft bush of sprouts now.

 

[Charlieyca]

Were you looking for local turnip and radish seed on another site? I've had very little browse on my turnips the first 2 years, but it did improve the 2nd year. This year i mixed in radish to see if they browse it any better and made the entire plot more diverse.

 

[nchunter1989]

Were you looking for local turnip and radish seed on another site? I've had very little browse on my turnips the first 2 years, but it did improve the 2nd year. This year i mixed in radish to see if they browse it any better and made the entire plot more diverse.

Yeah that was me on NCHF.. I went with Hancock’s deer greens blend,turnips,radish,kale & rape.


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[Charlieyca]

Heard nothing but good things from them, let me know how that blend does, I imagine you have a sandy loam about like me down here.

 

[nchunter1989]

Northern firebreaks. Some of the pics you can see where the mulcher did not mulch like it should have. Pretty sure the teeth were shot.

Didn’t get any seed in the ground like I had planned today, everyone around was sold out of atv spreaders or in the case of Tractor Supply, “oh it’s out of season”. I have had several late jobs this week, so was up at dark thirty loading the atv,gassing up the saws & other things.We did get the last stand up, I have a really good feeling about it.

View from the stand looking West along the firebreak. Bedding to the left of frame & a funnel/travel corridor to the right.


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[Charlieyca]

Looking good, feel like I'm looking at my own farm in many ways.

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[nchunter1989]

Yeah we both have very similar habitat types. I hate being this late hanging stands, but sometimes life happens.


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[Charlieyca]

Yeah we both have very similar habitat types. I hate being this late hanging stands, but sometimes life happens.


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Now that i manage land instead of straight hunting, I dont stress too much about being in the woods this time of year, but also try to be smart about it. My land has houses, dogs, and roads close by. I dont joy ride the atv through the woods, but I will drive to the back carrying seed and fertilizer. Same with trails cams, only check them every 2 weeks or If i'm in the area already.
If i didnt manage the land, it is possible to stay out of the land for a month or 2 before season, and only go in to hunt. I will sacrifice the extra pressure for the extra attraction and long term benefit to the land.