Hunting Cut-Overs

As the sun sets over the distant treeline, a breath of steam floats like a ghost through shadows created from a maze of new growth. A lane of opportunity stretches through this maze and offers me a quick glimpse of what created the steam that caught my eye. As I sit perched high in my stand, I am amazed at the ease that these deer move through the woven undergrowth.

Over the years I've hunted various locations within this tract of land. This location has always produced a good number of deer but never to this extent. The increase in activity can only be attributed to the cover created in the third year of this cut-over. I am centered in a funnel of mature white oaks that split two agriculture fields. The fields have been planted with soy beans this year. In front of me is approximately 30 acres of cut over. I had a shooting lane cut that extended from my stand out across the cut-over. Beyond this cut-over that I'm looking at sits another tract of 30 acres that was clear cut approximately eight years ago. This clear cut was replanted with pines and now is a dense jungle of 15 to 20 foot trees. The deer that I've seen have used the cut-over as a shield as they can disappear in a blink of an eye.

Morning hunts are tricky because of the soy bean fields and oaks. I was only able to get to my stand once during the year without moving deer on the way. On this morning, I saw one of the biggest deer ever seen on this tract of land. Afternoon hunts seemed to be a little easier. Deer would move out of the distant growth of young pines and into the cut-over often in the early afternoon. They seemed to hang out in the cut-over until last light and then move into the fields.

What I Learned.
1. Shooting lanes are a must. $150 got me a 15 x 400 yard shooting lane.
Create these lanes early as new growth takes over quickly.
2. Hunt the funnel areas and entry points to the food source.
3. Sit tight because it seemed the deer moved throughout the day.
4. Hold on because the action is fast!
Good Hunting!