Creating A Small Deer Bedding Area - Part 1

[@Buck_A_Near]

Finally. Thanks for that. I've seen so many videos explaining how to do this but without ever showing what it should look like.

[@whitetailevolution]

Glad it helped! Should be thick but not too thick that you cannot walk around inside.

[@neilwitkowski2521]

That was the best video and explanation ever you should video that way more often

[@whitetailevolution]

Thanks Neil!

[@TheBucklandgrp]

Watched this before going to creating my own bedding area. Going to work the plan that Jake did for me. This guy is really knowledgeable. If your thinking about having him come out to your property you won’t be disappointed

[@whitetailevolution]

Thank you Eric I really appreciate that! I'm excited to hear how the property transforms over the next few years.

[@gnutersgnuters5572]

Great video!!! We are gonna start creating hinge cutting beds and edge feather our woods!!! My woods is like a park, can see right threw it.

[@whitetailevolution]

It's a great way to put instant cover on the ground! Just make sure to be careful. I never fight tree lean and rarely hinge a tree over 8"

[@courtofficermcilvaine7928]

Great presentation and video quality.

[@whitetailevolution]

Thank you sir!

[@scottypuckett2440]

Great video ! When is best time to hinge cut vs just cutting to create side cover. Thanks

[@whitetailevolution]

Thanks! So my favorite time of the year to hinge cut is when the tree is dormant in the winter. Once we get leaf out I'll wait until late summer to hinge again. As far as when do I hinge cut for side cover, you will get side cover almost every time you hinge cut. Whether it's a screen or a bedding area you are creating side cover with the tops on the ground. If you cut lower (waist height) you will get more side cover with the trunk as it's laying closer to the ground. When I am doing an access screen, I do a lot of lower, waste high cuts. I drop them all on top of each other blocking their sightline and trails the deer might want to use. This allows me to access behind the cuttings and the deer cannot see over or under.

[@Habitatacres]

Awesome job

[@whitetailevolution]

Thanks Joe!

[@dylanthrall9586]

Will u do this with only small maples because those are all I have, and I only have a bow saw

[@whitetailevolution]

Great question! And yes, as long as it was an area that I wanted the deer to spend more time, I would hinge cut the small maples. I would still start with the larger trees and work my way down to the smaller ones. On the very small trees you could even pull them over and tie them to the previously hinged trees. They'll eventually start growing that way.

[@whitetailevolution]

Hey I accidentally deleted your comment from today’s video while trying to correct a typo I made in the response! Whoops! If you want to repost the comment I can reply with the answer or I can reply here as well. Just let know!

[@ianlilley6430]

Awesome video

[@markjohnson9445]

How do you keep the coyotes out of deer bedding area ?

[@whitetailevolution]

I honestly do not know of a way to keep predators out of a bedding area. The best thing you can do is make sure that there are multiple escape paths so the deer know they have a way out. Coyotes run through natural bedding areas as well which is why deer find thick cover with a a few quick exits.

[@fueledtohunt2173]

How high should you be cutting your bigger trees in bedding areas before bringing down smaller trees on top of them?

[@whitetailevolution]

Great question. With the large trees that we are traditionally felling, I do not try to cut those high at all. Drop them safely at whatever height you are comfortable with. Because they will be laying on the ground, the height of the cut isn't important, what is, is making sure you can safely get that tree to the ground. I normally cut them about waste high or below. Once they are on the ground, I will then take the saw and flush cut the stump about knee high so that if/when it produces stump spouts, those are at deer level. Great for providing minerals!

[@fueledtohunt2173]

@@whitetailevolution how high are you hinging larger trees?

[@whitetailevolution]

@@fueledtohunt2173 That kinda depends on a few things, but I'd say I like to start hinging the larger trees around waste / belly button height. a lot of times those trees are my foundation trees, if I don't have a good foundation tree with the large ones I traditionally felled. Cutting them at waste height allows me to build on top of those with additional hinges. If I am stacking trees on top of one another, I work my way from large to small and work higher on the cuts as well. Deer can get underneath them a lot easier and really like to bed down under them in certain situations. Starting the initial cut at waste /belly button height allow the deer to travel underneath them most of the time, giving them free movement within the bedding area. Hope that answered your question. It's very situational but thats what I do for the most part.

[@ianlilley6430]

Any recommendations on an extremly diverse property. I have every type of spruce/ fir, poplar, maple and some oak. But were talking thick thick diversity. I dont even know where to start cutting. I dont think ill have any open ground left after i put that many trees on ghe ground

[@stevepalmateer]

A high hinge cut may not destroy your bedding area, but it may destroy your head/face/neck if the chain pops off while you're doing it.

[@whitetailevolution]

You're absolutely right. Hinge cutting is a dangerous practice all around. I normally do not hinge trees over shoulder height with a chainsaw for that reason. I do like to make a few canopy beds with higher cuts but those are normally made on smaller saplings with a hand saw. Sometimes if they are small enough you can even just tie them down.

[@todsimpkins8908]

1. never hinge cut in the cold. tree with most likely just break. sap needs to be running! no to Dec/Jan/Feb....March/April at the earliest. 2. high hinge cuts are a waste of time and tree. deer do not want or need to crawl under a roof. Side cover is key. also keeps the browse/regeneration at deer level.

[@whitetailevolution]

I think when we hinge cut this particular area it was in the 40's. I completely agree that your success level will start to decrease as the temps dip below freezing, some species are worse than others. I am going to disagree with the "high hinge cuts are a waste of time" for a few reasons. Well I guess it depends on your definition of high.. Shoulder high is where most of my 'higher' cuts are made. But the reason why I disagree is because the deer need to be able to move around within the bedding area, if you are only cutting low, eventually you will have a bedding area that is too constricting and the deer might feel claustrophobic. If that's the case they might not use it at all. This can be fixed by simply removing some of the cuttings but if you were to have cut the trees a little higher you'd have more cover on the ground and the deer could move around within the bedding area as well. Second, from what I have noticed, if given the option between just side cover or side cover + overhead cover, the deer will take the side cover + overhead cover almost every time. Just my observation on the properties I hunt on so I am going to create bedding conditions to mimic what I feel they want in my area. But only create a bedding area that you believe will work! This stuff needs to make sense to you while you are making it as it's kind've an art. So if you do not think overhead cover is necessary then don't incorporate any, just side cover will work. But for me, my bedding areas with side cover and overhead cover outperform my bedding areas with only side cover.

[@ur_asian_milfoil]

Watch this while 2021 rifle season and it's not gonna work for plubic land lol 😆

[@whitetailevolution]

Ha nope. Habitat manipulation is tough to implement on public land.

[@MegaBraunie]

Great video... Never do Head high hinge cutting unless you are a dare devil . Ever have a kick back in your face?

[@whitetailevolution]

I would say most of the hinge cuts I make with a chain saw are within the waste high to shoulder high range. When I am trying to create overhead cover I've found chest / shoulder height is good. And when I am cutting higher I am normally using a hand saw on the smaller trees as one of the final steps.

[@johncorbin4314]

Hinge cuts are too high...

[@whitetailevolution]

Hopefully not! From what I have noticed when creating these hinge cut bedding areas is that deer prefer both side cover and overhead cover. Now I’m not saying you need a lot of overhead cover but they will bed there over a spot without it. Every location is different, but I’ve made bedding areas with solely waste high hinge cuts and the deer do not use them as frequently as the bedding areas with the hinge cuts at varying heights. In this particular bedding area I don’t think I made any cuts over shoulder height. Some cuts might look higher but that’s because I am standing on a slight decline. You also want these deer to be able to move freely through the bedding area, and if you have a tree leaning into the trail you want the deer to use, cutting it at waste high will often times block that trail. So by cutting a little higher (chest height) you can get that tree down and give the deer space to move underneath it. Creating a bedding area is more of an art than a science. The biggest rules are get the trees down to let sunlight in, make sure the deer can move around within the bedding area and make sure they have multiple escape routes. The rest is up to you. Definitely don’t cut trees higher than you are comfortable. And really don’t even hinge cut if you’re not comfortable. It’ can be very dangerous cutting at any height.

[@ianlilley6430]

I have an area thats probably about 8 acres of 50 foot skinny poplar. Tallest skinny poplar i have ever seen. All growing within 3 to 4 feet apart