How to Create Great Buck Bedding With Hinge Cuts on Hilly Properties
StrategicHabitat.com - Habitat Plans and Hunting Setups
Randy VanderVeen - 616-560-7488 - randy@strategichabitat.com
Back in March of 2020 a landowner in MD contacted me to check out a couple hunting properties in order to develop a habitat plan and create some hinge cut bedding and visual screens since his woods was wide open with a closed canopy overhead.
The following hunting season he saw more bucks and rutting activity there than he ever had before, so he had me come back the next 2 years to create more of the same on both properties.
Since then he’s been sharing photos and texting me on how bucks have moved in and are living in the high-ground hinge cuts. He now has 4 and 5 yr olds showing up on his cameras.
Last year he told me he bought a property in western KY and asked if I could come with my good friend Jake Ehlinger so we could get twice as much hinge cut bedding and screening done.
So in January of this year he gave Jake and me a quick tour of the property so we could identify the best areas to create great hinge cut bedding and travel routes.
The areas we noticed on a topo map prior to our visit, turned out to be great spots where deer would naturally want to bed.
High ground extending off food plots into the timber before gradually getting narrow and slowly dropping off into the creek bottoms.
Deer will bed just over the edge from the ridgetop giving them a visual advantage over the ground below, and monitoring rising thermals in the morning. In the afternoon they can bed on the downwind side of the ridgetop so they can see everything below and in front of them, and smell what’s behind them.
For landowners with hilly properties, these can be some of the best locations to look for and build your habitat and hunting opportunities around.
So after identifying several of these areas, Jake and I hinge cut a few of these ridge tops to give deer a safe place to bed with cover on both sides of the ridge, with an open travel corridor leading deer up the gradual incline all the way to a large 4 acre food plot.
To give you an idea what this ridge looks like after we finished cutting trees, here’s a short video walk thru starting about right here and heading down the ridge. You can see by the topo lines that the ridge drops down faster on the south side than the north side.
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Love to watch those big trees fall! They create so much cover, and it's amazing how much light can hit the floor when a few of these big trees are down!
One of best descriptions of how to do something positive for your hunting that isn't food plots or buying something
Man, I'd have a hard time dropping white oaks. Deer love those acorns.
@RandyVanderVeen
6 ай бұрын
But if a property has 500 white oaks producing acorns, dropping 50 of them (10%) to create 5 star hotels with woody browse is a no-brainer. Diversity Diversity.
Great video.. I could watch these videos every day. Our hunting season in the Northeast is coming to an end. Then I will be out working on my property...
@RandyVanderVeen
6 ай бұрын
Thanks
Nice looking hinge cut area guys !
Another great video Randy! Keep up the good work.
@SeeMoreBucks
9 ай бұрын
Thanks Scott
This is excellent. Thanks for the illustration
Clear cut hill tops, been a dynamite bedding area in hill country for years. I just figured this out a few years ago as I’m from farm country and accustomed to deer coming out of swamps to fields.
Love the hinge cut process n concept but my land has lots of quality timber trees I would NOT be wasting for hinge cuts may just focus on solid clean ups of area I timber versus just letting stuff lay .. Great education on habitat improvement ! Continued Success .. Love to have someone visit my land for advice ! 😎
Another great job Randy. I’ve been using some of your techniques, had my property logged back in May. After that I hinge cut different pockets and did some hinge edging. Hopefully some pinch points will work. But probably need your expertise to make it better.
@SeeMoreBucks
9 ай бұрын
Thanks Sam
Nice setup
Great insight. Love it!
Great video
I love to see the habitat but this is a rich mans game. Im saying with respect. I own 40 acres and I dont want to pay 10k to have a guy tell me to cut trees and plant food plots LOL. I do appreciate all the work you do.
@crookedandsteep
6 ай бұрын
You don’t have to pay $10K… just watch the video… learn
@Michigan4709
6 ай бұрын
Or spend $300 on a good stihl and do it yourself.
@toddweston2840
5 ай бұрын
Not a rich man’s game. But you do need ambition and motivation!
what about the longevity of hinge cuts? how many years are they good for before there’s maintenance and new cuts to be made?
@RandyVanderVeen
6 ай бұрын
Depends on the species and quality of the hinge. Always good to go into your hinge cut areas after the hunting season and check for wind storm or heavy snow damage and clear deer paths. Maintenance is minimal if you do the detail work to open trails and clean out beds right after the original hinge cut project.
Good stuff, I notice your hinge cuts are spread out in spots too, like pockets here and there instead of the whole area being hinged. With that open space do you think deer are more apt to bed there as opposed to an even thicker hinge cut area? Always enjoy your videos Randy! Appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
@RandyVanderVeen
6 ай бұрын
Thanks Steve. Jake and I believe in diverse bedding. Some of the more open areas will be utilized at night, or in the off-season when there's no hunting pressure, and when it's hot and humid the deer can get some better air flow. If they have options they'll use it in different conditions.
When is it a good time to hinge cut the trees?
I have 40 overgrown hardwood acres here in Michigan with both of you guys and would love to get one of you out at some point. What are your rates?
@SeeMoreBucks
9 ай бұрын
Shoot me an email in the description above
@huntinsutton
9 ай бұрын
@@SeeMoreBucks I sent you an email
Seen the end of that video, do y’all have pretty good luck hinging hickory’s?
@SeeMoreBucks
9 ай бұрын
Hickorys are my favorite
@aarongoeppner413
9 ай бұрын
@@SeeMoreBucks glad to hear that!! I got about a 1 acre hickory ridge I’d like to hinge about 10-15 of them
@SeeMoreBucks
9 ай бұрын
Hickorys make a newbie look like a pro
What season is best to hinge cut?
@RandyVanderVeen
6 ай бұрын
Anytime you have time. I like January thru April.
Man that property was barren. Got to get rid of about 9 million tons of leaf litter before anything will grow and fill in.
lol, raking deer beds. I am out
How much deer meat needs be harvested to justify trashing your property? Can you not still kill deer if you use you’re property to grow to timber or for grazing or silo pasture?
@NatuRElated
7 ай бұрын
Not everything likes the world neat and tidy. Lots find orderly to give birth to the disorderly.