Hotspotoutdoors

just heard the land that i will be hunting has been logged. How would a guy go about hunting land that has just been logged? i love hunting clear cuts but have only hunted then after they have been cut for at least couple years. any tips? get out early and glass, and stay late to see where they come out at night? thanks
iceman

If it was logged this summer, they will use it right away. There is always something for them to eat. I bowhunted an area that was logged a month or so earlier and saw deer feeding, just not close enough for the bow.

Hunt the inside corners, the loggers just made you a good funnel to hunt. You can also shoot out into the open if the deer are feeding there but after the bullets start flying you won't see many deer out in the open.

They will also tend to run just inside the cover from the logging and come out when its feeding time. Unfortunately that time is shaping up to be the middle of the night.

Last year I drove up an into a place we normally hunt where they were still logging (stopped for the hunt). It was 0530 and I pulled up and there was an 8 standing there about 50 yards away. I proceeded to get out, open the back, get ready to go out, all as he stood there and watched. I guess he was waiting the chain saw to start. Needless to say, when he figured out I wasnt the normal guy with the saw, he bolted. funny though...:)

Look for staging areas around the logged area. Catch them in between.

this area was logged about 3 weeks ago. i will start hunting it on the 14th the second week. i guess ill just have to hope that they are still moving or the rut pushes them to move during the day.
iceman

If you hunted this area when it was woods you will notice the deer will use the area the same way when its cut. Keep in mind the trees are gone but the land elevations are the same and the deer will still use the normal runways until the bullets start zipping past them. This happened to are area about 5 years ago and its was some of the best hunting we had for about 3 years and now the deer don't seem to like it as much. I don't know how big your group is but I would recommend drives to, we did really good driving clear cuts, they seemed to like to bed down in the middle. Good luck and be safe!!!! Clear cuts are ankle busters...

I can't get over all the people talking about deer drives. That's no way to hunt, sit and let the deer come to you. Deer drives should be banned.

Yup. Deer drives are one of the best ways that I can think of to end up dead. It just takes one wild imagination or untimely jump shot to change several lives forever.
I've never liked them. Plus, you spread human scent all over creation, potentially ruining your hunt when you you come back to your senses and climb back into your stand!

depending on the area you hunt, deer drives can be and are an effective way to hunt deer. I have never hunted in a rifle zone but have done deer drives in a slug area, successfully. It takes coordination and planning. I need to know and trust the people I am hunting with.

We don't really want to go this road of whether or not to do drives do we???? I would assume the property is not clear cut. They probably just took out the big,straight hardwood trees. It really won't affect your hunt other than maybe changing where they are bedding down. My experience is that the property will hold more deer post logging due to more places to hide. That may also decrease their movement durring the day other than peak rut.

I would never participate in a deer drive, however I do bait bear...I don't know which is right or not; I just know that I have a right to do either of the two on my own private property, and others may do the same without hearing a peep from me. I think it could be quite rude/dangerous to drive some public land where someone is stand/ground blind hunting.

I shot my first deer in a drive. It was the neighbors doe tag and the last Sunday of the season and a last resort. I never saw a steak off of that deer but still ...it was my first. Kind of a bitter sweet memory. We have done a couple since over the years but no luck. We hunt rifle so Im not too wild about it. Im a sitzer. Thats when its really fun, when they come to you. You know you did everything right.

We do drives every year during the 3b season. 10 of us get togather and do a little heard management. We have a fairly high deer density and need to controll the population. We are very fortunate being able to hunt multiple propertys of people who hunt the 3a season. I bow hunt for the big boys and do drives to fill the freezer. Last year we had 24 deer by 2:00 Sunday afternoon on the first weekend. If you are going to do them make sure you trust everyone in the group and always know where everyone is. We hunt all bluffs so there is always multiple hills and knowls between the drivers and sitters.

Well to Jimmyjames and Arctic it takes alot of planning and knowing your group and area to do this properly. Jimmyjames do the math most hunting accidents are either at camp or falling out of a trees. My son shot his first deer last year on a drive and it was awsome. You to should start your own post if you want to criticize the way other people hunt. Iceman 16 is looking for information not your personnal rant.

we make deer drives every day, every year, safely and successfully during the rifle season, muzzy as well. a running deer doesn't mean you have to make a poor decision to shoot. typically, only the posters should be shooting anyways! they can usually see beyond the target.

back to the topic, i usually hunt in the huntersville area second weekend, and know all about hunting clearcuts. depending on the size of it makes a huge difference, in relationship to what timber/cover surrounds it. i usually look for jack pine plantations, and hunt near them, because deer always seem to come out of them into the clearcuts, except for they tend to stick to the edges. if your area was logged in the middle of a forest, then hunt near an edge where deer have come from in the past. being that its undercover, they'll still venture out into the logged area. if its logged right up to the edge of a road, then try to find an edge with a long finger or funnel, if posssible, because deer will walk that until they have to step out into the open.

Drives work just fine if the group is disciplined and responsible. It ain't the drive that's the problem if there's a problem, it's the people. Drives don't kill people. People kill people. Sound like a familiar point to us gun toters?

Steve hows the rut looking up in your area?

Mr. Lips, settle down big shooter! My advice to you Iceman would be to sit, then you won't mess up your area and the spots of others. If you wanna drive , do so on private property and keep it safe. Good luck .