half of one of my hunting properties is being selectively logged this late fall/winter. It is pretty open mature woods now, so this should be very beneficial.

What should I expect this year and the next couple?

I know it is going to be awesome for the bedding habitat within 5 years or so, not sure what to expect until then though.

Anybody have experience with this?

A few less Trees will be the biggest thing you notice...

for most part nothing negative will change.....

so, how much thicker will it be next spring?

not much....goanna take some time for the under growth to really get thick!!

if they leave the tops laying them areas will draw deer soon!

76chevy..............

It is going to look like a atom bomb exploded! tops will be EVERYWHERE, broken smaller trees, and briars coming up from no where.


Just look at the change as for the better, anything above a deers reach does no good for deer.

It will be good but will not look pretty....

If it looks like "atom bomb exploded" after a selective cut I wouldn't use that company again!!!

If it's pretty open now it shouldn't look too bad and it will be beneficial with all the tops on the ground. I don't know if you can do it on your property but it could also be an opportunity to easily seed the logging roads and deck. I did some clovers along with rye and oats on a place that was logged earlier this year. Rains have been very beneficial and with the extra sunlight its really popping.

I had a woods get logged last Spring and it is already better hunting now than what it was. The farmer is a friend and called me to let me know and even apologized that one of my deer spots was getting timbered. I laughed and told him to do them all. There was better cover for the deer but really get better in the coming years. Being timbered has altered the deer movement a bit but no big deal.

One of my small properties (maybe 10 acres) was logged last November. Terrible timing for hunting, but so far i have seen a large increase in deer numbers. They now bed on the property, have to be very careful how you enter and leave the woods and you have to be very quiet. All on all it was great. They're patterns all changed but nothing that a few stand movements didn't fix.

Loggers just finished taking 3,000+ trees off the 800 acre farm I hunt. They started logging spring 2013 and just finished up around Labor Day.

Like Joe said, it is going to look like an atom bomb went off at first. Once the cut area goes through a growing season...it will thicken up quickly and not be as noticeable. Depending on how many trees they take from specific areas...you could see a HUGE difference in undergrowth the 1st year. We have spots that were cut a year ago that we can't walk through today.

Lots of browse and lots of bedding. Foresters told us we would end up with better mast crops from younger trees than we got with older trees. Hasn't been long enough to confirm that yet...but I expect they are spot on.

all,

thanks for the info!

Logging is good for all critters! It will improve your hunting.

+1..... You should have nothing but positive results if it's a true seltive cut!!!

I own the northwest 5 acres of about a 120 acre woods. I got wind that the owner of the entire western half of the 120 acre woods was doing a selective cut so I had the timber company come over and cut my 5 acres as well. This was back in 2012. They left the tops and what was previously wide open mature woods was filled with thickets and brush piles. Bowhunter2007 is right, the deer movement patterns will change but it won't be very significant. You will definitely find them using the old logging roads quite often for the first few years but the biggest change is that where I could once shoot 150 yards, now I can shoot maybe 100. On the plus side, I see more deer movement back in the woods during the middle of the day than I did before because they feel more secure moving in cover. It makes things interesting during the rut. You have to keep your head on a swivel because you never know what direction that buck will come from now versus before you had at least some idea. Good Luck.

I am having timber harvested this winter after deer season. The main thing I expect is a big check in my hand! And, better hunting. It's a win-win...

I have been considering logging my woods that I own. Neighbor had theirs that connects to mine 3 years ago. I was concerned on what it would do to the deer and turkeys. They left the tops as they laid and it looked horrible the first year in there. I am allowed to walk it for sheds in the winter and that first winter it was almost depressing seeing what a mess it was. BUT ... what I found is that after that first year both the deer and turkeys want to hang out in their section of the woods and not so much on my side of the property line. 2015 will probably see mine getting logged. Lots of mature oak and walnut on mine which should make a nice check.

The biggest problem that I see is that it seems around here most of the loggers are pretty much thieves. They will low ball for starters and then take extra trees out if you don't watch their every move. I've heard of hiring a timber consultant that will mark the trees for you based on a study they do, solicit competitive bids for you, and then take a percentage off of the timber price as payment. Sounds like it might be the way to go to insure you get the best price and best harvest for the health of your woods. Anyone ever tried this?

DEC..... Get ahold of me. I have a contact for you that will set up your bidding process. It netted us WAY more $$. I can go over the figures and get you the phone # you need.

On a side note...... If it doesn't look like an "atom bomb" went off in the areas they are cutting..... They really aren't opening up the canopy enough to make a healthy difference. A good selective cut will make "messes" out of certain areas of your woods.... And little disturbance in other sections. But where they do cut..... It needs to be "atomic".

DEC,

That is EXACTLY what the owners of the farm I hunt did. They hired a forester to come in and mark the trees (numbers on good log trees and "X" on the cull trees). He created a spread sheet of every tree listing species, size and location. The spreadsheet was then bid on by three logging companies. Seemed to work out very well for the owners.

PM sent DEC

I didn't get any PM huntsemall.

Dew ... pm me your phone number.

Pav ... thanks for verifying what I have heard.

I had an off the record contact made too that I have to call yet as well ... thank you to that person.

Wanting to hear more positive (or even negative) logging experiences, so post them up. Info will help the OP and others as well. I just don't want to get burnt like my neighbor did. The logger RAPED their woods and paid them in the neighborhood of $5,500. The logger crossed the line on my ground and took a soft maple and settled with me for around $1,000. The neighbor got taken to the cleaners by these timber thieves, IMO. I want to avoid that at all costs, get fair market money, and improve my overall hunting habitat.

We've had the woods we hunt selectively logged 3 times in the past 6 years. They should be wrapping up this week on the third time. Not great timing but if we hadn't had all the rain they would have been done a while ago. It does wonders for the wildlife in my opinion. It will alter the bedding areas once the tree tops are littering the ground. You honestly won't recognize your woods, but I love the after results. We actually walked thru with loggers while marking trees and keeping count as they went. It's work but is very doable. Can't steal a tree if you keep count. Help in the selective harvest also. If you have an oak that is a consistent acorn producer don't cut it, cut one that isn't as productive. I'd advise you help select the trees don't let them just go get what they want. Most foresters will take their time to go walk the prop with you and kind of give you a lesson or tips on the process. At least we had one do that for us. Good luck you'll love it after the process in my opinion.

DEC - email sent...technically challenged at times!