I have along with my son, leased a small tract this year that is soon to be burned and planted. Well, most of it anyway. We will still have SMZs left untouched. We went into this knowing to not expect too much out of it this first year. We are thinking about the next 6 or 7 years being much better though. We have some other land we can hunt, so we plan to. But I would like to hunt this place a few times too. For one thing it will help us to learn where to set up stands for the upcoming years. I know that deer will cross it some because of the shape and lay of the land and the land surrounding it.
I am afraid to put out cameras or plant greenfields, until the burn is done. (date unknown) I've never put out corn during the season so I wouldn't know the best way to handle that. And I have never hunted a tract during the parking lot stage. I haven't yet, but I'm planning to put out a few trophy rocks and plain salt down in the creek bottom, but that isn't going to do much until warm weather.

Any ideas to make it a little better this first year? Other than sighting in at 350 yds, that is.

Why are they burning in the driest month of the year?? I would request they either do it in the next two weeks so you could plant and scout, or wait til right before turkey season.

I know the land i hunted that was burned helped me a ton. Its very easy to find there trails After the burn they stick or like a sore thumb. Just ride the roads our get on your feet a few days after they burn and fire some ribbon on some of there crossings.

I'm worried the clearcut on my lease will get sprayed and burned during deer season this year as well. Anyone have any experience hunting a clearcut right after a spray and burn? The only time I have dealt with it before I literally did not see a single deer in the clearcut after the spray/burn that season.

The timing of the burn is not under my control. As far as I know, they could burn tomorrow or in February or any time in between. I only know that it is scheduled for this fall or winter. Planting is on for before spring green up.

Do you have a tractor? If so just plant, and make about a 10-15ft wide lane of dirt around your ploys. Should keep them from being burned.

I have had the same situation within the last two years. I currently lease 130 acres when they clear cut they left about 30 yards of hardwoods on the property line that wasn't touched, and of course the buffer on the branches. I killed 5 deer last year. I simply hunted the property lines. I scouted and found areas in what was left that the deer were using to stay "hid" and took a climber and sat the property line. You said most of it would be affected so I would suggest that you find the area that is not being affected and watch for them to hug the tree line to in their travels. Put salt and minerals there and be patient. I have several nice bucks on camera right on the edge of the cut off. Good luck.
Here is a pic from today's card pull right on edge of clear cut. Go get um. They are there.

If it's been sprayed, save your money.

Pardon my ignorance but, Which way do you mean this?
1) It's a parking lot this year so why bother?
or
2) You just saved some money on killing weeds before planting?
or something completely different

Have tractor. I dont know if it will benefit me more to let the fire remove some of the logging debris or to have the green fields in sooner. If I knew the timing of the burn, that would help with the decision. I'm starting to lean towards going ahead and planting. It is already later than I have ever waited to plant.

What N2 means is that if chemicals were sprayed after the cut, nothing is going to grow on that land except pines.
If you know it hasn't and isn't going to be sprayed, I think planting a little something and then disking a fire barrier around it is a good idea.