Hinge Cutting

I've got about a 60 acre stand of natural hardwood regrowth approximately 24 years old. It is mostly white oaks. I noticed the other day that there is a decent amount of maple, sweet gum, and black cherry mixed in. I've talked to a forester and he told me to hack and squirt the less desirable trees but I've looked into hinge cutting some of it. Has anyone had any experience with this? Can you hinge cut too much? Some areas tend to be more cluttered with less desirable trees than others. I've only read a few articles and watched a few videos on it and it seems fairly straightforward.

Hinge cutting works. Lots of info on it. Can you do too much?? You'll be a tired @$$ if you do. It allows light to the ground encouraging young growth from more desirable plants while adding immediate cover. With that said, it's not for me. I want long term. A hinge cut could need to be redone in as little as 8 years. I would prefer a clean up with dozer or muncher where I can bushog once a year or every 2 years and maintain a permanent food/cover area. Just my preference because I try to think long term, like at least 10-15 years ahead. Plus hinge cutting can be dangerous and will work your @$$ off.

I can't convince myself to hinge cut a property I own. Maybe a very small area, but it looks like pure crap. I know deer like thick stuff, but it's not for me.

I appreciate the advice. I think im going to try a small area and see how it goes and if i like it or it proves beneficial i will expand on it.

I have a property right now of.large, older timber. No cover in the least bit. Beautiful, wide open woods. I won't do anything for cover because I like this place just the way it is. I'll just deer hunt somewhere else.

To me it has more to do with the overall bigger picture of the landscape. More often than not, the juice ain't worth the squeeze.

Maple,sweet gum, and cherry can be hauled for pulpwood so what makes it undesirable?

For me it would be the damage to keeper trees trying to worm out just the undesirables and all the mess the loggers leave behind to have to deal with.

This guy has forgotten more about this stuff that I'll pretend to know, but let me second his thoughts. I started hinge cutting a couple years ago. It will work your butt off and you better know when to stop for the day and not run a saw when tired. It does give quick cover, but means more work in the short term. I started hack and squirt a little last year and probably the path I'll choose moving forward. I don't have the budget for a dozer.

We have a similar property in Alabama. Large, beautiful hardwoods. And you won't see a deer if you sit there for a year straight. But it's got turkeys, and plus it's pretty.

To hell with the deer. Keep those turkeys happy!!

Hinge cutting is overrated unless there is no bedding for hundreds of acres. No hinge cutting is going to be as desirable as a fallow field or briar thicket on a neighboring property. If all you have is 60 acres, focus on making your place preferred feeding and let the neighbors give you bedding.

I hunted a place in Greene Co that was 1800 acres of river bottom hardwoods...no thickets. Owner and I hinge cut prolly two acres of chitt trees and left the good white oaks. Grew up into a huge briar patch you couldn't walk thru in a couple of years. We took a skidder and cut a narrow shooting lane thru and it turned into a deer killing spot.

Hinge cutting is losing money. Just have the place select cut and get the same benefit plus $$$$ for the timber. Why waste all that timber? Hinge cutting just another fad for the yeti cooler gang.

You won't get a logging crew to come in and cut 2 acres of crap wood. Hinge cutting is done on a tiny scale, by hand. There's a good argument to be made that the timber stand will actually improve.

horseshitt.

I would imagine most of the trees being hingecut are unfit for timber and probably never will be fit for anything worth selling. I could see where it could be beneficial for someone whos nearest bedding might be 500-600yds away or more. Personally I think when the deer have to walk a good ways from where theyre bedding to your foodsource youre hunting over, it puts them getting there after dark alot of times. So hunt the travel route right? Sometimes thats not a good option either. It could increase deer sitings in the evenings having some small pockets of bedding nearby.

This^^^^^^ . I'll add hinge cutting is best done with smaller diameter , junk trees . Leave the oaks to drop acorns in your new sanctuary.

I've done some hingecutting and it provided instant bedding in an otherwise wide open hardwood stand. It created horizontal cover in a vertical world. Plus shoots will shoot up from the stump providing a lot of food. My favorite to hinge was black tupelo. Deer love to eat the shoots. You only hinge the tree's that have no value, preferably the smaller ones.

I was about to say the same thing. I would cut the less desirables and creat mineral stumps.
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