In keeping with all the timber harvest posts I decided to throw my situation out in the fray and see what some of you more experienced hunters suggest for the next few years.My west neighbor is mostly through clear cutting their entire 250 acres of beautiful mature native pine/hardwood forest. Supposedly gonna get sprayed, burned and replanted. So for about 4 years I am gonna have a 1/4 to 1/2 mile barren wasteland between my entire west line and the next woods.I am Orange, my clear cutting neighbor is Yellow.


This is a little more zoomed in. Green are existing plots and Orange is my 6 ac Summer plot now in 3 ac of beans/corn and 3 ac of a summer mix with sun hemp.



So where would you guys who have been through this think my best locations to hunt would be this year and even more important what I can do over the next few years to maximize the benefit of having 250 acres of absolutely prime bedding adjacent to me in a few years.I believe most east/west crossing will move to the south part of the property with less open ground to cover and that sw corner of mine will be where it happens. That 40 is about 1/2 thinned pines which will be burned this year and about 1/2 4 year old clear cut.. Also, whats this gonna do for my turkeys? I assume they will really like it for a couple of years and then will get no benefit when its gets thick again.

I would hunt 100-200' east-southeast of your summer plot where the deer will be pinched between the clear cut and creek. It looks like the lower southwest corner is planted in pines so that is your best bedding.

The turkey will pitch out into the clear cut for a couple of years as long as it's open. You can go in after dark and bust the birds back to the east and they will pitch into your woods and work their way to the clear cut.

If you don't have one then start a good salt lick next to the clear cut and make sure you have good setup tree on the north and south side of the lick.

By next year the new clearcut are where the deer will be feeding and bedding. They will be deer magnets for 6 or 7 years after they are replanted. Turkeys will be there this spring

You're going to have to catch them coming off the clearcut to food and vice versa when the clear cut gets thick enough for them to bed in it. I think that block of pines in the SW corner of the property is going to have some good travel since it's a pinch point between that clear cut and the open field.

Turkeys will be in there as soon as it's burned.