Timber Land Groovy Cuts

[chandler]

Anybody hunt timber land cut like this? Worthwhile? Waste of time?

I haven't been out to see it in person yet, but thought it was somewhat intriguing.

[92xj]

It's thinning cuts.
100 shooting lanes for you.
If the was game there before they will be there now.
A little less secure and safe feeling since it's more open.
But good feed with sunlight making it to floor.
Hunt it and see.

[Blacktail Sniper]

 

Especially those areas of "edge" where the bigger timber meets. 

Two options to try, watch the wind and slowly walk through the area, hard to tell, but if the landscape allows, get up on some high ground and glass, glass, then glass some more. 

[Special T]

Sit in a stand for the first  hour on the down wind edge of the things job and the thicker cover. Then depending on how big it is still hunt through it and explore.

[fishnfur]

The brush understory will take off and grow like crazy for several years in the thinned stand.  Lots of good deer food in there by year three after the thinning.  If it is a Western Hemlock stand of timber, I've found that down here in SW WA, they quickly become unhuntable due to the thousands of sapling hemlocks that thrive in the low light conditions.  They quickly make navigation and vision unmanageable. 

[cougforester]

Pro tip, that area in the middle of the unit that isn't thinned is bounded out from the harvest area due to it being a riparian zone of sorts. I find a lot of wallows, rubs and activity in general just inside these areas. They hang out in there due to it being thick and secluded, and have water nearby, but have very close access to food in the adjacent thinned unit. 

[chandler]

Thanks all.

It's about 2 years old right now. I'm looking forward to getting out to check it out in person.

[Dan-o]

I keep looking at the pic, but I don't understand what I'm looking at.

Is this a clear cut?

A type of thin cut?

What am I missing??

[NW SURVEYOR]

This approach has paid off for me over the last 40 yeards.

If your scouting indicates potential, think about coming back with a machete.
Check out the most advantageous route to approach and work through the most promising areas.
Then clear a small (Almost undetectable) trail where you can sneak through quietly and command a clear line of sight/fire.
You can cut a few shooting lanes and leave some limbs for cover and startegic stopping areas (Stands).
A small folding meat saw in your back pocket during the season will anable you to quietly cut some limbs for maintenance.
This should work for a couple few years until if get out of hand.
I could also last for more depending on the rate of growth, desity etc.

Keep it to yourself and you could be sitting on a gold mine.

Good Luck!
Happy New Years!

[Special T]

Folding saw and hand pruners no machete, too loud. Additionally if you prune limbs close to the trunk they are less visible to competition, which is another reason to not use a machete.

[NW SURVEYOR]

With regards to noise, I intended the heavy clearing to be done in the winter or early spring/summer.
At this point you would also clear any branches, salal or overhanging limbs to allow discrete movement.
Saw is for maintenance and adding improvements during the season.
While a machete is a bit noisy, it is my preferred tool for production work.
The saw will require considerably more time resulting in more visits.
Everything is a tradeoff, but my experience is that a day or two 6 months prior to the season is definatly not a dealbreaker.
As for the evidence of the limbs sawed vs machete cut, I don't advocate cutting any brush immediatly adjacent to the road.
You want your point(s) of entry (Trailheads) to be discrete.

[Special T]

I will also add that now is the perfect time to scout. The seasons over. You would be amazed what you can discover this time of year. I also think you get a better lay of the land since all the  leaves are gone. Once you got a good lay of the land find a few trees for your stand and do the limping now. It won't stand out so much this spring.

[chandler]

Thanks for the additional info Special T and NW surveyor.

Sounds like it should be a worthwhile place to check out. Now to find the time to get there

[Special T]

Additionally it sounds like you should read Byrd Iverson Blacktail Trophy Tactics 2

[Alchase]

Additionally it sounds like you should read Byrd Iverson Blacktail Trophy Tactics 2

 

Great Blacktail book!

[chandler]

I have read it, but it's been a couple years and I've been meaning to read it again. Thanks for the reminder!

[fishnfur]

I keep looking at the pic, but I don't understand what I'm looking at.

Is this a clear cut?

A type of thin cut?

What am I missing??

I'm not quite sure how they accomplish the commercial thinning operation, but I assume the areas are accessed with a feller-buncher  or similar machine down the rows of tracks you see from satellite, cutting as they go.  Somewhere around 30% - 50% of the trees in the stand can be felled, bunched, and dragged back out the the trail the machine made going in.  The operation yields short-term profits and the releases the remaining trees to grow at a much faster rate.

[cougforester]

I keep looking at the pic, but I don't understand what I'm looking at.

Is this a clear cut?

A type of thin cut?

What am I missing??

  Nailed it! 
I'm not quite sure how they accomplish the commercial thinning operation, but I assume the areas are accessed with a feller-buncher  or similar machine down the rows of tracks you see from satellite, cutting as they go.  Somewhere around 30% - 50% of the trees in the stand can be felled, bunched, and dragged back out the the trail the machine made going in.  The operation yields short-term profits and the releases the remaining trees to grow at a much faster rate.

[UBA]

How big are the trees in the stand? They have to be atleast 8" to skid out for saw logs. I always thought they thinned the stands when they were younger and left the pulp on the ground.

[JimmyHoffa]

They do both.  The pre-commercial thin is the one that leaves a lot on the ground. 

[fishnfur]

They generally leave the best growing trees and remove the smaller diameter ones, which are often 5 to 10 inch diameter on the truck.  Just guessing - the timing of the first commercial thinning in fir (on the Westside) somewhere around 25 years from the planting, but it may occur much later than that.   It all depends on how fertile the soil is and how fast the trees are growing.  Eleven to twelve inch diameter trees (at breast height) are ready to thin if originally planted at the DNR standard spacing of 12 - 13 feet. Subsequent thinnings often occur as the stand ages.  The stand in question looks like it is somewhere around 35 - 40 years old to me.  I'll bet cougforester could give you a much better answer.