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- #21
Forestry for hunting land
- Thread starter Polaris
- Start date
Depending on how temporary you want the cabin to be, I always thought a decent used permanent fish house would work on a build site, or just be good enough for a deer shack.
Helped my buddy put up a 14x20 cabin on his deer land. It's fine for 4 guys. Especially if you have some outside deck or space to hang jackets and guns, or have a beverage and relax while you grill a steak. Just a thought, since it's not hard to find a used fish house in MN for a reasonable amount. Congrats again on the land.
Helped my buddy put up a 14x20 cabin on his deer land. It's fine for 4 guys. Especially if you have some outside deck or space to hang jackets and guns, or have a beverage and relax while you grill a steak. Just a thought, since it's not hard to find a used fish house in MN for a reasonable amount. Congrats again on the land.
- Thread starter
- #23
Well, I have deer. Several does, repeatedly on camera. Just set it close to camp for now. Wife and I both drew antlerless tags, and I think at least one of these ladies will be joining us for dinner this winter. Judging by the condition of winter browse, the doe population could use a reduction. Met all of the adjacent neighbors, and they seem to practice some sort of buck selection, only taking really big ones. Unfortunately, none of them believe in taking does so I'll probably get dirty looks for putting a couple on the meat pole, but oh well, they could have bought the 40 instead, and I think it is definitely the right thing to do judging by the sign and game camera. We have at least 2 living in just this 10 acre quadrant regularly. As I suspected, they seem to be spending most of the day in my parcel, feeding in adjacent hayfield or food plots at night. Many shots on the camera have been just after sunrise or just before sunset.
Making progress on the cabin. Hope to make it liveable this weekend. Good thing, as it's getting a tad chilly for tent camping these days. Hope to find time to move the camera to a possibly more "bucky" location this weekend. Done enough scouting of the vife's voods for now.
With slightly drier weather and open grouse season, I've done a more thorough scout of the southern half of the property. One quality tripod stand left by previous owners is in a great spot, just needs a proper trail and some shooting lanes. 2 other ladders need to move. Definitely some good work I can do this winter to improve huntability, forage and bedding cover here. Currently nice mix of heavy cover, could use some openings. I plan to knock down some balsam and lower quality jack pine into some piles and burn through snow cover to expose some mineral soil for new white pine seedlings to have a happy home. Will create additional new growth and deer food/bedding in the short term. Grouse, woodcock and snowshoe hare are abundant. Bear and buck sign also present. Noticed several "practice" ground scrapes this weekend and some rubs on trees, accompanied by very large tracks.
Parcel is indeed quite wet. May look into some logging sooner than later. Need a more thorough inventory of the N and E sides of property. Large pine, spruce and aspen present on thin, wet soil. Getting to the size of "use it or lose it" as it's very susceptible to windthrow and currently worth some real money.
Making progress on the cabin. Hope to make it liveable this weekend. Good thing, as it's getting a tad chilly for tent camping these days. Hope to find time to move the camera to a possibly more "bucky" location this weekend. Done enough scouting of the vife's voods for now.
With slightly drier weather and open grouse season, I've done a more thorough scout of the southern half of the property. One quality tripod stand left by previous owners is in a great spot, just needs a proper trail and some shooting lanes. 2 other ladders need to move. Definitely some good work I can do this winter to improve huntability, forage and bedding cover here. Currently nice mix of heavy cover, could use some openings. I plan to knock down some balsam and lower quality jack pine into some piles and burn through snow cover to expose some mineral soil for new white pine seedlings to have a happy home. Will create additional new growth and deer food/bedding in the short term. Grouse, woodcock and snowshoe hare are abundant. Bear and buck sign also present. Noticed several "practice" ground scrapes this weekend and some rubs on trees, accompanied by very large tracks.
Parcel is indeed quite wet. May look into some logging sooner than later. Need a more thorough inventory of the N and E sides of property. Large pine, spruce and aspen present on thin, wet soil. Getting to the size of "use it or lose it" as it's very susceptible to windthrow and currently worth some real money.
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DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 36,924
- 5,115
I'm all for taking some does. Besides, they taste better.
- Thread starter
- #25
Haven't updated this for awhile. Wife and I harvested 2 nice does in firearms season. The bucks I had on camera remained elusive, only visiting my stands at night or while I was working. Did get a nice picture of that 10 pointer running at full speed in daylight the same time the neighbor shot a small buck a few hundred yards away.
Some things I can take away from this season. Deer activity on my parcel is much higher in foul weather than fair. Seemed to hang on the neighbors more open woods in fair weather. I have plenty of deer and a well balanced sex/age ratio. Passed on several smaller bucks before filling the freezer. I really need shooting lanes, additional stand locations, some trails to direct deer movement and access some key areas (they seemed to just randomly meander around the parcel, showing up at odd times/places), and some small clearings for bedding areas.
I've also found several large pines that died recently. Cut one into firewood and the wood is sound and beautiful. I will be acquiring a chainsaw slabbing mill, some of these pines will become a timber walled sauna, which will be much appreciated at a camp without running water.
On the bright side, the cabin stayed warm to sub zero, there are lots of noisy grouse, I've identified several years worth of birch and maple firewood trees for harvest, and had a great time the first year hunting on the land.
Some things I can take away from this season. Deer activity on my parcel is much higher in foul weather than fair. Seemed to hang on the neighbors more open woods in fair weather. I have plenty of deer and a well balanced sex/age ratio. Passed on several smaller bucks before filling the freezer. I really need shooting lanes, additional stand locations, some trails to direct deer movement and access some key areas (they seemed to just randomly meander around the parcel, showing up at odd times/places), and some small clearings for bedding areas.
I've also found several large pines that died recently. Cut one into firewood and the wood is sound and beautiful. I will be acquiring a chainsaw slabbing mill, some of these pines will become a timber walled sauna, which will be much appreciated at a camp without running water.
On the bright side, the cabin stayed warm to sub zero, there are lots of noisy grouse, I've identified several years worth of birch and maple firewood trees for harvest, and had a great time the first year hunting on the land.
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That looks perfect. Congrats on a successful first season there! The shooting lanes and trails make a big difference. We like to mark where we want to cut trails/lanes now and go up in late March or early April for a weekend when the ground is still frozen but there is less or minimal snow. Cooler temps also make it more comfortable to run brush saws and chain saws. Good luck with it.
bbearhntr
Handloader
- Apr 10, 2011
- 553
- 0
Fantastic first year I would say! I'm sure all of your efforts to improve the habitat will pay dividends to you for years to come. Well done!
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- #28
Yeah, I work in utility construction. Spring season is slated for addition of a 4' screen porch. We plan to use the cabin as a base for fishing outings in the area, and the mosquitos are horrific at sunset. Winter is usually my slow time for work, and we have 2 snowmobiles for yarding firewood or building timbers, and I may be able to borrow a couple of draft Morgans. The owner says they need a proper workout in the winter months beyond the occasional sleigh ride, and the local high school may be interested in an old time winter logging demo. I can put a couple of he-man athletes on a buck saw and show them how Grandpa did it LOL. Just looking into some cheap used tack and rigging for horse logging. Will be plenty cold, but that Jotul really cranks out the heat, and there's lots of dead jack pine to burn in outdoor fires at the camp or worksites. Will be kind of like an old fashioned logging camp this winter. Plan on making the trails slightly wider than a snowmobiles skis. There are abundant grouse, so trails will be useful for hunting them as well. Working on a niche market for some of the pole sized wood I'll be cutting this winter. Got a guy who builds log furniture interested in all the black spruce, jack pine and tamarack poles I can get him. He's paying significantly more than pulp price and will pickup if I can yard them roadside. He's especially interested in any of the sawfly damaged jack pine which grows small burls and crooks at the damage points. Paying a premium for those, so I'll be flagging and cutting them as I go before they die and rot. They have little value for regular commercial timber and little wildlife value so no loss management wise. We'll see how the winter conditions pan out for logging. I have a couple of 3/4-1 acre clearing sites plotted on an air photo and spot checked on the ground. Already natural deer travel areas and partially clear due to spotty regeneration after the last logging some 25 years ago. ATVs are pretty much a no-go except for the ditch maintenance trail. This bog has a moss/vegetation mat on the top. Once it is disturbed, turns into sandy muck, so the mat needs to stay intact on any travel trails. I should be fine keeping it to winter and foot access.BretN":2wim0dr1 said:
If anybody wants any info on the financials of acquiring a property in this manner, pm me. I leveraged some home equity, with the current interest rates amortized over a 30 year mortgage vs what I was paying on my 30 yr fixed closed in 2010.... including the cabin construction fund and closing costs, I basically bought this for free.
- Thread starter
- #29
Another update. After doing some post season exploring with snow cover, I'm prepared to commence operations. In addition to an access trail, this 1.5 acre stand will be my first focus. Already a travel Crossroads, I plan on removing the aspen, birch and maple, thinning some of the conifers. There are some scattered high spots that can be spot tilled and planted. Think I'll burn through a couple with some dead wood, and leave a couple un burned, see which works. Leaving some mature aspen on the edges for my grouse. I'll try hinge cutting a few and turn the rest into firewood.
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cloverleaf
Handloader
- Sep 10, 2006
- 4,336
- 936
Glad you had a good year. Meat in the freezer, woood for the fire...wife is happy, life is good.
killdeernow
Beginner
- Dec 20, 2006
- 199
- 0
Outstanding job on acquiring raw land and having a successful hunt.
So, I’ve skimmed through most if not all of your posts regarding your projects. I do have some input; whether it’s valuable or not is up to you.
Background on my opinions: I bought 40+ acres in the Adirondacks back in 2002 and have learned a lot of lessons both good and bad (the hard way). I’ve blown some money but learned valuable lessons. I’ll try to list them without getting bogged down with details.
1) If you are ever going to put a well in. Say heck NO to a SHALLOW WELL. I don’t care if you have water at 10 feet. Drill your well, period, done. I had water at 8 feet. Was talked into putting in a shallow well (25ish feet). Long story, short. Spent $6.5K on something that went dry because of the infamous, never been seen before, drought. When it did have water, it had E.coli. Plus, the drilled well was cheaper and is less likely to have dead mice fall in it (sealed). Who would have thought.
2) You stated no apple trees. This confuses me. Why? There are over 2,500 varieties of apple trees in the United States. The apple blossom is Michigan’s state flower. You should be able to grow apples. They are a weed if you find the right variety to grow. Deer LOVE them. I have over 50 apple trees, all producing and I have pics of bear and deer all over the place. If pine is growing, apples will grow. Get apple trees…
3) Oak. Any oak? They take a while and I’m not sure how old you are but it’s worth planting some oak. A natural buffet beats a food plot (put one of those in as well). I planted some, I’m thinking my daughter should enjoy seeing deer eating the acorns.
4) Bush Hog. What a lifesaver. Spend some extra cash and get a heavy duty one. Don’t get the light variety and destroy it on the first pass. I have a Bush Hog 295. This thing destroys everything in its path. I’ve gone through thicker than 3” diameter trees (accidentally) and haven’t broke anything on it yet (since 2006). Be real careful though. My father in-law stated this is the deadliest attachment on a tractor. Don’t know the data or where it came from but he was an operator for 50 years. I wear a helmet, eye protection and ear protection.
5) You said grouse. This is what I found grouse like on my property. They like knee to waist high thin brush with mature woods on all sides. I don’t know why. I found this out by pure luck. I have been messing around with a couple acre chunks trying different things, cutting them at different times, growing different stuff, etc. This past year when I went East, I did my annual walk around and walked through a patch that wasn’t cut since last year and all kinds of grouse started taking off. Then I walked through some thick stuff and nothing, walked through some short stuff, nothing. Then I hit another area of the same length stuff and off they went. So, I think I’m on to something. I need to gather more data on this because it was a recent discovery.
6) It’s late. If you think this helps, I’ll think of more stuff. I also have lessons learned on some of my self-induced construction defects, mouse control, etc.
You are to be congratulated on your purchase! Well done,
So, I’ve skimmed through most if not all of your posts regarding your projects. I do have some input; whether it’s valuable or not is up to you.
Background on my opinions: I bought 40+ acres in the Adirondacks back in 2002 and have learned a lot of lessons both good and bad (the hard way). I’ve blown some money but learned valuable lessons. I’ll try to list them without getting bogged down with details.
1) If you are ever going to put a well in. Say heck NO to a SHALLOW WELL. I don’t care if you have water at 10 feet. Drill your well, period, done. I had water at 8 feet. Was talked into putting in a shallow well (25ish feet). Long story, short. Spent $6.5K on something that went dry because of the infamous, never been seen before, drought. When it did have water, it had E.coli. Plus, the drilled well was cheaper and is less likely to have dead mice fall in it (sealed). Who would have thought.
2) You stated no apple trees. This confuses me. Why? There are over 2,500 varieties of apple trees in the United States. The apple blossom is Michigan’s state flower. You should be able to grow apples. They are a weed if you find the right variety to grow. Deer LOVE them. I have over 50 apple trees, all producing and I have pics of bear and deer all over the place. If pine is growing, apples will grow. Get apple trees…
3) Oak. Any oak? They take a while and I’m not sure how old you are but it’s worth planting some oak. A natural buffet beats a food plot (put one of those in as well). I planted some, I’m thinking my daughter should enjoy seeing deer eating the acorns.
4) Bush Hog. What a lifesaver. Spend some extra cash and get a heavy duty one. Don’t get the light variety and destroy it on the first pass. I have a Bush Hog 295. This thing destroys everything in its path. I’ve gone through thicker than 3” diameter trees (accidentally) and haven’t broke anything on it yet (since 2006). Be real careful though. My father in-law stated this is the deadliest attachment on a tractor. Don’t know the data or where it came from but he was an operator for 50 years. I wear a helmet, eye protection and ear protection.
5) You said grouse. This is what I found grouse like on my property. They like knee to waist high thin brush with mature woods on all sides. I don’t know why. I found this out by pure luck. I have been messing around with a couple acre chunks trying different things, cutting them at different times, growing different stuff, etc. This past year when I went East, I did my annual walk around and walked through a patch that wasn’t cut since last year and all kinds of grouse started taking off. Then I walked through some thick stuff and nothing, walked through some short stuff, nothing. Then I hit another area of the same length stuff and off they went. So, I think I’m on to something. I need to gather more data on this because it was a recent discovery.
6) It’s late. If you think this helps, I’ll think of more stuff. I also have lessons learned on some of my self-induced construction defects, mouse control, etc.
You are to be congratulated on your purchase! Well done,
killdeernow
Beginner
- Dec 20, 2006
- 199
- 0
I forgot one thing. You stated you were making brush piles…do you plan on burning them?
I don’t and here is why. Bobcats love brush piles. So do fox, so do rabbits. If you like trapping or predator hunting or rabbit hunting keep the brush piles.
I don’t and here is why. Bobcats love brush piles. So do fox, so do rabbits. If you like trapping or predator hunting or rabbit hunting keep the brush piles.
killdeernow
Beginner
- Dec 20, 2006
- 199
- 0
- Thread starter
- #34
The specific issues I'll face with this land are acidic soil and high water. It is a very unique habitat, having a sandy soil, but perpetually wet, very little peat so not a true bog, but has all of the acidity and herbs and shrubs associated with a Northern bog. This is why I don't like my chances with apple trees. Not too cold for them, just too wet and acidic. Oak would grow on some of the high spots. I'm going to try some Northern Pin and Swamp white, even if I probably won't live to see it mature. That's the thing about forestry, you largely manage for the next generation.
Also the soil integrity is preserved by a vegetation mat, so I need to be very careful about using any sort of equipment when the ground is not frozen or I'll simply create swampy ruts. It's also very hummocky so any sort of self propelled brush hog will be problematic at best. There are some remnant logging trails I've been working with. Pretty easy to clear walking trails with just the chainsaw. I put in about 200 yards last weekend to access a key location for some logging later this winter. Maintenance will have to be with a split shaft trimmer and brush blade, chainsaw as needed.
I've noticed the same thing about grouse. The favorite on my property is raspberry/brush mix with semi-mature aspen nearby. There is conifer roosting cover everywhere. Don't think I need to do much to improve the grouse habitat other than keeping enough sunlight for the raspberries and blueberries to keep going strong.
Unfortunately a shallow well will be my only option. Bedrock is at 20-30 feet, and unless we decide to live on the property, a fracked well would be impractical. Mostly just need wash water anyway. Fine sand, so a driven point well will suffice, even if it's not potable. Neighbors are friendly, so there's always a garden hose and jugs for potable.
Also the soil integrity is preserved by a vegetation mat, so I need to be very careful about using any sort of equipment when the ground is not frozen or I'll simply create swampy ruts. It's also very hummocky so any sort of self propelled brush hog will be problematic at best. There are some remnant logging trails I've been working with. Pretty easy to clear walking trails with just the chainsaw. I put in about 200 yards last weekend to access a key location for some logging later this winter. Maintenance will have to be with a split shaft trimmer and brush blade, chainsaw as needed.
I've noticed the same thing about grouse. The favorite on my property is raspberry/brush mix with semi-mature aspen nearby. There is conifer roosting cover everywhere. Don't think I need to do much to improve the grouse habitat other than keeping enough sunlight for the raspberries and blueberries to keep going strong.
Unfortunately a shallow well will be my only option. Bedrock is at 20-30 feet, and unless we decide to live on the property, a fracked well would be impractical. Mostly just need wash water anyway. Fine sand, so a driven point well will suffice, even if it's not potable. Neighbors are friendly, so there's always a garden hose and jugs for potable.
