Hinge-Cutting: Even Better Than Believed?
By Mark Melotik
For many years now, hunters managing land specifically for deer hunting have known about a habitat-improving technique called hinge-cutting, but a recent study suggests the practice may be even more beneficial to the deer on your property than once thought.
Hinge-cutting is defined loosely as partially cutting through a tree trunk to act as a hinge, allowing the tree to fall while remaining partially attached to the stump so it will continue to grow — creating living, habitat structure for wildlife.
Back in February, a study on the attractiveness of hinge-cut areas for white-tailed deer was presented at the Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting, and deer land managers most everywhere should be interested.
University of Tennessee researcher Thomas Bovary presented the report that considered three separate 5-acre hinge-cut areas of hardwoods in Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Mississippi, with the control in each case being an adjacent 5-acre stretch of hardwoods that was left untouched.
Using trail cameras, researchers found overall deer detections in the hinge-cut areas was 48% higher than in the control areas. But even more notable, according to Brian Murphy, veteran deer biologist in attendance at the presentation, were the deer numbers tallied during some very specific and important times of the year.
During spring fawning season, deer detections were 146% higher than in the control areas. And during hunting seasons, deer detections were 78% higher.
“At that time of the year, deer are using those areas for security cover, thermal cover and breeding areas — where bucks are tending does — so the implications for deer hunters are obvious,” Murphy said. “And researchers also saw a decrease in predator detections in the hinge-cut areas. Maybe those areas were too dense for good hunting and they preferred to hunt along the edges or in the more-open hardwoods.”
Similarly, Murphy said it was obvious that the increased use of the hinge-cut study areas during fawning season came as a result of does preferring the thicker, denser security cover.
A land manager himself, Murphy suggested those land managers interested in implementing hinge-cut areas on their own property consider altering a specific percentage of their tract.
“On 100 acres, I would be looking at about 10% to 15% of my property in hinge-cut or patch clear-cut areas — strategically located and evenly distributed would be my recommendation,” Murphy said. “And I would treat those areas as sanctuaries, meaning just hunt the edges and stay out of the core.”