7 years in the making - shrub henge turns into a rifle range

[Jim Timber]

The skidder operator got his signals crossed and hauled out much of my barricade (shrub henge), and my faller mowed down a lot of the brush removing trees from the lot line (which he was instructed to do). So the 'henge' has been reduced to tall stumps over much of the former barricade, and I have some work ahead of me to rebuild it. But the plus side is that my 700 yard rifle range has been cleared of the trees (with some edge work needed to fix trees my faller thought he was doing me a favor leaving behind for stands), and will need to be cleaned of stumps and had some earth moving done to build berms. I'm pretty pumped!

 

[bueller]

Looks like lots of work getting done on your place this winter.

 

[Jim Timber]

Yeah, the payout on the wood wasn't as much as I was hoping for but the sweat equity of what the fellerbuncher and skidders accomplished is substantial. :)

 

[Bill]

That would be an awesome 700 yard strip of clover!

 

[Tree Spud]

I agree with Bill ... great spot for a long food plot.

 

[Native Hunter]

Nice, and yes on the clover.

 

[Jim Timber]

I don't want deer using the rifle range for food.

Current plan is to let the existing grass grow until I start moving dirt, and then I'm not sure what I'll put down.

 

[Jim Timber]

Aside from the obvious of deer being in the way when I'm out shooting, I have neighbors who still hunt this lot line despite my discouraging the deer from using it for the past half-decade plus. We are down to 2-3 hunters from the original 7 on the 1/4 mile shared lot line, so it is working.

If anything, I'd consider planting something like Egyptian wheat for a screen along the edge of the property, but I'm planning on dropping a much more substantial barricade in the 'henge's' place since I have the tractor/loader now and I'm a bunch more accurate and skilled with a saw these days than when I first started out on the project.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

A 700 yard private rifle range....that's just so nice! Love that drone footage.

 

[Tree Spud]

Aside from the obvious of deer being in the way when I'm out shooting, I have neighbors who still hunt this lot line despite my discouraging the deer from using it for the past half-decade plus. We are down to 2-3 hunters from the original 7 on the 1/4 mile shared lot line, so it is working.

If anything, I'd consider planting something like Egyptian wheat for a screen along the edge of the property, but I'm planning on dropping a much more substantial barricade in the 'henge's' place since I have the tractor/loader now and I'm a bunch more accurate and skilled with a saw these days than when I first started out on the project.

The question becomes ... why allow any low height plat or shrub growth, or maintenance that would allow shooting?

Seems a shooting range is counter productive to your objective of screening the neighbors. There will always be new growth in this area which means drawing deer in. If you hinge, neighbors will build higher stands.

Me personally ... I would plant a row of MG along that border and then a double row of whatever conifer will grow in your soil. Red pine would be the fastest screen but a number of spruces would be better for long term lower screening.

 

[Jim Timber]

The question becomes ... why allow any low height plat or shrub growth, or maintenance that would allow shooting?

Seems a shooting range is counter productive to your objective of screening the neighbors. There will always be new growth in this area which means drawing deer in. If you hinge, neighbors will build higher stands.

Me personally ... I would plant a row of MG along that border and then a double row of whatever conifer will grow in your soil. Red pine would be the fastest screen but a number of spruces would be better for long term lower screening.

It's kinda hard to drag a deer over a 15' berm without leaving evidence.

I've been trying to grow spruce for 7 years, and the largest of them is barely larger than a table centerpiece because of the former lack of light. Now we've got sun, and I'll be changing the density of the barricade from wide and low to narrow and high, while still leaving room for the trees to eventually occupy the actual lot line.