Mother Nature's Hinge Cutting

[Terrific_tom]

A few years ago we had a nasty wind storm come thru by the land. The storm did a number on a lot of trees. Some of the trees were up-rooted and some snapped. The ones that were up-rooted are still living and add additional browse. The ones that were snapped [mostly Balsam have allowed new balsam to start to sprout up. The area hardest hit is adjacent to one of the food plots which gets the deer in the plots in the day light as every time we hunted this plot the deer were in them already at 1:30 in the afternoon. I wish that I would have gotten up while there was still snow on the ground as there was dozens of beds in this area and would of shown up a lot better. The 1st picture is a popple that was up rooted that tipped along the food plot that is still growing that the deer enjoy browsing on.

 

[wiscwhip]

You gotta love "tornado zones"! Many years ago we had a tornado go through on the edge of my hometown(took out part of the trailer court), and it ended up coming through about 1/4 mile south of our land. We had permission to hunt the area at the time and it was a good area of heavy mixed oak/pine. It became 10 times better after the tornado went through and laid down a 100 yard wide path of the nastiest "hinge cut" area you would ever want to see. Total PIA to walk through after that, but a great area to set up bow stands on the edge of!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

That's a scary looking rub in the one pic !! That's some beautiful country you have TT. The deer seem to like what the wind did for you. Cool pix.

 

[sandbur]

I liek that country and agree about the tornado area. Jumped one of the biggest bucks I have ever seen in a tornado area.

 

[wiscwhip]

Jumped one of the biggest bucks I have ever seen in a tornado area.

The largest deer we ever saw in our area spent his time bedding on an island in the middle of the river bottom just east of our property and the tornado zone I mentioned that was across the street. We had permission to hunt the whole place back in those days and kicked it up numerous times while jumping wood ducks in the river. Found his bed in the tornado zone one day while tracking a doe that was hit high with a bow. The only reason we know it was that buck making the bed is that he would cross the gravel road right at the end of our driveway at night and the dog would let us know something was up. We caught him with the spotlight a few different times. Saw him crossing in the headlights a few different times coming home from a night at the pub as well. Nearest we could figure he was a NT with a 12 pt frame and at least 4 or 5 good sized abnormal points. The 1 daylight sighting other than while duck hunting was by my crazy uncle Leroy and he was so shook up he blew a 4" pine tree in half with a single shot 12 ga. No lie, and if I told you the rest of that story you would call BS for sure, but truth is stranger than fiction. My dad, my brother, my uncle, and myself had all seen the deer and agreed he would have easily made Boone, looked like something out of the Legendary Whitetails exhibit.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

You guys point out the pluses of a tornado / wind storm putting trees down. It pretty much confirms what hinging does for deer. We had a tornado touch down briefly on a mountain top in Central Pa. about 20 years ago. I didn't hunt there, but my BIL and I had a permit to cut firewood in there a few months after the storm. Deer sign and beds everywhere in that tangled mess. I can see how Bur and Whip encountered big bucks in those tornado spots.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

.my crazy uncle Leroy and he was so shook up he blew a 4" pine tree in half with a single shot 12 ga. No lie, and if I told you the rest of that story you would call BS for sure, but truth is stranger than fiction.

Any story that starts out with "My crazy Uncle Leroy....." Is going to be a classic! My late grandfather's middle name was Leroy....after the town where he was born....I'm partial to that name...lol.

Over the last few years parts of Northern New Jersey have had several severe weather events that brought down TONS of trees.....the tropical storms in September of 2011 and a couple of ice and heavy wet snow storms in October...I did some shed hunting in one area of a state owned property and the areas with all the windfall were loaded with deer sign...tracks, beds, trails, scat, rubs' browse etc...it was as if the deer lived 100% in these pockets.