Hinge cuts for doe bedding

When it comes to creating doe bedding areas, height matters.

In this case, I’m cutting about at chest level. I’m also trying to lay the trees over each other to create a false ceiling. That’s not always possible and isn’t an issue when it can’t occur, as cutting higher still allows the deer to walk easily underneath. The size of these varies, but I typically make them from 1/3rd to 1 acre in size, tending towards the larger when increasing browse and/or cover is more important.

As a side note, I’ve been seeing images lately of hinge cut areas where it looks like they were cut no more than a few inches off the ground. I assume that’s to promote more the shoots being accessible for longer or it just may be because the manager was new to hinge cutting? Except when creating blockades, where I alternate cutting low to high, simply to make it harder for deer to get through, I think cutting a bunch really low is a mistake. The deer won’t want to move in that stuff, as it will be a huge pain for them. Most time, the extra browse just becomes a waste.