How much shooting lane clearing would you do right now???

[Swill]

Hi Members....

I have recently moved to a new area and this is only my second fall deer hunting around my place, so I was wondering how much tree clearing would you do at this time during the rut? I know I should have been out earlier, and I have already cleared out a few stands last month, but I found some new areas that I really want to hunt, but the trees are surround by some thick cover!

So any suggestion on how much clearing I can still get away with this time of the year?

[harvey lee]

Here is what I try to do no matter what time of the year it is.I will only trim out what is needed to make a small shooting lane.I will do a little more each year in the same spot.I have one good buck spot that I have been slowly clearing for four years.If you clean out to much the deer will avoid the area.

Lets say you move a lamp in the living room 1 foot.How long do you think it will be before your wife says who moved the lamp? Its even worse with deer as the woods is thier living room and they will notice.

Do as little as possible to get a good clean kill.

[delmuts]

tom is right! for my ladder stands i try to just cut windows to shoot thru, but on the ground i have to resort to lanes. i try to keep them as un-noticeable as i can , but still give me a clear shot.the younger deer( 1 1/2 yr. olds) aren't as intune with thier surroundings, but the older ones are VERY alert to any changes. the bigger the change , the more cautious they become, or they will just leave the area. like the comercial."everything in moderation"

[lawdog]

harveylee, its more fun if she just moves it back and then you can move it again. If you play your cards right you can keep that going for months...I'm not sure it would translate too well to deer though

Cut the absolute least you can, especially now when the deer don't have time to adjust to it. If you are there in June, you have MUCH more leeway than you do right now...

[Swill]

I think I am starting to figure out why a few of my spots; which are located in great locations, are not seeing the activity that the sign would suggest. I cleared out way too much, according to everyones suggestions.

This kind of leads me to my next question, what about deer scent attractants like Teaks 69 or Trails End 307, how much walking around should I do to hand those scent wicks in the propoer locations? Sometimes I think all that walking around and dragging scent might hurt the spot. I do wear scent lock camo, wash my no carbon clothing with scent free soap, I wear rubber boos, but still I can notice the leaves pushed down and the dirt stirred up a little from my walking around....

[fishermatt]

I had a stand where I had cut a narrow shooting lane into some really thick brush. I shot many a deer there, until the neighbors built a stand less than 100 yards away and cut a whole bunch of lanes. Now the deer just don't go there any more. As far as scent, it's anyone's guess if using doe lure will work or not. I think "scent free" is better than anything. Once a buck has smelled the "real thing" (a doe he has bred or smelled), the bottle scent probably is way less effective. But I could be wrong, every situation is different.