Deer season in Georgia starts in mid October for rifle. The field I am hunting is very thick with briars and just brush. Should

[ybjhk124]

Deer season in Georgia starts in mid October for rifle. The field I am hunting is very thick with briars and just brush. Should I brush hog the field before the start of gun season or leave it be? Also the brush is about head high in some areas. Or should I just brush hog some of it? Thank you

[scratchgolf72]

if you have deer they are there for a reason, because you have that thick cover. removing it, at least in my mind, is only going to hurt the hunting. i would have to see it firsthand to give you a better opinion, but just based off of what im reading thats my call.

[jhjimbo]

You might think about cutting in some shooting lanes.

[DakotaMan]

I would think first and foremost about protecting that great deer cover. As scratch said, that is why they will be there. If you need to, you can cut shooting lanes but I believe it would be better to do that with an ax or a machete than a bush hog. Be careful not to cut into bedding areas to disturb their routine.

[FirstBubba]

If you want to cut shooting lanes, I'd do it about 3 or 4 days before season opened.
Mess up the hunting, you say?
Well...yes and no!
The day you cut lanes, the deer will return within 30 minutes. Deer are curious creatures. For the next week they will be exploring every inch of ground you've uncovered. As new growth begins to sprout out, they'll browse that, giving them another reason to come out.
My suggestion would be to brush hog a path at least two swaths wide. At least two, no more than five radiating out from you blind.
Good luck and good hunting!

[Hobob]

If you cut it soon it will start to resprout and that will sometimes attract deer till frost or does around here, but not always. I once have seen them browse my shooting lanes instead of the soybean patch several times. If the area gets hunting pressure and has few hiding areas leave it alone. If you know bucks are currently bedding in it, leave it alone. Like scratchgolf says without knowing the area and deer herd its hard to tell though

[onetobeat08]

I wouldn't cut any of the brush, it will only hurt the hunting

[vasportsman]

Have a similar situation, generally we bush hog in late August/early September and deer browse on the new growth and it opens the shooting up, and if we didn't cut it, it would go back to wilderness in no time. Been thinking about trying limited bush hogging in the fall and then finish it after season or in the spring, but we will see.