Part 2 of our exclusive 3-part series “Manage the Land, Manage the Deer” from our good friend Flatlander, who lives, hunts and manages ground in his home state of Illinois: As we move through the early spring trees are leafing out but not in full foliage, so this is still a good time do to some chain saw or hand saw work, as we discussed in Part 1 of this series. Find staging areas, small clearings and food plot areas near your tree stands, and cut away all overhanging limbs up to about 12 feet high, EXCEPT one.  Leave one limb with a low-hanging branch, and prune that branch so the limb is eye level. This will become a licking [...]

This is part 1 of a 3 part series from our friend and Illinois land-management expert Matt “Flatlander” Cheever:   Notice in the title of this post, I said manage the land, not “manage your land.” If you own hunting property, great. But you don’t have to be a landowner to participate in habitat and deer herd improvement. In fact, you bring added value to a landowner if you are capable of improving his property with your knowledge and elbow grease. This can give you a leg up on the hunter who simply wants to show up on opening day in the fall and hunt. Impress your landowner by showing up in the spring with a chainsaw and asking if there are [...]