re: How to get deer to move during daylight?

Sittin around a fire drinking beer 6 years ago a buddy told me "I've got an idea I'm going to try on my lease." He told me that I would think hes crazy but the thinks it will work. He had lots of night time pics of deer but were rarely seeing them in daylight. So the next summer he started doing all his activity on his lease at night. He checked cameras at night. He fed at night. He refused to go on the property during the daytime. Once hunting season rolled in the only times he would touch that property during the daytime was if the conditions were right. He just kept doing everything at night. The deer moved the exact same ways as before and used the exact same trails. Only difference being they moved in daylight versus moving at night. Hes tagged out the last 4 years all on mature deer that he shot during broad daylight.

We put cardboard cutouts that look like a human drinking a beer in our box stands so they get used to it

HInge Cutting Link

Youtube Video

My guess is because people have done it without planning where to do it and then walk through the areas and then wonder why they didn't see results. Property owners don't like other people coming in and cutting their timber either. You also have people that go in and cut too much or too thick.

My 40 acres back home always had photos of deer at night and I would always see deer on the neighbors property (fields during the day) but hardly saw deer and very few bucks on my property during the day. I spent some time picking areas to hinge cut.. areas I could stay out of (only go in Jan/Feb to cut and then do not return). I also did it in a way that would funnel deer towards areas or away from areas. I am not sure how well the funneling worked, but it did help move deer in the direction I wanted to go. It was a night and day difference for me. Now the neighbor wants to hunt on my property because he always sees bucks on my property. I moved away a few years ago but my cousins/brother in law, etc still hunt the property and continue to be successful. I try to get back once a year to go back into the areas to touch-up, recut, etc the areas that have been cut in the past. It created considerably more browse and provides plenty of cover for the deer. Other than hinge-cutting the only other thing I do is put a little fertilizer around white oaks and fruit trees (maybe clear out competing trees around the white oaks). No more food plots, corn feeders, etc. QDMA used to have a lb/acre chart for browse created from hinge cutting, but I can't locate it currently. Will look more over the weekend. I should also say this is located in Northeast MS. Timber is about 35 years old mixed hardwood with some pine.

I also try and have a few areas near watering holes (these seem to be the areas the larger bucks have been seen/harvested).

Don't just go in and randomly start cutting and if you make the decision to do this make the commitment to stay out of the areas. I access and hunt the perimeter of the property mainly and occasionally hunt just downwind of the hinge cut areas.