Clear cuts/ Deer hunting

This year i'm going to lease land to hunt. So, I can have control over when i come and go and what i harvest.
My question is, I'm concentrating on land that has been clear cut. Is this a good idea or look for something with trees and brush? Also looking to lease for at least 5 years. Thanks, Sarge

What would be the going rate per acre to lease?

My experience has been that for the first 7-10 years after clear-cutting, the deer population will be great. Then it will start to decline. imo

Clear cuts are a foodplot they can hide in and bed in .

I have found that after a few years, the brush will get too high and thick to effectively hunt it.

If it’s a good price then lease it providing you can put in a few plots. Generally the logging decks make for some good openings to start the plots. We’ve done well on clearcuts.

What is the going price in Ga for clear cut land. I'm thinking 8-10 in S.C

I honestly have no clue. Depends on the County I would imagine. If the county is known for big bucks and an ag type county then probably $12+. Personally I wouldn’t pay over $10.

Logging deck? Everyone I know calls them bunching grounds.

Alot of how well the hunting will be years in the future depends on how its managed.

Left to natural reseed 10 years will be a tangled mess that will be huntable only on the roads. 20 years to opening up.
Planted pine will just be clearing up enough to walk under at ten and will be ready to thin 12-15 for another great boost to hunting.
Planted longleaf double the timeline for planted loblolly.
If fire is used then expect a flush of new growth/great hunting post burn which would be every 3-5.

10 per acre is an average starting point for good well managed. Best deal though is to lay all your cards on the table when negotiating, and everything is negotiable, spell out exactly what you expect and the landowner better lay out what he expects. You'd be surprised how much a landowner will work with a good tenant.

Thanks Warrior, I have 2 sites i'm looking at. Hopefully the owners will work with me. One site is right next to a National Guard Unit. So, deer will not be too bothered. It also has 2 ponds, one swampy and the other clean.
The other has a creek running along the north end of the property and borders heavy woods along the other side of the creek. The property was sweet looking and now is a diamond in the rough. Clear cut down to the last tree. I'm thinking the edges will produce until the rest of it grows a bit. Sarge

My group hunts three clear cuts. We have a friend with a bulldozer. We grant him some hunting days for cutting shooting lanes. The landowners like the lanes since they are future logging roads. We bush hog our lanes about three times per year and even plant food crops in them or maintain feeding stations.

I see your in SC midlands? Use to hunt Elberton Ga. Clear cuts are a major plus in my book around this region. If they are new cuts, get some tripods and place at glassing vantage points. May have to take some longer shots. After a couple of years old is when the cuts get good. Deer will feed, bed, and move throughout the cuts. Especially if you can put a tripod on one ridge, and glass across a gully to the other ridge. If replanted in pines, when the trees get 3-5 feet tall, the deer feel perfectly safe out in them. When the cuts get older, and thicker, hunt the edges or roads going through the cuts. We killed tons of deer in cuts over the years. I firmly believe that is why there are so many deer some southern states, cutting of timber.

Clear cuts are great places to hunt Bucks
Iv killed a bunch over the years and seen 3x more bucks bedding in clear cuts
Get your Bi-Nocks and pull up a seat.

My 2 primary stands on our lease have been clear cut. The first one was cut 12 years ago then they cut one side year before last. I average at least 2 a year 8 point heavy horns about 15 to 16 spread. I see lots of deer. My closest shot on that one is 80 yards longest 160. I made a good food plot and shooting lane before it was replanted and have maintained it. I keep it planted year round. It has produced since the first year. My other one on a seprate piece of property got cut just before the season last year Like 3 weeks before. It's a mess of tops stumps and limbs. I planted a couple spots 100 yards out and put a blind on a hill down wind. Saw a ton of deer just nothing I wanted to shoot. This year I'm moving to the edge next to some adjoining property and putting in a flared shape plot about 150 yards. I will plant the whole thing in the summer but only the far half in the winter. I'm expecting good things. The trick is to clear your area and set it up before it gets planted then clean it up after it is planted and maintain the limbs and everything as the trees grow so you don't have overhang issues. A little work at the beginning pays off big time from then on.

... the best place to kill a deer is where you see one ... and you can see a long ways in a clearcut

Are you an outfitter? If not, and hunting for your person, I would try and get some permission, or try public ground. If you're gonna pay for ground just to hunt, you're gonna pay out the whazzou! Best of luck!