To understand this article I will have to make sure you understand what hinge cutting is. In an earlier post I wrote in great detail what exactly hinge cutting is and how it is used but I will again give a brief description. Hinge cutting is when you cut a tree approximately 60% of the way through in order to bend it over. The tree while remaining alive can be used for various manipulation purposes. If cut low to the ground it can be used to block a path. If cut high it can be used as bedding or cover for safe passage. For more information on hinge cutting trees see my previous post which covers it in more detail.
Now for this post I am going to switch your gears a bit and focus on hinge cutting for travel manipulation only. Like the title says, I am going to discuss hinge cutting standing corn. For this I want to stress a few things. First off make sure you own the corn field. Secondly, unlike hinge cutting trees, the corn stalk you cut most times will yield no corn thus circumventing the reason it was planted in the first place.
I have never seen or read of anyone using hinge cutting on corn but I have and it works nonetheless. In order to do it you do not need any power tools but rather a simple machete and a plan. Your planned outcome should be one that doesn't include trying to change the entire direction a deer is attempting to travel. It works best when you are trying to focus a deer's travel route to one area usually within shooting range of your stand.
To accomplish this task a few conditions have to be in your favor. First off, the best results I have gotten have come when you are attempting to funnel the deer on their exit of the field versus where they enter. Secondly, you want to attempt to get as near as possible to the natural exit point to assist them to where they want to go. When creating a funnel in a corn field you don't need to funnel them into a few foot gap but rather a several yard gap because you should be able to make a shot several yards away.
With that said, how exactly is it done? You want to start at the exit point or kill zone and work in to the field. Selecting one stalk at a time you want to cut in to the stalk at an angle just enough to allow it to bend over without breaking off. You then wedge the top of the bent stalk in to another living stalk. Sometimes this may require tying it in place to make it more secure. It works well if you wedge it between the ear of corn and its stalk. You continue doing this making sure to overlap the barrier creating a line as to have no gaps between the bent stalks which would allow the deer to slip through. The key factor to remember when cutting or bending the stalks is the cut should be done between knee and waist high. As you work your way into the field you want to fan out a little more each time. When one side is done repeat the same steps on the other side. When completely finished and if you were to look down from a plane the manipulated stalks would look to form a cone shape open on both ends. Note that the further you enter the field the better you will harness the deer.
Now if you really want to maximize your results you can match your efforts on the other side of the picture. What I mean is you can take your machete and hinge cut saplings at the entrance to the wood line if one is present. These cuts should be done roughly at chest or shoulder level and bend the sapling over to create a desired entrance to the wood line. If you read my earlier post on hinge cutting you will see I go in greater detail on how to make a trail. It won't take long before you notice a heavily used trail right where you want it.
Once you have mastered this particular tactic there is one last thing that you can do to give yourself even more of an advantage. For this extra advantage your stand will have to be located close to the field edge. What I have done is use deer's natural instincts against them. Deer will usually stop before leaving cover to enter an opening which in this case before entering the open area being between the tree line and corn. If your funnel opening is big enough the deer will use it as an entrance as well as an exit. So you can cut a shooting hole into the area behind the hinge cut saplings on the woods side. Thus giving you that shot before they even fully step out. For an explanation on what a shooting hole is reference my article on shooting lanes. If your stand is close enough to the field edge, you can also create a shooting area into the corn field itself.
I hope you find this tactic helpful. I always encourage feedback and would love to hear your comments. Feel free to email me with questions or input. Follow all my posts by requesting notifications when new posts are added by submitting your email on my main site: GetInsideTheRack
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