I’ve got various hand saws, loppers, clippers etc but would love to hear what you’re using to clean things up prior to season opener.

Ive got a new stand going up
But in the process there are some tall weeds that I need to cut a path through but don’t want to fire up the string trimmer. Any ideas?

I like my vintage billhooks!





I do about 90% of the trimming with a plane ol’ pair of heavy duty limb lopping shears. My fav are Fiskars.

Dang KW, those look so cool. TY for sharing the photos

Thanks Jericho, they use em for hedging in England. In the old armies of the day they were issued to the pioneer and sapper battalions.

I love this.

Swedish Wacker

Used it as a land surveyor and now as trail tool.

Assuming you could get access a Tractor and a 5 foot cutter. That’s what we use on anything up to about 3” in diameter. We used to rent one for the weekend and do everything we could in 2 days. Finally bought an old ford tractor with some implements.

I use a Stihl 560 clearing saw. Think of it as weed eater for 3" diameter weeds

Got a 50 horsepower orange friend with a brush hog to mow lanes. If too narrow have some Stihl friends too, pole saw and chain saws.

^^^ That will work

That sounds like the solution I wish I had! I’m about 49 horsepower short lol

Never thought about those! I’ll dig into that idea.

Which works best? I’ve got a machete and it’s great but doesn’t cut the stubble close to ground level like a scythe would - never used one tho.

I use a Ryobi battery chainsaw and Ryobi trimmer with a brush blade attached. I also have the string trimmer head and pole saw head for the trimmer, if needed. Plus really good ratcheting loppers. All of that makes quick work of limbs, bushes, and weeds.

That shorter blade scythe in the middle is a brush scythe, will work better for tall weeds and brushy trails. I have one stashed away, but my Stihl brush cutter is much easier to use! I guess main advantage over power tools is no gas to carry, but you'll need a sharpening stone in your pocket.

Brush hog behind a Ford 2000, chainsaw and machete.

To be honest - it's mostly clearing the fire lanes - in forest trails either stay clear from repeated use or if new ones are being "created" - path of least resistance. I have no fetish about a 100% straight line so bushwhacking isn't high on the list. Go with the flow of natural openings and trim/remove as little as possible.

The ole Echo gave up the ghost two weeks ago. Enter Mr. Stihl.

Linky no worky Tom !

If you have a 4wheeler you can take a heavy duty pallet, throw some weight on it (concrete blocks etc) and drag it around. I hate chiggers, it’s fast and not much elbow grease involved.
I seldom use a brush cutter behind my tractor anymore. Just a couple passes with a disc knocks down the weeds and several passes breaks up the ground good enough to throw seed for a plot.

Amazing how fast deer will come to freshly broke up ground.

You're a Phantom?

My Echo schit the bed too. I just got a Milwaukee fuel battery deal. Mostly I just need to clean underbrush so it should be fine.

Specialized application. Thin blade scythe grass and thin weeds. Wide blade scythe for thick weeds and briars (no wood brush). Brush hook for wood brush, small tree limbs and trees.

Yep, got that covered.

Smart move, mister.

Usually a woods pal, made in Boyertown Pa. A jonsered chainsaw and an axe.

A lot of the terrain I hunt Whitetails in you can't get a tractor and mower on it, therefore labor intensive. Some of that terrain is so thick and brushy that deer will take the path of least resistance thru it and will use logging trails or farm machinery roads whenever they can. I have also, found that by setting up a tree stand on the perimeter, then cut out paths, it funnels deer to places where I can get a shot with a bow or gun.

True - the tractor is for the fire lanes that divide up the property - all else like to various areas or food plots or stands is done with machete mostly.

I'm using one of the 58cc brushcutters from amazon and a round chainsaw blade.

I like to stay back just a bit from the falling bugs as I cut the brush.

I took a chain saw to dad's old stand area and the deer skirted it into the thicker areas. I had the same conversation with a guy at work who spent a lot of time cutting shooting lanes. After a day of watching the deer go around those, he got his buck by setting up in the thicker stuff behind them. I've always been a proponent of just getting up higher in a tree stand and looking over the underbrush. The deer move through that kind of cover more slowly and naturally. In pressured woods, security is job one for a mature buck and if they make it past opening morning, they are in the thicker stuff where I've found them.

in the past i use and owned all those tools but now days to knock grass and brush down i use a J8 bombardier takes about 1 hour but i still gotta clean the tracks and that takes 2 hours.

Agreed - given the choice or opportunity - I'll go higher to gain perspective rather than clear brush.

Thanks for the advice! I just ordered an old Collins Brush Axe on EBay. Still looking for a good mid sized sickle that I can pack into the property

I appreciate the suggestion to minimize cutting - my project is primarily to open up better (less noisy) trail access to a stand and hopefully a better route to drag back to a road or better trail

Used to use the brush hog about middle summer (season starts Oct 1st) but to many stumps. Now I use the mini excavator. If I can't push the stump out, I'll dig it out.

I'll get trails down to dirt, and then spread clover on it. It's real thick after we had it logged and somehow the trails lead to and past various stands and blinds.

I get that. I'm the type to be in the stand a good 45 mins before you can see. Plenty of time for them to forget the noise they heard.

What about one of these? You can cut a lot of grass and thick weeds if sharp

Never seen one of those! I’ll look it up. Looks like just the ticket.

Used one all summer in 1969, no weed eaters then, called them yo-yo’s. Grass whip is what they are calling it. Tractor supply

I have one just like it. I would much rather use the Stihl.

Me too!

Mexicans?

Awesome for trails. I love mine

‘Stihl Kombi with a sawblade on it for clearing brush…

The pole saw attachment for cleaning limbs…

This except my Ford is a 4610SU.

I have used most all the tools above. I love swinging a scythe for exercise, but it is getting tougher. When we still had the woods on the farm I would use my little stihl chainsaw for the thick , wait-a-minute, rose, prickly ash thickets, etc. A folding saw and a little hand held pruning shears are always in my hunting pack.

Ford 8n and a Stihl pole saw get 95% of my work done. The other 5% is handled by my Silky (Japan) 18’ pole saw.

If you ever need a real pole saw, I can’t recommend Silky enough. Badass.

A friend loaned me his pole saw a few years back and we were cutting briars in a briar thicket to get a tripod stand in a forty yd wide grudge fence area .
Briars were 6’ tall .
Some saplings thumb thick .
Fought the saw for a bit and thought , wonder how the hedge trimmer attachment would work ?
Put that on and started sweeping the briars about mid hieght and then just above ground .
What a breeze , saplings and all , no hang ups or choking the saw just mowing down briars .
Told my buddy about it and he tried it at his stand areas and was amazed at ease of cutting .
This farm had these grudge fences all over it , about 1200 acres of farm some of the grudge fences was close to a hundred yds across with big timber tree lines in them .
Place was a killer place to hunt .
Kenneth

Bobcat mounted with a brush cutter makes a fine path to just about anywhere in the woods.

I use EVERYTHING that is mentioned above except hanco's swingblade...

The one thing I use a fair amount that no one has mentioned is an atv sprayer with a 25 gal tank and boomless nozzles with a wand attachment also...

Try one with a masticator head/mulcher... I can broadcast/plant behind the one I use...

A tractor with a bush hog and loader. Preferably with someone else driving it. For more fine tuning I use shears, a machete and a hatchet.
I carry a small set of ratchet pruning shears in my pack for walk in hunts to cut that one limb or small brush that is always right were
I have convinced myself the game will walk through.

Maybe in your woods.

Wouldn't take long for that Bobcat to end up at the bottom of a coulee, eh?

That's right. Ever so often there is a news item that some farmer fell off his farm. I have a lot of property that I can farm three sides of it. I have quit farming some fields that could only be farmed with horses. To be really safe you would have to plant corn with a shotgun.

Whenever I drive through the Driftless area, I often wonder about the pucker factor in planting/harvesting some of those fields.
Do you lean away on the seat to the uphill side like on a lawn mower?

One of my electric Chain saws and a Machete.

Extendable pole pruner, Battery powered chainsaw, and a sharp machete.

Ron

We called them sling blades growing up. Still have my Grandpa 's. Get it out every once in a while to reminisce.....as mentioned....doesnt take long to appreciate your Stihl Weedeater!!

I have one too that I bought to knock down some tall Johnson Grass on our range…..and yes, swinging one of those will definitely make you appreciate a mower or bush hog😊

Tractor with a brush hog. Milwaukee pole saw & gas chain saw.

Kubota BX w/48" mower
Husqvarna 55
Cheap folding limb saw Gorilla Taped to a push broom handle

I'm never without one of these on my ATV. They cut like crazy!
Corona Saw

Yep. Hard to beat a sharp set of loppers. I keep a pair of Fiskars in the Ranger.

I’ve never seen one of those tools, Bob. What’s the story with those ?

Just bought a stihl FS91 trimmer with bike handles. The woodcutting blade works wonders!