Hi guys I need to cut in some new trails thru my property for cutting and the wife to walk. We already have some old logging trails I have cleaned up and use for cutting but would like to make some more in the thick stuff. I have a BX2360 with bush hog , trailer, 14" and 18" chain saws and BXM32 chipper. My woods in this area are full of pepper bush 1"-3" so thick you have to fight your way thru it. I really can't get thru it with the tractor and bush hog till it's cleaned up a bit. I was planning on taking a 18' sapling putting a flag on it and setting it out say 100 yards out at a time and tagging a trail to it and so on. What method would you suggest to cut a trail 4' wide around the trees and the brush. Is there a better way than cutting my way with one of the saws. This ends up being real tuff on the back and arms.
I use a 10 inch saw blade on my stihl, 130r, split shaft weed wacker.. that takes been maples up to 3 inch diameter pretty quick. Leave anything bigger for a saw.. pile brush and burn. then brush hog. I used to be a trail master for snowmobile club I generally swing a 4 foot arc to a flagged spot. once a 4 foot path is in easy to widen over time... it's slow tedious work. but easiest way I know unless of course you have access to dozer or excavator. .. The worst part is picking up the brush.. if you have a lot.... does your BX.. have front end loader... Gasifier made a pretty nice grapple that was reasonable priced.. for more than half mile I would consider it..
We rented one of those a few years ago and my son and SIL cleared a bunch of trash alders just below our cabin. It worked well... but all of us decided it wasn't a practical way to keep that area cleared in the long term. I would think it would work well clearing trails though as long as they could be cleared by a mower afterward.
Brushcutter, or start with the circular saw blade on your string trimmer as a $30 trial. I bought one and it works really well for the thick brush.
I'm not a big fan of brushogs but some like them. I cleared trails in the woods and like others, used a weed whacker with brush blade. Yes, it is slow work and it seemed I had to sharpen the blade a lot but it worked well. It is handy to have a pickeroon when picking up all the brush. In our place, we cut a lot of witch hazel so most were diameters of up to 3" and a few larger but the large ones we simply broke out the chain saw. This is when it is really handy to have a small saw with a short bar. Naturally, once you open a lane, keeping it open is an ongoing thing. We've let some of our trails grow back up and have even made a few new ones. Rather than going straight, we were never afraid to keep turns and bends in the trails which I think is better than having straight runs. I've also noticed the deer tend to use them more when they are not long straight runs.
Another vote for a good trimmer with a brush blade. Probably the most effective way-much easier to work on small material standing up.
My parents have one of those for their stihl string trimmer. They work really well and I used that to clear ATV / walking paths in the hunting land a few years ago. It's time to do that task again.
I drilled the proper size hole in an old carbide blade from a mitre box (chop saw) and put it on my very old FS-90 Stilh brushcutter. Really workd well on anything up to 3". Not sure what your "pepper bush" is, but if your patient, and don't have a problem with chemical weed control, spraying then clearing (in a few months) is the best. The roots die this way. I have this trouble with Beeches, cut a sapling, or a full tree for that matter, and next year, the stump will be full of new shoots.
If you have a bucket on your tractor, get a ratchet rake. They are available thru tractor supply to avoid shipping. I cleaned a lot of brush and trails with on and popped out stumps on trees up to three inches in diameter. Great tool!! Ratchet Rake, LLC - Rip and Dig, All Terrain Rake, Snow Edge, Tractor attachment, Bucket attachment, Loader, Skid loader, Kubota, Skid steer, Landscape rake, Brush remover, York Rake, Harley Rake, Rock Rake, Tractor rake attachment, Construction attachment, New Holland, Bobcat, Fire safety, Home fire safety, Fire prevention, John Deere, skid steer attachment, tractor implement
When you make trails I recommend you avoid disturbing soil. With a tractor it is easy to move soil and it might seem like a great way to make a trail, but disturbed soil will encourage invasive species to sprout, and after a few years your trail will run down the center of a band of honeysuckle, autumn olive, or whatever invasive shrub is most invasive in your area. If you can create the trail by cutting vegetation and leaving the soil intact you have a much better chance of enjoying the woods the way they are now.
Ok I went to Sears and got a brush blade for my weedwacker. Walked 150 yards threw the woods marking a new trail with orange tape for a start. Took the brush cutter and did about 30 yards and gave up. Went back to the barn picked up the 14" chainsaw some gloves and walked the marked trail picking up any large 3"+ branches off the ground. Cut up any fallen trees and moved them aside to make room for the tractor and bush hog. Hooked up the bush hog and ran it backwards along the makers for 150 yards all this took 1 1/2 hours to complete. Start of the trail behind the pool house. And off we go. Nice deer trail crossed here. Crosses one of my logging trails here. The end for today's work. Another 900+ yards to go .
That underbrush is really thick. Impossible to move around in that stuff. Looks like it is everywhere. I would have to have that path trimmed back some so I had a few view. Never know what critters might be lurking.
