The Most OVERLOOKED Way to Properly Manage Your Hunting Property for FREE

It’s terrifying to some, a destructive force that ravages the countryside. However, fire is the best
tool for managing your hunting property when adequately managed.

Using fire to manage land is a technique dating back to when Native Americans freely roamed
our lands. It’s believed that they noticed how the bison and other wildlife grazed heavily on the
fresh sprouts after a burn had occurred due to lightning strikes or it being intentionally set by the
people.

The Benefits of Fire

For thousands of years, fire was the primary way to promote new growth, return nutrients to the
soil, and ensure only the most desirable plants were growing. However, in the last century,
we’ve become scared of fire and rarely use controlled burns to manage our properties.

So we have turned to things like clearing thickets for food plots, spraying, putting out mineral
blocks, and installing corn feeders in the states that allow it. Costing us thousands of dollars a
year, not to mention all the blood, sweat, and tears we pour into hours of working the land.

I’m proposing you save a lot of that money to spend on new camo, 30-30 ammo, or a new deer
stand and use prescribed burning to help keep the wildlife on your land fat and happy.

Below, I’ve gathered some pros of using fire to manage your land.

● Burning is FREE (unless you hire someone to do it)
● Deer, turkey, and many other wild animals thrive after a controlled burn
● Fire allows natural food sources to sprout up, even in places they haven’t been for
decades
● Fire helps some native species sprout and survive
● Fire hurts or kills undesirable species
● Fire is great for pastures and forests
● Prescribed burns reduce the risk of wildfires
● Fire helps restore nutrients to the soil
● Fire improves water quality by allowing more water to gather in the creeks for fish and
other animals to drink instead of being absorbed by shrubs and other non-desirable
species
● Fire helps control the spread of insects such as ticks and some tree diseases

As you can tell, burning has many positives; however, I must also share some of the downsides
of prescribed burning with you.

The Drawbacks of Fire

While the benefits of using prescribed burns to manage a property far outweigh the drawbacks,
you should still be aware of the cons.

One of the most significant downsides you’ll have to deal with is complaints from your neighbors
about air quality on the day you burn and a few days after. I recommend informing them that
you plan to burn before you begin so some neighbors will understand, but others will complain
no matter what you do.

The most significant danger is that the fire gets out of control because you haven’t burned the
debris before, turning it into a raging inferno. That’s why you should always let your local fire
department know you plan to burn, and you should create fire breaks throughout your property
to burn in smaller chunks and keep things contained.

Though fire can save you a lot of money, planning and executing a burn will take a lot of time.
You’ll likely need some help from friends and family on the day of the burn.

Unlike spraying and planting food plots, seeing the results from burning could take a year or
two. So you’re playing the long game when using prescribed burns to manage your property,
but in the end, it’s well worth it.

● Complaints from neighbors about air quality and danger
● Prescribed burns can get out of control and cause a wildfire when done incorrectly or
carelessly
● Creating a prescribed burning plan and implementing the plan is time-consuming
● Sometimes, it takes a few years to see the positive impact of fire
● Fire needs to be used year after year on pastures and every few years in forests
● The time of year you burn will affect the quality of the burn

Now that you know the drawbacks and benefits of prescribed burns, let’s move on to how to use
fire to improve your land for wildlife.

How to Manage Your Land With Fire

So you’re convinced that using fire is the best way to manage your hunting property but have no
idea where to begin?

Don’t worry; I’ve got you covered! I’ve been burning our property since middle school, and I took
several classes on it in college.

While fire must be respected, it doesn’t have to be a terrifying monster. Let’s break burning your
land down into several simple steps.

1. Determine Your Goals – The first thing you should do is determine what you wish to accomplish by burning. Do you want to thin out an area to make it easier to hunt, manage some invasive species, or help the native plants produce more food for the animals to eat?
   • Your goals will determine what time of year you should burn, how often you should burn, and how much of your property you should burn. Your entire property doesn’t need to be burned every year. It’s best to have a mix of clearings and thickets.
2. Create a Prescribed Burning Plan – Once you have set your goals, it’s time to devise a prescribed burning plan. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, “Burn plans identify – or prescribe – the best conditions under which trees and other plants will burn to get the best results safely. Burn plans consider temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation, and conditions for the dispersal of smoke.”
3. Make the Fire Breaks Now that you have a plan, it’s time to create the fire lines around the area you plan to burn. I always make a fire break along the edge of our property, 10-20 wide, depending on how much fuel (dead leaves, grass, and trees) is on the ground. I’ll follow that up by creating smaller breaks throughout the property to slow down the fire or stop it from reaching the parts of the land I don’t want to be burned. Though it’s not my favorite method, you can create a fire break by discing the ground. However, I usually cut the grass very short and blow all the clippings toward the area that’s getting burned.
4. Check the Weather – As the time to burn nears, watch the weather closely. It’s impossible to burn in wet conditions, but you also don’t want to burn during the dry season; otherwise, you risk a greater chance of the fire getting out of control. Wind direction and speed are also essential to pay attention to the days before, during, and after the burn.
5. Burn – Now, the fun part, at least for me. Let the fire department know you’ll be burning that day, and start by lighting the downwind side of your property first. I prefer using a drip torch to light the fire, but I’ve drug old rags soaked in diesel in a pinch. Always have help, water, or a way to put out the fire on hand.
6. Watch the New Life Flourish – A few days after you burn, you will see new sprouts of grass, trees, and other plants that deer, turkeys, and countless other animals will consume. Many of these plants are very nutritious for animals, and you’ll notice that they’ll quickly find and graze on these new plants.
7. Hunt – It’s now time to reap the benefits of your labors. By burning your property, you’ll not only see more deer and turkeys, which means you’ll get to be more picky with the ones you harvest, but you’ll also create a habitat in which they can thrive because they’re getting the nutrients, shelter, and water they need.

Parting Shots

Growing up, I was always mesmerized by fire. I loved helping with the burning season on our
small farm and the surrounding farms. However, it wasn’t until college, while obtaining my
wildlife management degree, that I learned how beneficial fire was to wildlife.

Now that you know the incredible benefits of using fire to manage your property, it’s time to
draw up a prescribed burning plan and get to burning!

About the Author
Chris Dwulet is an avid competitive shooter and handloader. He’s also a principle writer for
Ammo.com and runs their Ammunition Guides Podcast on YouTube