Bushhog for thick saplings

[livemusic]

I bought land 3 years ago and I still have not bush hogged the pasture. I don't think it had been cut in 2-3 years before I bought it. The 7 acre pasture has two challenges. First is thick blackberry bushes. Thick for around here. They get 4'-6' tall in summer and a dog would have a hard time getting into them! I dunno, maybe they are zero match for a bush hog. Then I have sweet gum and oak saplings that have come up in spots. They're probably 5 to 7 years old. Oaks aren't very thick but sweet gums might reach 2" diameter. I could cut them with my Husky brush cutter first but it's a lot of them on this pasture. Any big deal to whack saplings like this or is this just going to be a recipe to tear up a bush hog? We used to whack 'em when I grew up on the farm, but that was MUCH bigger tractors and bush hogs. I am looking to buy a tractor, and unless I have to, it would probably be 40 to 50 hp.

I actually was hoping to get a bush hog, real heavy duty, that would allow me to also go through my woods and cut some trails. But I spoke to a man with Brown tree cutters and he's got a cutter/mower that would cut saplings up to 4" and also do great mowing, but he says you need about a 75hp tractor (65hp pto) due to the weight of the cutter and also power required to spin the blades up. Bummer! I guess I hoped for the impossible. I could even go by hand and cut larger saplings with chainsaw or my Husky brushcutter but he said what I am talking about just really doesn't exist... need a bigger tractor to get into this category.

[TKehl]

1.  Brushhog should do fine as long as it isn't a light duty one.  The only issue is it will leave nice tire poking stobs...
2.  For 7 acres, hire it out.  Around here I think $50-75/acre will get it cut.  Cheaper than a decent used 3 point brush hog, much less a tractor, diesel, and time.   ;)  The guy with the cutter mower sounds like a good one to talk to.   ;D

[Hans1]

Not sure what your final use is for the field is and that would dictate the plan. I tend to end up with these style projects a lot. My end goal is always land that can be farmed. Most of the areas we reclaim still have some grass. First step is firebreak the perimeter and burn the field. This removes a lot of the material and exposes any hazards. Wait for a rain to settle the ash then go in and mow everything that can be shredded with a brush cutter. This will leave the bigger trees and brush which I would then remove roots and all. Renting a skidloader and tree puller or hiring some one will be the simplest in the long run. My last to steps are spray the entire site with Roundup,2-4-D let it die for a week the plow,disc or rototill .

[jdonovan]

I'm with Tkehl, hire this work out.

You only need the heavy duty equipment for a short task. Either rent the machinery to do it, or hire in the machine & labor.

A skidsteer with a mulching head will have the forest trails done quick and easy.

Also with a bushhog you generally have to run over what you are going to mow first. The belly on most farm tractors is a sea of filters, rubber hoses, linkages, and other highly damageable things. The belly of a skidsteer is a piece of plate steel.

Use the right tools for the job. It costs less in the end.

[gspren]

I did a fair amount of cutting/mowing like you describe with an old 3 point bush hog on a 45 HP tractor. I ran around in forward doing most of it then went back and backed over some with the mower raised and then lowered slowly. I have actually used that same mower on 3 tractors, a 1956 JD 620, 1984? Massey 253, and a 1988 JD 2355 4wd, all handled it well. The mower is a Bush Hog brand and heavy, I've seen other mowers the same size that wouldn't have handled it. 

[Stuart Caruk]

A bobcat in the 773 size and a brushcat rotary mower will decimate blackberries and up to 4" dia trees. It will demolish your 2" brush quickly. You can buy or rent them. I bought ones years ago and never looked back. You will always need to maintain the area, so you might as well own the tool to start with.

[moodnacreek]

The Brown tree cutter, yes. I don't think they are still made.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Blackberries and 2" brush are no problem for a good medium/heavy duty brush mower. 4" maybe pushing it unless it's a really soft wood. For 4" stuff I usually push it over with the loader or saw it down and then mulch up what I can.

Brown tree cutters are still made. A local guy has one with a hydraulic flip up rear guard and it'll take down a serious tree. But a 6 foot mower will work a 80hp tractor pretty good.

[livemusic]

A bobcat in the 773 size and a brushcat rotary mower will decimate blackberries and up to 4" dia trees. It will demolish your 2" brush quickly. You can buy or rent them. I bought ones years ago and never looked back. You will always need to maintain the area, so you might as well own the tool to start with.

That's a very interesting option. A setup like that, would it be practical to bushhog a 7 acre pasture with something like that? I might not have to do but once/year or so. To make nice grass, I guess you need to do it more often, though. I think most people around here bushhog spring and fall.

Bobcat type machines are so handy! In an ideal world, one would have a tractor and equipment and a bobcat and equipment but I probably would not buy both.

[Raider Bill]

I mowed and maintained about 25 acres of fields with my 40hp and a 6ft bush hog. When I first bought the land the field was completely over grown with locust, popular and black berries some of the berries were over 8 ft tall. I also cut in trails with it. I figured if I could bend the sapling down with the bush hog I could cut it up. Seemed to work.

20130629 110718 - YouTube

This one I was mowing a pretty steep hill that had a drop on the bottom that puckered me up. It was also before I put the slip clutch on. As you can see some of these were pretty Dang big.

20130629 110718 - YouTube

[livemusic]

I mowed and maintained about 25 acres of fields with my 40hp and a 6ft bush hog. When I first bought the land the field was completely over grown with locust, popular and black berries some of the berries were over 8 ft tall. I also cut in trails with it. I figured if I could bend the sapling down with the bush hog I could cut it up. Seemed to work.

20130629 110718 - YouTube

This one I was mowing a pretty steep hill that had a drop on the bottom that puckered me up. It was also before I put the slip clutch on. As you can see some of these were pretty Dang big.

20130629 110718 - YouTube

Yep, that's pretty heavy green stuff but, I don't recall seeing woody saplings. I dunno if they are supposed to be different but both videos are the same.

[Raider Bill]

Sorry about that, was listening to a PO'd car owner about his settlement being so low. Who would have thought a salvage title and rolled back odo would effect the ACV....

Mowing the hill! - YouTube

[chevytaHOE5674]

I'm slowly clearing pastures overgrown with tag alder, willow, aspen, and other brush. Some of the tag alder is 3+ inches in diameter but since it grows in big clumps you have to carefully piece them down so you aren't cutting too many 3" stems at once.

Two pictures taken from the same spot. Much of that was 15 foot tall. Requires a few years of mowing before the brush decomposes and grass starts filling in.

[moodnacreek]

Chevyta, that looks just like a field I have been bush hogging upstate with about the same rig. In fact I thought you parked your tractor there but I don',t see the white face hornets.