My Bush Hogging experience

[Cacinok]

it's been stated before on TBN, but bears repeating, first time through a new field, it's always a good idea to keep your brush hog 8-12" off of the ground. we bought our property last fall, but i was only able to brush hog it for the first time this week. i came upon an old metal gate, a few t-posts, some oil drilling pipe, and a lot of old barbed wire. i had walked the field during the winter, but did not see any of the above items.

at our other place, the neighbor built a field wire fence that he planned to put one strand of barbed wire on top of. well he built the fence and never got around to actually stretching the barbed wire. he dropped the strand onto my side of the fence, for storage i guess. i was not aware of the strand laying on my side of the fence and sure enough when i got out to brush hog the field i wrapped about 100' of barbed wire around the blades of the brush hog. that was a long and arduous fix.

 

[Grrrr]

I was not aware of the strand laying on my side of the fence and sure enough when I got out to brush hog the field I wrapped about 100' of barbed wire around the blades of the brush hog. That was a long and arduous fix.

Sounds like fun

 

[LoneCowboy]

That's the biz.
You hit stuff, nobody has any idea what's out there in 3/4/5 foot tall weeds/grass.
That's why YOU HAVE TO CHARGE ENOUGH TO COVER YOUR REPAIR/EQUIPMENT COSTS!!!!

$25 an acre on a 5 acre property isn't even paying for you, much less your equipment, your insurance, etc.

 

[sandman2234]

On unknown property, I tend to go slow and make passes that are a couple of mower widths apart. That way I open up the new territory and the next two passes are just side cuts. The first one thru it is the rough one, the others are just cuts down each side, if that makes sense. Nothing makes it a perfect arrangement, but this works for me.
David from jax

 

[kenmac]

I tend to just ride unknown areas with no brush cutter at all just to see what's out there b-4 I cut.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

A "skill" of sorts that can be developed while bush hogging in unfamiliar terrain is to look at the conditions in what will be your next pass as you go along. Of course, you need to keep your eyes on what is straight ahead, but learn to use peripheral vision to watch what is next to you as you go along.

One of the reasons why I like old style "step through" chassis utility tractors is their view offered looking down. Flat deck or cab tractors don't have quite the same view. (All in all, I still like those cabs!) I've been able to slam on the brakes to avoid running over potential noise-makers on more than one occasion.

Some of the worst things I've ran over buried in the weeds? A space-saver spare tire. A dead dog. A sawn off telephone pole left 6" protruding from the ground. A half filled box of roof nails. A bicycle frame. A car battery. Several hundred feet of electric fence wire. A childs doll. (Though I'd ran over a kid for a split second. Uhggg) By far the worst SOUNDING was when I found the cast iron lid and ring of a man hole cover that was sticking up above grade about 8" in the middle of an otherwise perfectly clear, clean field. It was so gruesome sounding, I looked around for a mushroom cloud. Thought I'd be "nuked". It did a number on the bush hog blades too.

 

[Grrrr]

A dead dog.

That one must have made a real mess.

 

[Chuck_Lind]

I am curious

Do you still have an operational Tractor and Cutter, or they both in the shop getting repaired after your learning experience ??

Dan

Been brush hogging my farm (184 acres; 80 tillable) since 2004 and I learn something each time I mow.

The decision I made was to get a heavy duty brush hog (LandPride 6' heavy duty) and a tractor that will handle the rough stuff (NH TN65). If I had it to do over again, I'd get a "trailing" brush hog rather than a 3-point. The 3-point setup causes the brush hog to either dig into the dirt or mow high when I run over a groundhog hole or hit a dead furrow. Otherwise, it's a great setup. I've hit some rocks and other nasty objects and it never hurt the brush hog. Although...I do need to sharpen the blades after 4 years, but it still cuts great. You always have to look for new groundhog holes that pop up...they're the worst. Hmmm...just got a new Weatherby in .243 Winchester caliber...time to go groundhog hunting; the nasty little critters.

 

[RollTideRam]

I learned a new lesson today. You can make small rocks out of a large rock. I did get a couple of good dents in the side of my LX5. I thought for sure I would miss that rock. Oh well. JC

 

[john_bud]

Ah.... the smell of granite dust in the morning..... smells like.... new blades!


jb