do you own woods or scrounge

[Tjcole50]

Simple question. If you do own, how many acres? Or if your lucky do you have people who let you cut freely or downed/dead timber.
I scrounge as much as possible but have access to woods behind my hosue. Once I buy an atv with a good trailer I will go to town back there. For some reason scrounging spots keep popping up every year !

 

[aarolar]

I own 48 acres and my family has 200 combined but most of my wood comes from scrounging just because its so easy to come across.

 

[Tjcole50]

Damn! Nice I agree much easier than pulling and maneuvering through woods

 

[GreaseMnky85]

In laws have 40 bUT I scrounge to save that for emergency for when u can't find wood else where bit of you look hard enough you shouldn't ever run out of places

 

[olyman]

ive been burning,,for over 35 years. people know me. I get calls,,on a regular basis..to get their tree. I refuse all softwoods...............IF......I had all the wood I have collected, split and stacked,,it would cover,,1/2 acre,, 8 foot high...

 

[Rudedog]

Scrounge. I work in Montgomery County Maryland. Most of the residents don't burn and usually vote for the stupid laws that limit anything to do with self sufficiency. I just have to fight the guys that commute for work in pick ups from Pennsyltucky for my share. Nobody scrounges anything but hardwood here.

 

[stihlfanboy]

I have 8 acres, 3 of witch is nice ash and black oak. 400 acres of woods off my back field my two neighbors let me have anything dead or down on. And trying to get access to 70 acres of two year old tops right across the road from me. Still grab every bit of wood I can when im out. Burned 4 cord this year and sold 10 cord.

 

[UnforsakenGhost]

I live on 37 acres that my parents own, and there's only 15 trees on the whole property, but I have access to 2 places cutting walnut tops and elm

 

[Rockarosa]

I own 50 acres and probably 20 of those are hay fields. Have an OWB so I cut on my own property. I have a New Holland TC 30 4 wheel drive and an old wagon I haul the wood in. All the easy to get to wood is gone now.

 

[sledge&wedge]

Simple question. If you do own, how many acres? Or if your lucky do you have people who let you cut freely or downed/dead timber.
I scrounge as much as possible but have access to woods behind my hosue. Once I buy an atv with a good trailer I will go to town back there. For some reason scrounging spots keep popping up every year !

If I were you, I'd leave my own woods alone until the scrounge opportunities to dry up (unless you've got dead/dying timber or blowdowns on your place). Seems like it would make sense to hold onto your own timber for emergencies and avoid thinning out your supply by snagging wood elsewhere.

 

[srb08]

I live on 160 acres, 130 of which is woods. Mostly Oak and Hickory.
I haven't dropped more than a dozen trees since I moved here in 1997. The storms provide me enough downed trees to stay amply supplied with firewood. I also supply my wife's family with wood.
Before I had the acreage, I scrounged for a while, then bought loads of logs. Scrounging takes too much time, although free heat is nice.

 

[UnforsakenGhost]

Lol i know how that is, almost all the easy tops are gone, so I'm cutting and piling them up to come back with skidloader and dump truck this summer

 

[cus_deluxe]

I live on 8 acres, about half wooded (ash, maple, cherry...) but agree with saving it for emergencies. I work at a golf course and seems like every year the list of tree removals exceeds the time available which makes for an easy scrounging spot. I do have to "compete" with a couple other employees but theres more than enough to go around at this point anyway.

 

[Rockarosa]

If I were you, I'd leave my own woods alone until the scrounge opportunities to dry up (unless you've got dead/dying timber or blowdowns on your place). Seems like it would make sense to hold onto your own timber for emergencies and avoid thinning out your supply by snagging wood elsewhere.

I'm 62 years old, no point in saving my wood supply now. Although I may buy a load of logs just to stay ahead this spring.

 

[X-S-FLA]

Greetings all. Not too far off topic...I hope. Assuming a property had mostly oak ( just pickin' one outta my ...) and that's what you'd wanna burn, how many acres of oak would one need in order to be self-sufficient / renewable year after year; and assuming you burn, say, 4 cords / season? (no scrounging, no relying on others properties). I understand there are many other variables. A ball-park figure would be nice.
thanks!
mike

 

[svk]

Both. House is on 4 acres of which 2/3 is timber. I've taken oodles of trees off there in the past 5 years but not by choice. Aspen are dying of old age and birch got nailed by birch borer. After another year and a half of cutting I should be done with all of the sick trees on the property and only have to cut a couple each year.

The public land near my hunting cabin has more scrounge than I could ever process so I try to get as much as I can of the quality species.

 

[sdt7618]

Have 4 acres of woodland, not great access, but it has been neglected by prior owner and loads of dead and down to scrounge out first. Have a few new blow downs this winter to sort come spring also. not sure if it will be enough to provide all our wood but have started a willow coppice on another acre of boggy land we have with a view to harvest wood from 1/4 every year in a 4 year cycle.

 

[Cheesecutter]

Greetings all. Not too far off topic...I hope. Assuming a property had mostly oak ( just pickin' one outta my ...) and that's what you'd wanna burn, how many acres of oak would one need in order to be self-sufficient / renewable year after year; and assuming you burn, say, 4 cords / season? (no scrounging, no relying on others properties). I understand there are many other variables. A ball-park figure would be nice.
thanks!
mike

Ballpark figure is 1 cord per acre per year for average woodlot.

 

[X-S-FLA]

Excellent, Thanks!

 

[SS396driver]

I have 5 acres where I live and 12 where my rental house is . I dont really scounge but I do get wood from friends and if I see wood on the road from utility work or down in peoples yards i will get it. Needless to say asking the homeowner first