What is the Best Size Sod Plug to Cut?

[DavidDigs4Free]

Looking for Opinions based on experience. What is the best size and method for cutting a sod plug so as not to damage a nice well kept grass yard? Some cut round plugs and remove them to the side of the hole, some cut hinged plugs and bend them back to the side. What is the best method and size to keep the grass from damage? I think a larger round plug with plenty of dirt still covering the grass roots is better for grass to recover.

Thanks, any help based on experience will be greatly appreciated and useful to many of us.

 

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[RVRoamer74]

If not too dry I will cut a plug on hinge as you are showing. If you have to go deeper in the plug, you can put the excess soil onto a piece of cloth to keep area tidy. If it has been dry, I only dig in areas it really doesn't matter, like woods or big fields and even then I will fill my hole back. Looks good, keep on plug'n.

Size wise= as small as possible to get the Gold.

 

[CalReg]

Personally, I like the hinge cut and as RVRoamer66 said, as small as possible where you can still locate your target. I like to bring a small towel to put the extra dirt in case I need to dig deeper. Makes the job of returning the dirt a lot easier. Good luck and happy hunting!

 

[A2coins]

The hinge or flap will help best for the grass to recover a round plug can always be seen IMO

 

[RobNC]

I use the hinged edge plug also. Try my best to make the plug the smallest size. It's not always feasible, depending on how "off" I am with the pinpointing. Seriously I spend more time with being the most accurate on pinpoint before the cut and careful plugging and the reconstruction than I do with the actual find.

 

[Timecop67]

Really hard not to kill grass especially if dry. Todays detectors with DD coils I can't get but 2-4 inches close to target. The machines of old with concentrics could pinpoint to a T with audio detuning. I think manufacturers just want to sell lots of those handheld pinpointers.

 

[dts52]

When I first started MDing an experienced hunter shared his technique with me. He’d pinpoint the target, then make a straight cut right alongside. Moving his digging tool to the bottom and perpendicular to the straight cut, he’d pry open the straight cut and it would open up like a taco. More often than not, the target was right on the side of the first cut. He was a coin finding machine. This technique isn’t suited for deeper targets, most of his were within 5 inches. BTW, he was a pastor and used to get permissions that I think a lot of us wouldn’t have gotten. Wonderful man and an excellent teacher although he found the fact that I am tone deaf very frustrating. He’d say “Hear the difference?” and of course, I couldn’t distinguish one beep from another.
HH
dts

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hinged type of plug and excess soil placed on a towel. Always pin point in one direction then 90 degrees to it when using a DD coil. In a farm field, beach or woods use the DD wiggle method of locating targets.

Finding the target 33%, extracting the target 33% and placeing everything back so nobody can see your work 33%! The last 33% is a skill that takes time, but must be mastered!

 

[CASPER-2]

My Gf cut it short but i did step on it before moving on - i been TH'ing since 1975 at age 12
been using a big knife always and cut nice deep plugs - if i used a shovel like a lot of guys do in other states
i would probably get tossed from a lot of spots

 

[Trezurehunter]

I use the hinged plug method, and start digging the hole small. If need be, you can always pull extra dirt off the side edges of the hole, without making the hinged plug any bigger, unless of course it's a big item in the hole.

 

[Toecutter]

I also do the hinge method, I did a permission last week I work with the property owner she said the coons pulled all the plugs up, they covered them back up and the coons done it again... didnt matter how nice of a job I did the coons just messed it all up.....

Some thing to remember when you see open plugs every where not always a bone head...