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Right now, it's too thick. It took me a hell of a long time to get through. I need to landscape it pretty hard to get it so I can do that. I need to also clear out some leaves nearer to where they bed; I've got leaves crackling underfoot, brush blocking my vision, and branches blocking my shot in that area. I'm gonna try and clear some brush and timber in the fall, and maybe set up my clearing with a feeder to help direct the deer traffic where I think it should go.
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Don't know your surrounding area but you may be making a huge mistake heavily landscaping your area. More then likely, 'Thick' is the reason the deer chose to bed there in the first place rather then someplace else. My experience has been if you go in a known deer bedding area and start cutting out many thickets you will push the deer out as well. Case and point...your neighbor has a feeder the deer never visit.
Someone earlier posted about hunting your area during rut. I wish I had an area, such as yours, size wise, in which I knew the doe's were religiously bedding in to hunt during the rut.
Again, as was earlier stated, regardless of whether you run the doe off as you enter, you can bet Mr. Antler knows those does usually bed in your spot during the day and he will be there lookin for them at some point during the day.
If I couldn't figure out a way to hunt there through the rest of the season, you can bet I'd be sitting all day in my stand during the rut and I'd get into my stand plenty early. I wouldn't disturb the cover any more then I had to to get a shot off. And I would cut those shooting lanes about mid summer.
This doesn't help you now but you may have a 'honey hole' come next rut with a chance of a real wall hanger.
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and I shot on one and I think I either hit a branch or clean missed her - but it was only at about ten yards through cover, so my guess is that I nicked some foliage.
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FWIW:
You probably did hit foliage but just thought I'd mention just in case you didn't know. If your bow is zero'd from the ground and you are shooting from an elevated stand, you will hit high every time. Ideally, you need to zero and practice the way you are going to hunt. Either on the ground or elevated...or have separate pins for each scenario which can get a bit confusing during 'crunch time'.