no usually deer sign....

[msbadger]

I was out the other day......looking for the usual deer sign in areas I knew there to be sign in the past.....I did'nt see much until I realized a differance.....The area had a bunch of new growth of things I know our deer love....new long patches of May apples and a bunch of gooseberry brush...Now I know that the raccoon and turkey...squirrel all love theses as well. but these are reg deer runs that I've watched for a few years...got me to thinking if I were to go to a new property to hunt that I did'nt know at all....and had little time to scout...those kind of sign would be a good tool to use...what are your thoughts?

[Wanderer]

msbadger,
I'm familiar with may apples...my hunting land in Marshall county is covered up with it. You also referred to "gooseberry brush" in your post. Is that the same as the gooseberry that we grow in our garden to make pies with? (See attached picture). I've read that there is an American strain of gooseberry native to the northeast, but I've never seen it in the wild. If it's the same stuff, I'd better not tell my wife, she'll pick 'em all and ruin the hunting.
I've found deer to be real fond of American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana ) and cat brier (Smilax rotundiflora), too. Those are two things I've always got my eyes open for when scouting.

[Todd Loftis]

Hello, Everyone
This is my first post on any type of forum,but i have been reading this one for a while and feel like i know ya'll already.  But just this past weekend i came across the same thing that happens to you msbadger.  I had my camera over a minerial lick and got 276 pictures in one week the next week 26.  i thought the soybeans must have came up so i check and nothing.  I could not figure out for the life of me where they all went.  Then like a ton of bricks it hit me THE KUDZO !!! The farm i hunt has a kudzo thicket right in the middle of it.  I walked to it and as i got closer i realize that every deer in the county was using that thicket.  Needless to say i moved my camera so i hope to post pictures soon.

[msbadger]

Yes sir wanderer...those are the ones.. we have all over our property....though I never get a chance to pick them in the woods...but if you transplant them to a garden as with the wild currents and edible elderberry we have..we also have the non edible or spring elderberry... ....they turn into huge bushes....we also have wild strawberries every where.
 
Todd...welcome to the forum...Kudzu...I actually thought for a second mind you.. of trying to grow that here...figured if it did'nt die back enough in the winter the goats could have at it[8D]...but see some times my mind is actually working and decided not to chance it...lol[;)]...I figured if goats loved it the deer probly would too...post some of those pics ...we love em

[danesdad]

I'll tell you this. After green up, the deer around my house has probably hundreds of species of plants on which to feed and countless millions of individual plants at their disposal. Yet, they unerringly devoured every leaf off of four peach trees my neighbor planted on a clear spot next to the woods.[:)]


I wish they ate poison ivy. (actually, they probably do). If deer preferred poison ivy, I can promise you that, within five years, I'd have a shot at the state record within 100 yards of my house. Without a doubt.

[whubbard]

Are ya'll referring to the same Kudzu that grows all over the place down south.  Lines the highways in Mississippi and Tennessee this time of year? 

[Todd Loftis]

I am talking about the same stuff whubbard.  Deer love that stuff right when it first starts turning green in the late spring.  Kuduz has about 18-20% protein that really helps in antler growth.  Not to mention it is a great bedding area.  I have my trail camera out in the middle of a kuduz thicket right now.  It has been out there for 2 weeks now.  Trying to get out there and check it is difficult these days.  But when i do i plan on posting some pictures

[GAbowhunter]

I live in Kudzu land.. Duluth GA and I can tell you that Deer do love Kudzu, so do horses and other animals and I have even heard my Grand maw way back in the 70's talk of Kudzu pie.

BUT trust me, you don't want it if you don't already have it !!  It will die back in the winter and your goats will eat it, but come spring it grows from where it left off, not from scratch. It will get into the trees and kill them. Say good bye to your pines, oaks and all others.. It will cover your fences, barns and even your house where you can't even see the building any longer and the roots will crack concrete and knock over brick walls. Roundup will not kill it on a perm basis, it will keep growing back every year. It stores energy deep in the roots and uses that stored energy to make a comeback every year.

When I was a kid we used to play and hide in the stuff and see who could collect the most seed pods, they would make a loud pop when stepped on..

I heard that some misguided nut brought it here from Japan where it is a favorite dish..
 
P.S.
 
I never knew the deer liked Callicarpa americana (beautyberry) I was told when a kid it was poisonous so I always left it alone.. I didn't even know it's name till now...  I see tons of it every early season..

[bowbrown]

I'm familar with the effects of kudzu I use to live in towns county ga and have family in dawsonville ga. I was told that they brought kudzu for one reason with two purposes, erosion control on the ga clay and feed for cows and other livestock. You can cut it back but you can't kill it. Like gabowhunter said if you don't have it you don't want it.

[Cut N Run]

I heard that they tried to make goat food pellets out of it & the kudzu tore up the machine they were processing it with.  I hate the stuff. It took over one of my favorite hunting locations.  Whoever is the first to develop an eradicating spray for Kudzu (that worked) would become rich in a hurry.
 
Jim