Hello and what do deer eat?

[striker]

Hello everyone I'm new to the board and was wondering if you guys could help me out. I was curious about what type of food to look for while scouting. I always hear to look for funnels between bedding and food sources but I'm not sure what to look for. Like for instance what would a deer near a farm look for after all the crops are harvested? What would deer in deep woods eat other than acorns? Thanks

[SyracuseBowhunter]

Hi Striker.  Welcome!  I'm fairly new too, but will try to give you a few suggestions.  Around crop fields that have been harvested, look to see if corn or beans have been left in the field.  If so, look for trails leading into the field and move back into the woods along the trail with the most rubs and scrapes until you find an area the deer use to wait until dark (a staging area).  If the farm machinery is modern,there won't be much of the crop left in the field.  Look for large patches of brambles/blackberry bushes along the edges of the field.  These often stay green, even when everything else turns brown and the deer will browse on them a lot.

If you are hunting in deep woods, look for areas where large trees have died and fallen.  With the canopy opened up, it gives the trees and bushes a chance to regenerate and deer will browse on the new growth.  Also, look for seeps and wet spots.  The vegetation around these areas is usually very lush and the deer will eat the browse in these spots regularly.

Those are just a few suggestions.  A book you might be interested in is, "Bowhunting Forests and Deep Woods" by Gregg Miller.  He has a lot of experience and a lot of good tips in the book.  I have used several of his suggestions and they work.  Hope this helps and good luck.

[msbadger]

SB was on the money and when given a chance fertalize those wild brambles in a certain area you plan to hunt...deer will seek out the sweeter vegitation on them but look for chewed on fungus(mushrooms)...they'll eat the rotting pulp of old trees ...inpart for the grubs and well they like poison ivy...I just went down and checked a bedding area...because I was checking for damage from flooding we've had...this year poison ivy went wild and not being allergic waded through places just choked with it and deer trails..... they have been eating the leaves and flower buds...in areas of beech...iron wood and hickory they eat those nuts and may apples(Ground plant)....we have a hill side of blue colish and the berries are now gone but I'm not sure it's the deer or turkey...they love elderberry brush...and any young maple trees trying to grow and leaves off of any tree I've mentioned if in reach...wild grapes and leaves...in winter sumac and the bark off sumac...wht pine... firs...cedar...moss...twigs.....I do most of my tree falling and trimming in late feb -march...this gives them the needed browse late winter before spring when things get rough and snows are deep 

[bckklr]

ACORNS !!! here in the south we just find a good white oak tree thats droppin nuts if you cant find one of those look for some soft mass like persimons deer love em & a nice ridge top with browse is a good bet i once had a stand with an old stump in front of it & 2 small bucks came & ate on it everytime i sat in that stand & now the stump is just a stu         yeah they ate the mp off of it already
                                                    ken

[striker]

Hey good stuff thanks for the info. Trying to up my game so I am no longer just counting on pure luck, this will surely help. Thanks again

[EatDeer]

ORIGINAL: striker

Hello everyone I'm new to the board and was wondering if you guys could help me out. I was curious about what type of food to look for while scouting. I always hear to look for funnels between bedding and food sources but I'm not sure what to look for. Like for instance what would a deer near a farm look for after all the crops are harvested? What would deer in deep woods eat other than acorns? Thanks

Deer browse many types of forages at different times of the year. Deer won't give up on finding a morsel of food in a harvested crop until snow fall prevents them from pawing the ground up.  In the winter the deer will want to browse new sucker growth from the summer season. If you really want to find out what deer are eating , I have to recommend you visit the QDMA forums, there are just too many types of food deer consume for me to list here.    

[wack]

If you wear buck in rut urine, they might eat you! lol [:D]
 Seriously, the best way to learn what the deer are eating out in the woods is to go to the woods and see what they are eating. Two good things to look for are accorns and apples.
 No matter what they eat, they all have to drink. Eating habits can change from week to week, day to day, A deer under pressure can eat about anything and not have to come out of cover but they all have to get water somehow. When you're out scouting, you look for where the deer move, where they go when trying to escape, where they eat, sleep and drink.