Food

[huntinsonovagun]

From the time we started hunting, we've been told to "find the food" from books, videos, and magazines. A lot of those focus on farmland areas so food is generally pretty easy to find. ,In the areas of northeast Oklahoma that I hunt, we don't typically have crop fields to hunt around. We all knows the acorns, clovers, etc, but what are some of the other major natural food sources that are worth knowing about and searching for?

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[dirt nap giver]

Don't think their major, but honeysuckle, apples, grapes, rose bushes and other briars are other things they browse on. Select cut logging areas tend to attract feeding activity too

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[christian1]

I have often wondered that with the "up North" deer. It's not to hard to find food down here, but once you get away from farm country I am lost. Most of that area has huge pieces of land, no farms and usually no oaks. I know people say they eat browse or look for clear cuts, but eating bark seems like it would expend more energy than be of any use to the animal. Then once fall comes and there is no more green stuff the choices must get very limited. They must find other things.

[bblefty]

My favorite tactic for public is finding and hunting river bottoms. All deer are bedding in the vicinity of these creeks because all of the quality browse is along the creek bed. Most every other wood parts end up being ecological deserts just like Grant Woods has described in Growingdeer.tv justifying his placement of food plots.

[dan]

I think people get way to focused on "major" food sources.... Deer eat way more browse than they do crops in my opinion, especially older bucks. I often say that young bucks and old bucks are like two different species. Young bucks without some life lessons may camp out on a field or food source... I have noticed thru observations, shining, glassing, hunting etc. That in pressure situations mature bucks will often avoid crop areas all together...
When I go shining in July and August, I will see some old bucks in fields on private or managed land with frequency, but the really old bucks, especially on the public rarely show themselves. The best bucks I see shining are often at the 3:00 to 4:00 AM time frame... They are there, but they are not coming to those crop fields as often as some would think. Sometimes I only get the light on a particular buck I am after a few times a year, and when I do its about a 50% chance its not in a crop field...
I know in some areas mature bucks frequent the crop fields, just saying that in a lot of cases people are missing the boat by concentrating on crops.
I can recall bucks I was seeing back in the marsh a mile or two from crops and where no one else is hunting get out of there bed and stage in dogwood, or other food sources and feed within 100 yards of there bed till dark... Even then, I think they are often heading to food sources that we are not aware of...

A lot of food sources I immediately recognize thru years of scouting but really don't know the official name of the plant. One big food source in the timber is Maple leaves right when they 1st turn yellow and start to drop...

I think finding the bedding is often more important in a lot of regards than food. A lot of my beds in pressure areas, I have no idea what they are eating or where they are heading when they pass thru the huge cattail or tamarack mess they head into... But I kill them cause I know where there bedded and know where they stage.

Sometimes its easy and sometimes its hard... When they do feed in crops and bed nearby it can be as easy as checking the field for big tracks on the side closest to the bedding... Just want to say don't get hung up on that, or it will limit your success.

[JoeRE]

Even in farm country with food seemingly everywhere the preferred food sources at any point and time are very specific. Deer love alfalfa new seeding particularly after a frost or two, when acorns are falling all ag fields are abandoned for the most part, that sort of thing.

My favorite tactic for public is finding and hunting river bottoms. All deer are bedding in the vicinity of these creeks because all of the quality browse is along the creek bed.

That is a solid strategy - I have learned to do much the same when hunting around big tracts of mature timber.

[PK_]

Jagger bushes, bucks love those leaves. I can't tell you how many deer I have seen wandering around a thicket eating those leaves, bed down, get up and eat over and over with a standing corn field less than 50 yards away.

The corn may be the 'primary' food source, but during daylight I bet they eat way more browse than corn.

[christian1]

I think people get way to focused on "major" food sources.... Deer eat way more browse than they do crops in my opinion, especially older bucks. I often say that young bucks and old bucks are like two different species. Young bucks without some life lessons may camp out on a field or food source... I have noticed thru observations, shining, glassing, hunting etc. That in pressure situations mature bucks will often avoid crop areas all together...
When I go shining in July and August, I will see some old bucks in fields on private or managed land with frequency, but the really old bucks, especially on the public rarely show themselves. The best bucks I see shining are often at the 3:00 to 4:00 AM time frame... They are there, but they are not coming to those crop fields as often as some would think. Sometimes I only get the light on a particular buck I am after a few times a year, and when I do its about a 50% chance its not in a crop field...
I know in some areas mature bucks frequent the crop fields, just saying that in a lot of cases people are missing the boat by concentrating on crops.
I can recall bucks I was seeing back in the marsh a mile or two from crops and where no one else is hunting get out of there bed and stage in dogwood, or other food sources and feed within 100 yards of there bed till dark... Even then, I think they are often heading to food sources that we are not aware of...

A lot of food sources I immediately recognize thru years of scouting but really don't know the official name of the plant. One big food source in the timber is Maple leaves right when they 1st turn yellow and start to drop...

I think finding the bedding is often more important in a lot of regards than food. A lot of my beds in pressure areas, I have no idea what they are eating or where they are heading when they pass thru the huge cattail or tamarack mess they head into... But I kill them cause I know where there bedded and know where they stage.


Sometimes its easy and sometimes its hard... When they do feed in crops and bed nearby it can be as easy as checking the field for big tracks on the side closest to the bedding... Just want to say don't get hung up on that, or it will limit your success.

Very informative. Thanks for your input Dan.

[May-39]

That's a questions that has alot of variables...
Then it varies by season as well.

When I started trying to narrow down big woods, I called the deer bioligist for the region and asked what preferred browse sources are between October and December pre-yard phase..Thats when I was told how vital beach nuts were to those deer. Then the biologist told me about known beach stands close to water..was on deer right away in a low deer density area..

Give them a call...It can only help and its free

my experiance reflects that Red osier always seems to have deer bedding nearby if pressure allows.

[keb]

I think your Olakahoma deer would fall into some of the KS terrain, I have no idea what they eat some places, see them 2 miles from a winter wheat feild out in a old pasture eating grass and stuff in plumb thickets.

[keb]

I think they would rather lay up and not be bumped and walk two miles to a crop field in certain places.

[365buckin]

I think people get way to focused on "major" food sources.... Deer eat way more browse than they do crops in my opinion, especially older bucks. I often say that young bucks and old bucks are like two different species. Young bucks without some life lessons may camp out on a field or food source... I have noticed thru observations, shining, glassing, hunting etc. That in pressure situations mature bucks will often avoid crop areas all together...
When I go shining in July and August, I will see some old bucks in fields on private or managed land with frequency, but the really old bucks, especially on the public rarely show themselves. The best bucks I see shining are often at the 3:00 to 4:00 AM time frame... They are there, but they are not coming to those crop fields as often as some would think. Sometimes I only get the light on a particular buck I am after a few times a year, and when I do its about a 50% chance its not in a crop field...
I know in some areas mature bucks frequent the crop fields, just saying that in a lot of cases people are missing the boat by concentrating on crops.
I can recall bucks I was seeing back in the marsh a mile or two from crops and where no one else is hunting get out of there bed and stage in dogwood, or other food sources and feed within 100 yards of there bed till dark... Even then, I think they are often heading to food sources that we are not aware of...

A lot of food sources I immediately recognize thru years of scouting but really don't know the official name of the plant. One big food source in the timber is Maple leaves right when they 1st turn yellow and start to drop...

I think finding the bedding is often more important in a lot of regards than food. A lot of my beds in pressure areas, I have no idea what they are eating or where they are heading when they pass thru the huge cattail or tamarack mess they head into... But I kill them cause I know where there bedded and know where they stage.

Sometimes its easy and sometimes its hard... When they do feed in crops and bed nearby it can be as easy as checking the field for big tracks on the side closest to the bedding... Just want to say don't get hung up on that, or it will limit your success.

My shining has been very unproductive this year. I have been shining around 4 to 430am on my way to work and a little around 9pm just after dark. I have only seen only 2 shooters this whole summer. Im starting to get worried about the season opening because my visual intel is so limited. I have around 5 different pieces of public and shined all the closest fields. I have had 1 cam stolen, 2 cams crap out, and 3 that I have not checked yet. No shooters on cam yet. Should I change my hours of shining? Start shining different places besides fields (open timber....where else I dont know)? Does most of your luck shining happen after the corn is cut? I've put boots on the ground and found beds (what I think should be mature buck beds) and picked out kill trees, but am just not getting the visual confirmation I need to give me the confidence to sit these spots. Im starting to get frustrated with my horrible luck. Any advice how I can get a glimpse at these shooters that should be there but just arent showing themselves?

[DEERSLAYER]

365buckin,
I know you want Dan to answer, but I hope you don't mind if I jump in. If you have four finger tracks coming from those beds you found then that would be enough for me. I wouldn't be to concerned about spotting them. I would sit there. However, when I used to shine I often found that the time I shined a particular spot could make a big difference. I might see a monster at 1am or even 11:30pm regularly but not at any other time. So I would try different times.

That's a questions that has alot of variables...
Then it varies by season as well.

When I started trying to narrow down big woods, I called the deer bioligist for the region and asked what preferred browse sources are between October and December pre-yard phase..Thats when I was told how vital beach nuts were to those deer. Then the biologist told me about known beach stands close to water..was on deer right away in a low deer density area..

Give them a call...It can only help and its free

my experiance reflects that Red osier always seems to have deer bedding nearby if pressure allows.

I think this would be one of the best routs to go. Ask for preferred species, secondary species and most used species because the most preferred species are not always the most used due to limited supply. One of my favorites is dogwood, but I don't find it very often around here. White cedar is a good one when the snow starts getting deep, but I rarely find it within reach of the deer during the season. It's usually browsed so high that the deer can't get to it unless heavy snow weighs down the branches.

[365buckin]

Thanks deerslayer, just tell me to get my panties out of a bunch, I hyperventilated a little bit there. :) Sounds like I'm okay. Spot check when season opens for the fresh big tracks to confirm he's there. Continue glassing and start shining at different times of the night and he will finally show himself.

[DEERSLAYER]

Thanks deerslayer, just tell me to get my panties out of a bunch, I hyperventilated a little bit there. :) Sounds like I'm okay. Spot check when season opens for the fresh big tracks to confirm he's there. Continue glassing and start shining at different times of the night and he will finally show himself.

Guess I misunderstood the question. I'll try to remember not to answer when you ask a question so I don't make a mistake again. Didn't mean to offend you.