What is your deer eating?

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JoeRE
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What is your deer eating?

Unread postby JoeRE » Fri Sep 11, 2015 2:35 am

I would like anyone who bags a deer, any deer, this fall do the rest of the Beast a favor - after you gut the deer, slice the stomach open and post on here what you think it ate, the date you shot it, and probably what state/habitat.

If enough people would do it I think we could learn a lot from this. I am going to bump this thread up periodically over the next couple months. Hopefully a number of us remember to do this and it will be interesting to see "proof" of exactly what primary food sources are and how they change through the fall.


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Peeps22
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby Peeps22 » Fri Sep 11, 2015 2:37 am

Great idea! Ill definitly be keeping an eye on this thread...

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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Fri Sep 11, 2015 2:38 am

Opening day I will be in an Oak tree brimming with acorns. This tree is 10 yards from an apple tree hanging full with apples. These two trees are on the edge of a corn field with standing corn about 10 yards away. The memory card aimed at the apple tree was full (4 gig card) when I pulled it on Monday. I have a pretty good idea what these deer are eating.
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seazofcheeze
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby seazofcheeze » Fri Sep 11, 2015 6:35 am

I feel sorry for whoever I recruit to help me drag my deer this year. I think I'll just surprise them with that part of the autopsy.

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Bucky
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby Bucky » Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:12 am

Interesting thread....

I had a camera on an apple tree as well the past month... when the apples were dropping my camera lit up like a Xmas tree.... as soon as the supply dwindled the deer were all but gone on cam.

Then the acorns started falling... all my soybean and alfalfa sighting and cams went non existent. I think the deer have licked up the acorns in my area already though... this past week they seem to be back on the soybeans (still green in this area).

I think acorns and apples trump ag fields when they are dropping/ripe
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Kraftd
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby Kraftd » Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:31 am

Bucky wrote:Interesting thread....

I had a camera on an apple tree as well the past month... when the apples were dropping my camera lit up like a Xmas tree.... as soon as the supply dwindled the deer were all but gone on cam.

Then the acorns started falling... all my soybean and alfalfa sighting and cams went non existent. I think the deer have licked up the acorns in my area already though... this past week they seem to be back on the soybeans (still green in this area).

I think acorns and apples trump ag fields when they are dropping/ripe


Pretty great acorn crop in my immediate area this year, and I haven't seen hardly anything for activity on the beans in the last couple of weeks. Beans are starting to yellow pretty quick down here too... Can't make it out Saturday, but two acorn spots I'm looking at for Sunday evening depending upon the wind. Hopefully the Packer dispatch the Bears quickly!
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Hawthorne
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby Hawthorne » Fri Sep 11, 2015 8:27 am

Great idea. That's procedure for me. Been doing it along time

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grangger
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby grangger » Fri Sep 11, 2015 8:37 am

No doubt, a great idea. I'll get back to you after the start of my season 9-28-15. I'd always looked at the stomach contents of fish i had caught but never any of the dear i've killed. Could have learned a lot.
Primetime41
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby Primetime41 » Fri Sep 11, 2015 8:38 am

A farm I hunt is in corn this year, but most of the surrounding farms are in beans. My cams were extremely slow all summer, which I assume was because the deer were eating beans. About 4 weeks ago the deer seemed to move back on to the property for the apples and acorns once most of the apples were gone. In the last week or so my cams have slowed down again and it seems like the deer are back on the surrounding beans. So my question is, at what point will the deer start hitting the corn? When the beans turn brown?
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby Bucky » Fri Sep 11, 2015 9:05 am

Primetime41 wrote:A farm I hunt is in corn this year, but most of the surrounding farms are in beans. My cams were extremely slow all summer, which I assume was because the deer were eating beans. About 4 weeks ago the deer seemed to move back on to the property for the apples and acorns once most of the apples were gone. In the last week or so my cams have slowed down again and it seems like the deer are back on the surrounding beans. So my question is, at what point will the deer start hitting the corn? When the beans turn brown?


I see corn really heat up once the beans dry and a frost smokes the alfalfa
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby cdeam » Fri Sep 11, 2015 10:28 am

The following relates to this topic but is out of timeline. I mention it now because I think some may appreciate it.

Two years ago hunting a wilderness area inside of a national forest during the first week of January my friend shot a doe. While waiting for him to return with the sled, I cut open her stomach to verify my assumption she had been eating leftover acorns and browse. My assumption was wrong.

The contents of her stomach were bright green. There were very few acorns. The only things in the forest nearby that were green was moss, green briar, and some fern looking things.

After we hung her, we scouted around a half mile and noticed deer sign being prominent among the greener areas of the winter forest.

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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby Razorhead » Fri Sep 11, 2015 11:41 am

While bowhunting National Forest in WV over the past 20+ years I have witnessed numerous deer targeting moss as a food source. I can't say I ever remember killing one that was actively feeding on moss but I can only imagine that it would surely turn the stomach contents bright green. This will definitely be an interesting thread to follow throughout the season.

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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby oldrank » Fri Sep 11, 2015 11:56 am

im in.. I have been doing it for awhile also.. acorns..carrots n corn r usually easy to spot...

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BassBoysLLP
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Fri Sep 11, 2015 1:29 pm

oldrank wrote:im in.. I have been doing it for awhile also.. acorns..carrots n corn r usually easy to spot...

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Lots of bucks in the alfalfa tonight in Central WI. Beans are quiet. White oaks are still holding quite a bit a mast. Brassica plots are picking up attactivity, but nothing buck wise.

I'll be hunting oaks this weekend.

Great thread idea. It'll be interesting to see the results. Perhaps we can get a mod to add a poll with multiple selections allowed?

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Stanley
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Re: What is your deer eating?

Unread postby Stanley » Fri Sep 11, 2015 1:43 pm

Great idea. Maybe a new thread with a sticky. To make it easy to document.

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