maple leaves

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fishlips
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maple leaves

Unread postby fishlips » Mon Oct 21, 2019 5:38 am

I know this has come a few different times but are there preferred maples for deer to hit? I was in a stand if maples this morning dropping leaves but couldn't find much if any sign they were being eaten. Seemed like a spot you'd at least see some sign. Crops in the area have beem coming off pretty regularly so maybe the deer are on that and away from the bedding closer to the maples.


hunter10
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Re: maple leaves

Unread postby hunter10 » Mon Oct 21, 2019 6:44 am

There is still lots of green forage in the bush right now so they are eating all sorts of things. I’ve been seeing them eating the leaves off hard and soft maples that have fallen to the ground the last couple hunts
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Edcyclopedia
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Re: maple leaves

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Mon Oct 21, 2019 8:33 am

If I recall, our beloved Stan mentioned Sugar Maples...
Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
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Re: maple leaves

Unread postby Mgaspari » Mon Oct 21, 2019 9:01 am

Sugar Maples, but any maple left - the brighter the color = equals more sugar
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Singing Bridge
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Re: maple leaves

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Mon Oct 21, 2019 9:27 am

Fresh dropped maple leaves have a high starch content which when eaten by whitetails is converted to sugars / carbohydrates. In areas with few high quality food sources (especially big woods) they have a larger draw to mature bucks. One of the largest whitetail tracks I have encountered in my lifetime was in big woods adjacent to several very mature maple trees. The walking track was so large, I went back to look at it a half dozen times... it takes a lot for me to go back and look that many times (including Canada tracks...) It was obviously a world class whitetail. There are very few quality food sources in that area.
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Re: maple leaves

Unread postby 802bowhunter » Mon Oct 21, 2019 9:32 am

Sugar maples.
Red orange are best yellows are not browsed as much.
Wouldnt count on it being a food source
Do it for a living my dad had 20,000 maple sugar taps
I live in maple capitol
Go hunt nuts.
I think,its a way over rated food source ive watched,them eat mushrooms off side of,trees in are sugar bush and,never,touch a leaf.
"The hunting is great, the killing is terrible."
Northern new england.
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Singing Bridge
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Re: maple leaves

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Mon Oct 21, 2019 9:39 am

802bowhunter wrote:Sugar maples.
Red orange are best yellows are not browsed as much.
Wouldnt count on it being a food source
Do it for a living my dad had 20,000 maple sugar taps
I live in maple capitol
Go hunt nuts.
I think,its a way over rated food source ive watched,them eat mushrooms off side of,trees in are sugar bush and,never,touch a leaf.


Great reminder, I owned tens of thousands of maple trees in Canada until my most recent divorce... :lol:
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brancher147
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Re: maple leaves

Unread postby brancher147 » Mon Oct 21, 2019 10:14 am

Sugar maples are the preferred maple. Smooth leaves not serrated usually turn yellow in fall. I have never seen them be any major attraction but it depends what else is available in your area. Red maple is less desirable and striped maple even less almost not eaten until starvation mode.
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802bowhunter
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Re: maple leaves

Unread postby 802bowhunter » Mon Oct 21, 2019 10:40 am

Singing Bridge wrote:
802bowhunter wrote:Sugar maples.
Red orange are best yellows are not browsed as much.
Wouldnt count on it being a food source
Do it for a living my dad has 20,000 maple sugar taps
I live in maple capitol
Go hunt nuts.
I think,its a way over rated food source ive watched,them eat mushrooms off side of,trees in are sugar bush and,never,touch a leaf.


Great reminder, I owned tens of thousands of maple trees in Canada until my most recent divorce... :lol:
"The hunting is great, the killing is terrible."
Northern new england.


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