With the noteworthy exception of the rut, deer are largely what they eat. That is, there’s no better means to come to grips with whitetails — from a fat, old long-nosed doe to the buck of your dreams — than through understanding their food preferences and using them in your hunting strategies.
Generally, hunters understand that. Visit any local sporting goods
store or crossroads hangout before the season, and you will hear talk about
what the mast crop looks like. Similarly, dedicated whitetail enthusiasts wisely
spend considerable time, effort and often money in preparing food plots and
plantings to attract and nurture deer. Yet for reasons I have never quite
understood, one aspect of deer diet and the way hunters can use it is consistently
overlooked. That's the food commonly called soft mast, although terms such as
deer candy and whitetail sweets are also used. Just as most humans have a
hankering for a scrumptious piece of homemade cake or a deep-dish berry
cobbler, deer also like sweets in their diet. That food preference might be
described as the soft-mast equation, and hunters who determine the solution to
the equation through knowledge of nature and whereabouts of critical soft mast
gain a meaningful edge. Here's a closer look at major soft-mast items, where to
find them and how to use them to your advantage.
MUSCADINES, SCUPPERNONGS AND OTHER WILD GRAPES Through much of the whitetail’s range — from Virginia and the Carolinas to Texas and the Midwest — wild grapes grow in abundance. Regionally, they go by various names, but the most widespread variety is probably the muscadine. It has been domesticated and is prized for use in jams, jellies and wine, as well as eating enjoyment straight from the vines. Scuppernongs are one type of muscadine, but there are also fox grapes, possum grapes and more. Without exception, deer love them. Whether the grapes are in hedgerows, along ditch banks, in arbors near old homesteads or on massive vines climbing high into mature hardwoods, deer will dine on them when grapes ripen in early fall. The approach for savvy hunters is obvious. Find grapes, make mental notes on their location, do some pre-season scouting to see if they are bearing fruit, and plan to be on a stand in the area when grapes ripen. Most often, this occurs during archery season, although some grapes cling to vines until frost and do not begin to build the sugar content deer love until the weather turns chilly.
PERSIMMONS If you have
enjoyed persimmon pudding, nothing more needs to be said about the fruit’s
appeal to deer. A properly made persimmon pudding is nectar of the gods, or as
my grandfather used to say, “good enough to bring tears of pure joy to the eyes
of a country boy.” Conversely, the taste of an unripe persimmon immediately redefines
pucker power, as many city boys have learned the hard way from country cousins.
When ripened to the utmost of sticky sweetness, though, these orange globes of
goodness attract deer like a magnet. Of course, persimmons also attract foxes,
raccoons, possums and bears, but rest assured, whitetails near persimmon trees
know all about them. Persimmons bear fruit when quite young,
and unlike oaks, for example, they seldom fail to set a crop because of a
late-spring freeze. However, you need to know persimmon trees come in male and
female varieties, and a male persimmon will never bear fruit. Fortunately, the
fruits, which sometimes get almost as large as a ping-pong ball, are easily
spotted in late summer and early fall. It's a myth to suggest persimmons do not
ripen until after the first hard frost. Ripening time usually coincides closely
with the arrival of cold weather. After persimmons begin to drop from the
trees, whitetails will visit them regularly to check out the dessert buffet.
I’ve even seen deer bump and brush against trees to knock fruit to the ground.
Incidentally, you might want to try something similar: giving a tree — provided
it isn’t too big — a good shake before climbing into a nearby stand. Another
aspect of persimmons worth remembering is that their fruit doesn't fall at
once. In fact, wrinkled persimmons — so sweet that sugar seems bland by
comparison — will sometimes cling to trees long after the last leaf has fallen and
deer season is advanced. Persimmons are widespread trees that do well in overgrown
fields, along pasture edges and fence rows, or anywhere other than mature
woods, where a seed from deer or other animal droppings lands and takes root.
You should factor them into your hunting equation. To me, persimmons rank No. 1
in the world of soft mast.
PAWPAWS
If
persimmons are the top source of soft mast, paw- paws must be the most
overlooked. I remember the catchy lines of an old folk song: “Picking up
pawpaws putting 'em in the basket, way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.”
American history buffs might also know that pawpaw custard was George
Washington’s favorite dessert. It ranks high among desserts for whitetails,
too. Widespread but probably overlooked by 90 percent of deer hunters, pawpaws
bloom early with a distinctive purple flower. Perhaps every other spring, they
fall victim to frosts. When pawpaws “make,” though, the oblong fruits — faintly
reminiscent of bananas — are a great delicacy for deer. On a small property I
own, I have a permanent stand overlooking a patch of pawpaws that covers
perhaps two acres. During years when they bear fruit, it's a great place to be
in late September and early October.
CRABAPPLES
Because
they stand out as a visual delight when in bloom, crabapples are easy to locate
for deer hunters who also chase turkeys in spring. The crabapple’s small, acidic
fruit doesn’t particularly appeal to humans, although with some sugar, it makes
a marvelous jelly. That's not the case with deer, and they will dine on crabapples
with delight. In fact, I've noticed that when hunting commercial apple orchards
where occasional crabapples are planted as pollinators, deer like them as well
as domestic fruits.
DOMESTIC
FRUITS These enter into the soft-mast equation
in several ways. That's particularly true with pears and apples. Large orchards
in whitetail country are an obvious focus, but that's not the only place you
will find domestic fruits. It's common to find pear or apple trees in the middle
of pastures, and even more commonly near long-abandoned farms and old
homesteads. Also, in parts of the country, you can find apples growing wild in
wide areas. No matter the origin of apple and pear trees, deer love them. I
have both in my back yard, and one of the joys of eating my breakfast in early
fall is watching whitetails do the same — enjoying fruit for breakfast. (I have
enough cooking pears and apples that I can spare some). Beyond that, a stand
near fruit trees or on travel routes leading to them offers promise as fruits
ripen in autumn.
OTHER
TYPES OF SOFT MAST Several other types of soft mast
deserve at least passing mention. The long, sickle-shaped pods of a honey
locust contain a sweet meat — hence the word honey — along with seeds deer eat.
The honey locust holds its pods well into cold weather, offering a source of
soft mast long after other treats have passed. It’s difficult to miss honey
locust trees, thanks to their thorns and the way they stand out after leaf
fall. You will frequently find them along fencerows or field edges. Another
soft mast source is the fruit of the giant quince. Shaped somewhat like a pear
and very tough skinned (meaning it lasts longer after falling), the giant quince
flourishes in wet soil where apples, pears and persimmons won’t grow. Hardy in
growth zones 4 through 8, it could be an ideal choice for low spots with a high
water table. Early in the year, deer browse on the seeds or fruit of sumac
berries. It's easy to find sumacs because their foliage is among the earliest
to show color in fall, and their seed clusters stand out. This isn’t a major
food source, however, deer use sumac where available. The same holds true for
the French mulberry, also known as the American beautyberry. The odds are
pretty good you won’t have all those soft-mast sources where you live and hunt,
but chances are excellent some of them are present. By being observant,
studying natural history as it relates to deer hunting and incorporating soft
mast into your strategies, you can expand your whitetail horizons. And any
serious deer hunter is constantly seeking ways to increase their odds of
success.
SoftMast Agriculture >
Most deer hunters — even those interested in management— sometimes
tend to think short-term. There’s nothing wrong with that; but food plots,
seasonal plantings, fertilization, liming and the lot should be accompanied by
an eye on the future. Just as Imperial perennials are designed to last for
several years, it seems logical to include plantings of soft mast sources in
your plan. There are many ways to do this: a few pear or apple trees in the
middle of food plots, some persimmons along a main road or field edges, or
maybe some fruit trees around a hunt camp or clubhouse. After all, plantings of
sawtooth oaks and similar mast bearers are common. Likewise, planting soft mast
trees and grapevines should follow. When it comes to the latter, you can cover
long runners with a layer of soil, give them a year to root, and have a
do-it-yourself source of grapevines with minimal effort and no cost.
Here are some additional tips:
• Plant at least five persimmons so you’ll be sure to get male and female plants. Likewise, just because a tree is male (blooming repeatedly through two or three years but bearing no fruit), don’t cut it down. It’s a pollinator, and you need that.
• Apple trees vary appreciably in fruit and the manner in which they drop it. The ideal types of trees for whitetails are those that drop fruit during an extended period. Similarly, by planting several varieties (sometimes called early-drop, mid-drop and late-drop), you can extend the length of apple availability from a week or two to a much longer period.
• Pear trees are generally hardier than apples and deserve a role in any plan for plantings.
• Root stocks make a difference, and folks interested in wildlife management can get seedlings that require little or no soil amendment. That means getting root stocks that are tolerant or viable in a wide range of soils.
