The Best Food Sources for Whitetails

Recently, on the 38 acres in Southwest Virginia where my wife and I live, I spent more than an hour daylighting a young native persimmon tree. Why did I exhaust so much energy thinning out the surrounding vegetation to increase the amount of sunlight reaching a tree that probably wouldn’t bear fruit for another decade? Because no other soft mast in my part of the region draws whitetails as well and for as long as those “possum apples” they produce.

In the East, persimmons thrive from Connecticut down to Virginia, and I’ve killed deer feeding under persimmon trees from October through early January. I’m convinced that there’s no better place to set a stand, especially once their little orange fruits start to fall. Whether the acorn crop has been strong, moderate, spotty or non-existent, persimmons are about as sure a bet as there is in deer hunting. If not throughout the East, most certainly in my area.

IDENTIFY THE MAST

Every Eastern state hosts multiple soft-mast producing trees, shrubs and vines that consistently attract whitetails, regardless of the acorn situation. Of course, deer will almost always congregate primarily in oak groves where the nuts have fallen, but whitetails are well-known browsers and will not forego soft-mast delights.

Last fall, early in Virginia’s bow season, I came across a locale that featured scarlet oak acorns, summer grapes and pawpaws, which look like fat and stubby bananas, that had turned black. For two weeks, that stand site drew steady deer traffic, and I was able to take down two nice does because of it. I am absolutely positive that any potential stand site featuring bearing oaks is even more appealing to deer if soft mast producers exist nearby.

GOING WILD

Persimmons, grapes and pawpaws are just a few of the soft-mast foods that thrive in the East. Another important one is the Allegheny plum, which appears in thickets and along fencerows from New York south to Virginia. In mid-October I typically find the half-inch-wide and 1-inch-long, dark reddish/purple fruits on trees growing along stream bottoms, as well as in fencerows.

Known for their tarter and much smaller berries than their domestic cousins, wild black cherries—also an important food for turkeys and grouse—occur in every Eastern state and ripen in September and October, depending on the elevation. Like the wild black cherry, the flowering dogwood flourishes in every Eastern state, and deer eagerly consume the small scarlet drupes in early fall.

Other autumn wild fruits of note include haws, hackberries, sumacs, elderberries, viburnums, black gums and a host of other localized flora that only appear in a state or two.

IMPROVING PRODUCTION

What can you do to enhance soft-mast production on the land that you own, lease or have permission to improve? First, carefully study field guides and learn the habitat preferences of the soft-mast producers in your state. My two favorite resource books are Peterson’s Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs and the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Trees: Eastern Region. Next, match the habitat requirements of the soft-mast flora to the land you’re trying to improve.

For example, about 20 years ago, I wanted to add some native food sources to my land. From studying the aforementioned field guides and the characteristics of my tract, I learned that pawpaws would grow well as an understory tree in my heavily-shaded hardwood hollow. So, I planted pawpaw seeds in the cove and, for the past decade or so, these small trees have steadily produced goodly amounts of soft mast. At the same time, I lightly daylighted many of the dogwoods, cherries, black gums and haws on our property. By lightly, I mean cutting down any competing non-mast producers like maples and poplars. Many if not most soft-mast producers are understory trees that thrive under oaks and hickories. But it is still beneficial to cut down some intruding maples around a dogwood and preserve any hard-mast producers nearby.

Finally, consider planting crabapples and some domestic fruit trees, such as apples and pears. It may take several years until you see the benefits of your labor, but it is well worth it for future generations—and the wildlife. I have three openings on my land, and I planted Black Twig and Grimes Golden apples, as well as Dolgo crabapples, all of which, as a group, produce fruit from September through November—perfect timing for deer season.

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• This article was featured in the September 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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