| "I once found a fruit-heavy muscadine grape vine | | | | the trees flower. This often coincides with spring |
| loaded with deer sign growing beside a rural South | | | | gobbler season, so if you're chasing toms, keep a |
| Carolina school house. Closest woods were behind | | | | sharp eye out for wild fruit trees in bloom. Apple, |
| the building, some 200 yards away. I walked the | | | | pear and plum trees tend to be especially loaded with |
| woods edge, located two deer trails emerging from | | | | blooms, and when trees bud out in all that colorful |
| the timber and heading to the grapes. I hung a stand | | | | glory, you can bank on them bearing fruit-remember, |
| between the two trails, 50 yards back in the woods, | | | | each little flower is an apple or pear, plum or peach. |
| and arrowed a fat doe the first afternoon. That deer | | | | "Make sure you have a quality topographical map |
| showed up early, simply milling around in the timber, | | | | with you when locating fruit trees in spring," Tom |
| apparently waiting for sundown before heading | | | | says. "After trees lose their blossoms and return to |
| across the open to the school house for a grape | | | | their green-leaf state, they blend right in with habitat |
| dinner." | | | | and can be a challenge to find unless you've recorded |
| Fruit trees in open areas are notorious for attracting | | | | their location on a map, or used a portable GPS |
| does, and some bowhunters shun them for that | | | | navigation unit to pinpoint them. Sometimes a number |
| reason. But such spots draw bucks, too, because as | | | | of trees will be in a wide area, so don't be completely |
| the rut approaches, ladies attract gentlemen. Be sure | | | | satisfied and set your stand if you discover just one |
| to "back trail" doe tracks leading to open, obvious | | | | tree dropping fruit. Often, another tree or two just |
| fruit trees in fields or around old farms. Often, as you | | | | 50 or 100 yards away will have even more deer sign. |
| get closer to heavier cover, you'll discover buck sign. | | | | "Deer often have decided preferences for one grape |
| It may be several hundred yards from where fruit | | | | vine or a particular apple tree-just like they do for |
| trees are growing, but bucks, does and yearlings are | | | | acorns from a special oak tree. Only reason I can |
| holding in the area because of the food. | | | | think this occurs is because fruit from a preferred |
| Don't overlook fruit trees in suburban areas, advises | | | | tree simply tastes better to game. You can 'sweeten' |
| Tom, because plenty of buster bucks come to | | | | such trees and grapevines easily by adding fertilizer |
| backyard apple, plum and peach trees. And in the | | | | to plants. A bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer, Scotts 'Tree |
| West, juicy apples are high on the menu of mule | | | | Tablets' or 'Native Plant' fertilizer will not only |
| deer and whitetails. | | | | strengthen chosen fruit trees, but they'll bear more |
| One of the easiest and quickest ways to locate fruit | | | | fruit, and game will go nuts over them. |
| trees for hunting is to look for them in spring, when | | | | |