WHILE field dressing deer,how often do you check the stomack contents to check what they have been feeding on ?

[6phunter]

WHILE field dressing deer,how often do you check the stomack contents to check what they have been feeding on ?

[Derik Lee]

Only allowed one up here in Maine, I don't bother. I pay more attention to whether there are beech nuts, acorns, or apples around. I do for fish though, especially for sea run trout.

[DSMbirddog]

I never have either. I suppose if I could shoot multiple deer in the same season I would think about it. My scouting revolves around activity levels in different areas and why there is activity there, usually food.

[pineywoods]

Very seldom. When I have done so, what I usually find is a gooey, chewed-up mess that raises more questions that it provides answers. Like DSMbirddog, I have a working knowledge of what deer like to eat and am generally hunting those sources when the rut isn't on. Browse doesn't really matter since deer travel around taking a bite of this and a nip of that and don't hang around vegetation much unless it's the only source in the area or some favorite that I already know about, like honeysuckle, and that goes right back to knowing what deer like to eat in the first place. This reminds me of the fly invented by outdoor humorist Ed Zern, "The Wretched Mess", which was always what he found when examining the contents of a trout's stomach. He was, as the Aussies say, "Spot On."

[huntfishtrap]

NEVER, call me a wimp if you want, but stomach contents are the one thing I've never been able to stand about butchering game!

[Dcast]

Only when I slip with my knife, otherwise the yotes can examine it!

[JM]

I never have, I already have a pretty good idea of what will be inside =].

[Smitty18]

Never intentionally. Like everyone else i have a working knowledge of what the deer hang around when the rut is off. I do however check all my turkey.

[30-CAL]

Almost never, but the farms I hunt usually have standing corn, so I think thats what they are into.