Deer and honey locust pods

[kennym]

Sorry, slow typer here!

[stiknstringer]

Honeylocust, Thornless Gleditsia triacanthos inermis
 A fast-growing tree with fragrant spring flowers. Its delicate, open silhouette lets grass grow underneath. Tiny leaflets turn yellow or yellow-green in fall. Pollution, salt and drought tolerant. Adapts to a wide range of soils. Prefers full sun. Grows to 30' to 70', 50' spread. (zones 3-9)

[Liquid Amber]

Deer eat honey locust pods from the time the first one hits the ground until the last one does.  There is a reason why they are called "honey" locust.  They pods are sweet.  There is no tree in the woods with pods anywhere resembling those of honey locust.  The pods are large and generally dark or black in color by the time they hit the ground.  

They are simply called "bean trees" here in the south and sought after by early season bow hunters.  One variety is thornless.  I've watched rabbits eat them as well.  It is the sweet pod that is attractive, the bean just comes along for the ride.  

[ishoot4thrills]

Could it be that the thorn-less variety is an exotic(non-native) species of honey locust brought here for decorative reasons and has since turned "wild"?

Toxicity ;   Black locust's pods are small and light, and easily carried long distances. Although the bark and leaves are toxic, various reports suggest that the seeds and the young pods of the black locust can be edible when cooked, since the poisons that are contained in this plant are decomposed by heat. In France Robinia pseudoacacia flowers are eaten as beignets after being dunked in batter and fried in oil. [10] Important constituents of the plant are the toxalbumin robin, which loses its toxicity when heated and robinin, a non-toxic glucoside.[11] Horses that consume the plant show signs of anorexia, depression, incontinence, colic, weakness, and cardiac arrhythmia. Symptoms usually occur about 1 hour following consumption, and immediate veterinary attention is required.

[doug77]

I've seen deer go after them pretty good once their's snow on the groung.

doug77

[Liquid Amber]

The thornless variety is native and has been cultivated for shade trees for many years.  They can be as invasive as the thorned variety.

[Lunar-Tic]

Funny that I should run across this thread today. Just yesterday while scouting I came across a Locust  tree and made a note of its location. I'm with the rest of you guys. Seems when the temps drop and the snow falls they come calling for the bean pods. Since I'm hunting flooded Missouri river bottom and all the crops were flooded, you can bet I'll be set up by the Locust tree when the time is right.

[Flatstick]

Honey locust and Green briars are GREAT late season food sources especially when there is a good freeze or heavy snow fall. Feild crop/grains are mostly gone or frozen to the ground, The long pods can be pulled from the ground and the green briar stands above ground. I have "go to" spots that I love to hunt when the deer switch to this food source. Put your trail cameras up around these sources to see what has survived the gun seasons as well a good buck may hang back eating these waiting for dark before entering open feilds.

[Wary Buck]

It seems to me, Jon, in my area that they are not at the top of the list of food choices, so not really a destination in the early and mid season.  That said, late in the year, when other food sources are tougher to come by (especially in this day and age of "clean" farming where there is little waste grain and most of that is covered up by disking the stalks down to practically bare dirt), the locust trees become fairly good draws for the deer.

[NoCams]

Post scouting report from, "The Graveyard" today.....

Even though it was still pouring rain I had to get back in there and see if. " The Graveyard", was full of Black or Honey Locust trees.... ? Well, they are all Blacks, no Honey. I would rather scout in the rain than eat when I am hungry ! Love being able to slip in their bedroom without any noise and rain to wash away my scent. Still wondering about why all these deer were found dead here last year and if they indeed did poison themselves by eating these Black Locust bean pods ?

I also found ZERO bean pods this year... Maybe a late frost got the beans like it did the acorns in my area this year ? Or maybe Black Locust only have beans every other year like Red oaks only have acorns every other year... ?

So, my theory of hunting bean pods since we got no acorns got shot to h*ll, go figure !!! However, this is still a heck of a thicket and is FULL of honeysuckle and deer beds. Also found rubs and scrapes too. Setting up to hunt it morning and evening a few times on a NW or SW wind and see... ?

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

I have lots of them in the areas I hunt and rarely see any activity or interest.
I have seen them hit the Catalpa leaves pretty hard as well as Osage leaves that dropped due to frost..
(Basically still green)