not sure I understand your question. Do you want to know what deer eat on state land so you can plant more of it? Or are you just looking for the food source to hunt over it?
as far as i know planting on state land is illegal, is that correct?
If you're hunting state land that borders houses and/or neighborhoods, it's a good idea to set up as close as possible. Deer will feed in the yards at night and make their way to and from these areas each day. Plus a lot of people feed the deer now so you stand a better chance hunting close to the houses/border.
And the food source will change quickly..,usually only days at a time in certain areas. State land is tough. You'd be better served looking for terrain features that have to funnel deer. Set up in these funnels and stay ready. Best chances to get sightings are in funnels.
The leaves of a sugar maple are an absolute deer magnet for a brief period of time after a hard frost. They seem to particularly sweet. I have seen deer walk past white oak acorns to eat maple leaves. Then a few days later, they ignore them.
and i will continue the search for funnels, found a few but need more.
JMO, setting up too close to a property line is asking for trouble.. Deer runs the wrong way and you've got one will be a pain to get to at best, and will get your name in the paper if it all goes pear-shaped.
Not to mention that "hunting" that way we'll just set you up to become one more of "that kind of person" who doesn't know what to do when he gets to be more than 50 yards from the road. You don't want that!
There's a lot more to this whole "hunting" business then shooting in animal as it stands over a pile of food. It's not easy, and God knows I'm not nearly as good at it as I would like to be, but that's why you keep trying.
