How to Make a Deer Lure Out of Persimmon

The fruit of many Japanese persimmon species are edible by both deer and humans.

Planting persimmons trees is one of the best ways to ensure that deer continue to come to your favorite hunting property year after year. The process of planting persimmon trees is fairly simple, but it takes about three years for these trees to mature and bear fruit and for local deer populations to become accustomed to the location of your persimmon trees may take just a little longer.

Things You'll Need

• Deer blind
• Shovel

Instructions

1. Decide the type of persimmon tree you want to plant. Male wild American persimmon trees do not bear fruit so when you plant wild American persimmon trees you are playing the odds that at least a few of your trees will be female and bear fruit. Many varieties of the Japanese persimmon tree will bear fruit regardless of sex. Consult your local hunting regulations for the start of deer season and make sure that the persimmon tree you select will drop its fruit during deer season.

2. Check your hunting property from your deer blind and mark the limits of what you can see on both sides. Do not plant your persimmon seedlings in an area that you cannot see, too far out of range to shoot or too close to the deer blind so that you will spook the deer.

3. Plant seedlings with ample space between them on the hunting property. Use the shovel to dig into the ground and plant the seedling, then cover over the base of the seedling with dirt, leaving the branches and leaves free. Check once more from your deer blind that you can see to all sides of the persimmon tree stand.

4. Check on the trees when possible during the months when deer hunting is not allowed in your region. Many persimmon trees will hold their fruit throughout the year and drop most of their fruit between September and November. Be sure to inspect your trees for fruit.

Tips & Warnings

• Try planting both wild American persimmon trees and Japanese persimmon trees. The two species often drop their fruit at different times and this may extend the length of time that you can hunt, and may attract a steady deer population to your hunting property.

• When deer season approaches it is important to let your persimmon tree stand alone to avoid disturbing the natural ground cover or leaving traces of scent which may disturb deer.

References

• Oikos Tree Crops: American Persimmon
• Night Hawk Publications: The Ultimate Year-Round Food Plot for Deer
• Virginia Tech: Persimmon