What do Bears, Mule Deer and Elk Eat in The Mountains?

[@BentleyGarner]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video! As a late onset hunter, learning all of this stuff without a mentor is super tough. So finding sources like this one is gold. Much appreciated.

[@CliffGray]

Glad it was helpful! Hopefully we'll get some more out in the future that help you out too. Good luck on your hunts!

[@68blackhawk22]

I second that. I'm in the same boat.

[@jwjenkins421]

I completely agree.

[@nmelkhunter1]

If you haven’t already see if you can spend some time with your local big game biologist. Also, pickup a couple of books on plants, trees, etc. in the areas you hunt.

[@paultellier2147]

Totally agree. Thank you!

[@MikeSevon]

Cliff I’ve just recently come across your videos. As an educated wildlife/fisheries professional,I have to say your educational videoes are pure gold for todays hunters. You are providing a great service to the hunting public. Your a natural born educator. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@CliffGray]

Mike, really appreciate the comment and compliment. Thanks

[@johnwinscher266]

I woke up to this video having fallen asleep watching elk hunting videos. I chuckled and shook my head. I’ve hunted elk with a bow two seasons for a total of 18 days in Colorado and 5 days with a rifle when I was a kid. I have consumed a LOT of content related to hunting elk in the last 3 years and this random video, that woke me up one night , was the first time I heard anyone talk, specifically, about what elk and deer eat!! I dig your content Cliff- smart and practical. I’m already imagining the areas I’ve hunted and how to apply what I’m learning from this and your other videos. Keep it up! Thanks

[@CliffGray]

Ha! We’ll I’ll take a viewer anyway I can get them, even if it means waking them up.

[@tealtazmanian966]

I've seen guys scouting an area that don't even consider the vegitation/feed. This is an awesome video for ALL hunters and one that is overlooked by so many. Again, AWESOME video for everyone.

[@yanceymcdonald6017]

Man I gotta say, I really appreciate the fact that you took all of the time to go through all of those plants and break it down like that! I’m not new to hunting by any means, but you can never stop learning! Thanks for teaching me some things I didn’t know!

[@CliffGray]

Glad it was helpful!

[@abrowncitizen]

I've been studying your videos, taking notes and recently practiced them in the field to watch the spring migration. Your practical guides to hunting are incredibly valuable. I found 80+ deer, 9 groups in 2 days. The glassing techniques, habitat, slopes, patterns, feed types, and how to put on a stalk makes me so much more confident. Thank you so much

[@CliffGray]

that's awesome man! glad to hear you have been out there!

[@timothyslover1541]

So very educational. I’m a diy backpack hunter and you’ve got me considering bucking up for a guided hunt in order to fast track my learning.

[@CliffGray]

nothing wrong with that. glad you enjoyed the video. thanks

[@ram_bam]

I love the style and delivery of this video. It's like sitting and learning from a mentor in the wilderness. Great stuff!

[@jwjenkins421]

I live in Utah, and started making bows and arrows about 11 years ago. I was heavily focused on primitive methods for making these weapons and I started to really focus my learning on identifying plant species, and what their woods were like, edibility etc. A few years later and now I've decided to get into hunting, and I find it interesting that what was used to make tools and provide sustenance for some of the native peoples, falls in line with what is used by the deer, elk and other species for their survival as well. I'm still learning to get as close as I need to to animals to be an effective hunter, but I'm grateful for the time I spent learning plants and habitats before I ever got into hunting.

[@CliffGray]

I'm with you. Interesting stuff. I've always found it interesting to know about the vegetation regardless of where I am.

[@TheGDizzo]

Brother, Can't Thank you enough for making this Presentation!!! Another late onset hunter here, worse yet, from SoCal Metro area. I knew about the Choke-Cherries. They taste amazing, but have very little flesh on them, so the Bears just woof 'em down whole and take dumps with huge piles of the pits in it. Like 6" to even 8" diameter piles of em. You can't miss 'em. For us here in SoCal, end of August is when the choke-cherries are very ripe and almost all eaten up by them. I kept hearing about things like BitterBrush and Mountain Mahogeny, and like.. you can find close-up pics if ya search, but ya almost never see pictures showing the whole plant/bush out in nature so you could kinda get a feel and imprint into your brain they way they look. So seriously, can't thank you enough for this vid man. Question re: Junipers. Do the Mule Deer eat the berries they drop onto the ground? From what I've gathered, seems like the Rabbits might be doing so to a small degree.

[@joshoooway]

Man. Your channel is a gold mine!

[@CliffGray]

Hey Josh, really appreciate the feedback. Glad you are finding the videos useful. Good luck on your hunts!

[@peterdrummond_]

Super super helpful. I didn’t grow up hunting so this is all fresh knowledge. Will watch this a few times!

[@CliffGray]

Awesome Peter! Glad you found it helpful. thanks

[@dwightlindahl1765]

Great video with a lot of very valuable information. Greatly appreciate the video and time it took to put something like this together in a easy to understand format that is enjoyable to watch.

[@CliffGray]

Thanks Dwight. It's always great to hear from people who get something out of the videos!

[@baldo5097]

Awesome video boss thanks for the time you put on theses videos to help us find big game appreciate it.

[@gentileod]

Nice job Cliff. Brings back memories from my college botany courses. They did come in handy.

[@CliffGray]

haha! I'm a plant nerd myself.

[@vinceraciti]

Great information!! I'm a new hunter and I appreciate you sharing your knowledge!! Thank you!

[@stypo6862]

Good information. Confirmed some existing knowledge and added to it as well!

[@nunonozelos]

I'm not commenting every video, but I'm watching a lot of them and they are all great. 🙂

[@andrewfreund428]

Hey, I know that spot! It’s pretty sweet! Thanks for sharing, great info.

[@christopherdavis2793]

I needed this info... Thanks for the awesome content.

[@CliffGray]

no prob!

[@dmoncada2734]

Great videos! I’ve been watching a lot of your vids. Thank you. Dave from Northern CA

[@raycooper931]

So thankful for all the information my oldest son and I done a do it yourself hunt in Colorado last year he came across your website and the KZbin videos are great thanks.

[@CliffGray]

Great to hear. Good luck on your future hunts!

[@okanaganoutdoors]

Love your videos! Awesome channel

[@CliffGray]

thanks!

[@russellkeeling4387]

I'm an old man that has livestock and have hunted all my life. The content of this video is quit good and accurate. I was hoping for more info on particular types of plants. There are names of plants like buck brush in our area or rabbit brush, bear berries and so on. I had hoped you would delve more into individual plants. I am not saying I don't agree with everything you've said I just wanted to learn something new I might have missed in my years. I'm learning new lessons a lot now since some of my land burnt in the 2018 Spring Fire in southern Colorado. Once heavily timbered land is now a jungle of new growth aspen and Mexican poplar (locust brush). There are many new leafy evergreens I'd never really noticed before in which the deer love to bed but I don't know if they eat it or not. Both the deer and elk seem to like the area now but have trouble moving around among the fallen tree trunks. Every chance I get I clear road or trail passages and immediately the deer and elk begin to use what I've cleared. Grass is aplenty. There are areas of new lodge pole pine trees about 6 inches to a foot or so and really thick but I suspect it will be a number of years before I hear the bark of a boomer squirrel.

[@andrewmaccaskey4388]

Great video thank you. California guy a new hunter and this was a much-needed video for me!

[@CliffGray]

Glad it was helpful! thanks for watching.

[@southernhood5145]

thanks man. great information

[@arthurquintana1345]

Hey we like fishing too! Send us a Spring fishing video!

[@Gypsumcreekoutfitters]

Love it man. Thanks for all the hard work 💪

[@CliffGray]

thanks man!

[@Gypsumcreekoutfitters]

Think I need to come do our seminars

[@Gypsumcreekoutfitters]

Your*

[@silasderoma4726]

Thanks for putting this together. Really helpful video!

[@CliffGray]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tallen4880]

Couldn’t agree more with Bentley, really appreciate the time and effort put into this video. New to Colorado and trying to absorb as much intellectual information as I can to put into upcoming elk hunt in Gunnison. Please keep up this type of content and the hard work. Again much appreciated

[@CliffGray]

Glad it was helpful!

[@SheepdogConservation]

Great video, I need more!! haha In that open country do you ever see mule deer key in on mosses/lichens at any times of year? On our mule deer hunt last year after windy/snowy nights we would find their tracks around every newly fallen branch with moss on it! It was more heavily timbered country, mostly on pines and tamaracks but all the same looking moss! I'm not much of a mule deer expert, but on the Oregon Coast we always see blacktails rushing through fresh logged clearcuts for moss! They will nearly get themselves stuck climbing on some of the bigger slash piles!!

[@CliffGray]

Glad you enjoyed the video. I'm haven't seen the moss deal with mule deer on my end much but that is probably because of the climates I have done most my guiding/hunting in... pretty darn arid/dry and not much for moss. I have observed mountain goats focusing on mosses and lichens. Also, during my time in central to northern BC I was told by a lot of locals that Caribou eat a lot of mosses and lichens in old growth conifer forests.

[@SheepdogConservation]

@@CliffGray oh I see very cool! It doesn’t seem like the moss would have tons of nutrition.. but they sure do run too it if it’s hitting the ground! Maybe it is just a nice opportunistic treat for them!

[@johnfrederikson2002]

This is great; thanks. J.

[@rvrandy1710]

wow .. great video ! Thank you for sharing your knowledge

[@CliffGray]

Glad it was helpful!

[@nathanadams8207]

Great video

[@raulruiz1818]

Awesome video thanks 🙏🏽

[@jefffinn7113]

Tremendous content!

[@CliffGray]

Thanks!

[@marklawson8051]

Really enjoyed the information lots in there. I thought I would find a link to the book you mentioned for identifying the bushes and plants. No such luck just a miss detail I’m sure! Could you tell me again? thank you!

[@CliffGray]

Winter guide to Central Rocky Mountain Shrubs Weeds of the West Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Uplands Plants of the Rocky Mountains

[@christopheroconnor1847]

Thank you

[@DanRobertHarris]

i've hunted colorado my entire adult life for elk and deer, this year its about bears. I am interested in anything at all you can point me too, like this video, to help in that endeavor

[@andrewbrown6522]

Someone needs to make this video in Rocky Mountain.

[@thistledewoutdoors3331]

Does the juniper/pine contain a source of Vitamin C... ?

[@McDanielRanch]

If u have winter fat it seems that they like it better then sagebrush.

[@GbodyPat]

Rubs on cedars = good color

[@sheerwillsurvival2064]

Awesome

[@tallcip65]

I’ve been hunting for 3 years now and each year while I’m hunting in the fall I’ve found large mushrooms that look like the mule deer have been eating them. Would you say that mushrooms are a common food source or is that something that’s just a tasty treat that they ran across?

[@CliffGray]

I haven’t seen them eating mushrooms but doesn’t mean the don’t. A sheep guide I know who is very experienced told me that rams will stay in the timber hunting mushrooms down when the conditions are right, so I can see deer doing it too!

[@jaminburkholder9026]

Learned alot!

[@CliffGray]

Awesome! Glad it was useful.

[@jwint563]

Cedar needles are called scales

[@CliffGray]

Thanks

[@yaddahooha]

Great content, I'm a new hunter but found this video while figuring out best shed hunting areas. Will bitterbrush and mountain mohogany still be available food sources in April or already picked clean or dropped leaves?

[@CliffGray]

deer/elk will eat the previous years stem growth on both bitterbrush and mountain mahogany, so yes they can be good feed sources in April. it depends on where you are and how the spring timing is... once grass/forbes green up in the spring, deer/elk will tend to chase those over anything else.

[@MrRourk]

Whatever people have at camp

[@heron123100]

Hey man do bear eat dead or yellow/reddish leaves in the fall? I find that sometimes around October I see different colors other than green and don't know if that provides the same nutrient value to them. Also berries become more scare around that time because I think the cold air dries them out

[@CliffGray]

I haven’t seen them eating leaves in the regions I hunt them in, but they might. They are incredibly adaptive. Usually once it starts getting cold, berries are gone, before they go to dens, ours scavenge, eat acorns and I even see them back to eating grass.

[@heron123100]

@@CliffGray Also do you know if they eat rosehips? They are little red seedlike fruits that grow along creeks. They are not sweet tho so I don't know if they get into that

[@CliffGray]

@@heron123100 Yes they will eat rosehips. In CO our rosehips are really dispersed and vary a lot year to year. I have noticed in Eastern Oregon the bears hit rose hips when berries are limited.

[@heron123100]

@@CliffGray Thanks! also what do you think is the best elevation for finding berries? I usually find them anywhere from 6000 - 8500 ft. Do you know if they grow any higher than that? I haven't seen any past 9000 ft but I may be wrong.

[@nmelkhunter1]

This is my second comment on this video, but I have a question I meant to ask in my first comment. What is your favorite big game species to hunt and why?

[@CliffGray]

I go in phases. For years I loved hunting mountain goats… mainly due to the terrain they occupy. Nowadays, it’s probably mule deer. Outside of some exceptions in Mexico, mulies haven’t been as bastardized by high fence hunting as elk, whitetail, even desert bighorns to some extent. Also, like I say in my one video I think that anyone can hunt the biggest deer on earth if they put some effort in.

[@nmelkhunter1]

@@CliffGray I grew up hunting mulies in the PJ country near Corona, NM. Then I went through a phase where elk were king. Now I’m back to mulies, mulies and more mulies. I agree anyone can hunt and kill big deer if they really work at it. Of course pronghorn are always fun to hunt since it’s a “low stress” hunt. I’ve been on one bighorn sheep hunt near Wheeler Peak, New Mexico in which a close friend had a tag. We combined horses, a high country camp with no people around and a nice ram for one hell of a good time. Thanks for the reply and I’m looking forward to more videos.

[@michaelwells1783]

They sneaked to WalMart when the people are asleep.

[@bearsmartdurango]

Bears will eat juniper berries - tho it isnt a preferred feed.

[@nmelkhunter1]

I’ve found juniper berries in the stomachs of a couple of mulies as well.

[@nmelkhunter1]

I posted a comment concerning PJ abatement and edited it to include a link to an study from NMSU on PJ abatement that is now gone. Any idea what may have happened?

[@CliffGray]

I think KZbin deletes comments with links

[@campt91]

Awesome video! Would you happen to have any experience hunting in the area around north Idaho? We have a much wetter climate and a lot different vegetation types than Colorado and I think it would be so cool to find out the preferred food sources for the deer/elk/bear in our area especially during the hunting season. Any recommendations on where I could get that info? Excellent video btw. I think more KZbin hunters should put out this type of content. Very helpful.

[@CliffGray]

Wish I had more experience up there for you. Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone diving into the food sources too much on KZbin and such. Give the biologists a call up there and they may be able to give you some thoughts on Fall food sources for bears. I'm betting they ae a bit more dependent on berries, maybe rosehip type of vegetation. On deer/elk, I bet they still utilize some of the same winter range vegetation they do here... probably with some others we don't have in our arid climate. Good luck!

[@nathanielcharles2175]

What's the name of that book?

[@CliffGray]

Hey Nathan - I put a couple links in the video description to books I use. Another good one is Weeds of the West, but that thing is out of print and stupid expensive on Amazon... way more than it is worth.

[@nathanielcharles2175]

@@CliffGray Thanks Cliff I appreciate you brother!

[@CliffGray]

@@nathanielcharles2175 No prob. thanks

[@jakes9883]

We don’t need a college course for helk sake. This guy complicates everything.