Slam them down...........I put them out here at the house and see what happens........if you dont break them, they may rot and then they wont eat them.....and if they freeze, they cant break them. Pumpkin is a great food source for them, as is dug up potatoes.
I feed them all kinds of stuff out of the garden at the end of the season. Pumpkins and any squash is a great thing to feed them in the fall. We grow extra just for the deer.
As for the buck that shed......I dont give him much of a chance.......