RE: Does each brand work the same?
I think all the differant deer mixes will do reasonablly well for you. They all have a blend of differant clovers so that some will be matureing at differant times and to ensure a good stand in conditions they have no control over.
I have to disagree with Stinky on the idea of 1/3 of the Imperial not growing im many areas. In most of the US it will all grow. Now if you were 400 miles north into Canada or more I'd agree that the California clovers would frost out. Or if in the Arizona desert only the California clovers would have a chance. But in areas not at the real extremes it will grow fine.
I've tried the IMperial clover. It's good stuff. I'm in Mi. and have no complaints with them. And if Stinky were correct I'd be the first to agree. But differant seed hybrids are more flexable than he's giving them credit for. There is othing wrong doing things Stinkys way at the co-op. And you can save some money, if you know what you're doing.
Bottom line is that the deer blends are fine, and you don't have to do any guess work about what you need.