Don't know about firs in general but I've brought more than one Abies balsamea in from the woods that were no more than a 3 ft. stick from the deer regularly pruning them off.

Are you having trouble with deer eating some of your firs?

I agree with both of the above replies. Browse will not be your major problem, but the damage inflicted by a sexually charged buck can be lethal. Misplaced to be sure, but it's what they do. I've got a few Balsam and Fraser on the place, and both are susceptible. If you've got a large deer population this is something you'll have to deal with...or build an 8' perimeter fence.

I don't currently have any firs but Im thinking of getting some abies homolepis seedlings.

David, Japanese black pines and spruces are not toxic but almost never do deer prefer to eat them. Thanks for the buck rubbing info but what I want to know is if deer enjoy eating firs or do they only eat them when nothing else is available. I want to know the GENERAL resistance level

'If a deer is hungry enough, any plant is on the menu'

True, during a hard winter, deer are way less fussy about what they eat. I've seen deer live under a mature Pinus banksiana all winter and eat from the branches that hang down far enough for them to reach.

As far as general resistance, that would depend on the size of the tree. A larger specimen can take some nibbling and hardly show it where a seedling could be decimated by a few bites by a curious youngster of a deer.

I always protect any smaller tree/plant that I care about like, treat it like a favorite on the deer/mouse/rabbit menu (they all seem to like the same things) because all it takes is once to destroy or seriously set back a small tree, that might only look like it's appealing to them (younger animals can/will test unknown varieties before they find out that they don't like it).

Deer and moose love Abies Balsamea , don't know about homolepis

I would think that
firs/plants taste differently depending on where they are growing. Deer have
different individual preferences too, which individual preferences may change
over time as well. Then there is the opportunistic availability of certain
edibles (firs or other plants) in certain amounts or lack thereof, etc etc

With so many
parameters floating, I doubt very much you can say that deer generally
like fir or not, let alone say that deer generally like a certain fir cultivar
or not. It is such a non-issue compared to survival.

To me, it is like contemplating about those wild coyotes running around in urban and suburban areas generally liking fowls but not those beautiful 'coyote-resistant mandarin ducks' that you like to keep.

Just take your precautions, it is only prudent.