Be careful with Rye grass.  Once it is established it's almost impossible to get rid of.  It's also not very paletable for deer.

Nelson is correct about the nutrional quality of ryegrass to deer.  It's just not digestible after the first few weeks of growth.  It is also not that drought tolerant.  Oats and wheat are.  Some varieities reseed wlll... others do not (tetraploid-type)

Keep in mind though that drought tolerance is meaningless if you don't have moisture to get the plant growing. 

For those who need or wish to watch there dimes when considering food plots... My advice is simple... don't plant if you dont have rain/soil moisture.  This is the most critical factor.  And its hard because its nice to have the field planted before the rain comes.  But ideally... like a farmer, first you prepare the ground (and a season ahead of time if you can) then wait for the rain... let it sink into the ground.... let the very top surface dry until you can get in again with a tractor without tearing things up.  Then either drill in your seed or disk seed in and re -firm your seed bed (using a drag, roller, cultipacker, or tractor tires).  If there is already mositure in the ground and you are able to get the seed in contact with the moisture... then the seed will germinate and grow.

I agree oats and wheat are the way to go. You an get by planting it by dragging the gronnd with cattle panel weighted with a limb if you do not have access to a disk or pasture drill. After you have the ground fairly bare wait until a rain is expected the next day and broadcast the oats or wheat over the field and redrag the area. I allso plant gulf rye grass or an improved varity over the oats lightly after dragging. The rye sprouts quickly and gives the oats or wheat time to get rooted. If you have a lot of deer one acre just does not work as they eat it faster than it can get established. I have 60 cows and my oats lasted till march last year in a terrible drouth. My deer will eat rye as long as it is short and growing. This is a lot cheaper that the high dollar seed blends. I broadcast clover over the area sometimes. Gulf rye grass is easy to get started withour any preperation.

Winter Rye (rye grain) is a good choice for trying to seed on the surface also.  And much preferred to annual ryeGrasses such as Gulf for several reason.  Most importantly, because ryegrass is not all that digestible and is also an invasive species.  Its really no faster to establish than winter rye and it is also less drought tolerant.  Personally, I only plant ryegrass for livestock, not wildlife.  Also, oats is one of the most difficult grains to get established on the surface.  (Winter Rye Grain "i.e. elbon" and winter wheat are ideal choices for this method, as are many clovers.