Got Acorns ? ? ?

[Drop Tine]

Here is a good read for acorn flat hunters like myself...

Don't get lulled into relying entirely on a corn pile to find the deer in your area, because as you know as soon as the seasons change and the acorns start falling your deer tend to disappear.... Get out there NOW and find the white oaks flats in your area and you'll be on the deer again.... White oaks (which deer really love) are easy to spot by the rounded leaf tips verses the red oak (which deer find bitter) with pointed leaf tips...  plus you'll know when your on a white oak stand of trees by the leaves on the ground being all disturbed from the deer feeding like crazy on the them... Good Luck 

 

 

ACORNS - Everything you need to know for deer hunting

 

It's no surprise that in autumn, deer frequent corn fields, rolling green meadows of alfalfa, old abandoned orchards and the occasional neighbors garden. Every few years, however, some deer hunters complain about the Game Commission, the neighbor shooting too many does, or that it "must of been a hard winter" cause they just ain't seeing any deer. Well the reason could be just beneath your toes!

Leonard Lee Rue III in his excellent book The Deer of North America remarked that he gauged the acorn crop with his size 11 boots. If he put his foot down and covered nine acorns, it was a good crop. If he put his foot down and covered a dozen - it was an excellent crop. Well I tried that here in the Northeastern section of Connecticut and counted 10 acorns on average. And since the acorns are still dropping like mad, I guess its safe to say that we're having an excellent crop this season and that Len was probably not too far off with his measurement.

http://www.bowsite.com/bowsite/features/armchair_biologist/acorns/acorns.html

Edited September 17, 2013 by Drop Tine

[Palawman30]

Northern Clearfield Pa we have massive flats of oaks, whites and reds. We may get a decent acorn drop once every 4-5 years. When you can find white oaks dropping it is literally like a magnet and will pull every deer within miles. Once they are gone so are the deer. Its a pretty cool phenomenon. Beechnuts are even spottier and when they drop the bear will come from everywhere to get to them

[sam3]

Northern Clearfield Pa we have massive flats of oaks, whites and reds. We may get a decent acorn drop once every 4-5 years. When you can find white oaks dropping it is literally like a magnet and will pull every deer within miles. Once they are gone so are the deer. Its a pretty cool phenomenon. Beechnuts are even spottier and when they drop the bear will come from everywhere to get to them

I hunt southern Clearfield and Northern Cambria. Most of the hard woods have been removed from years of timbering/strip mining. If you find a white oak, you found gold. LOL

[Rusty]

Don't get lulled into relying entirely on a corn pile to find the deer in your area

 

White oaks (which deer really love) are easy to spot by the rounded leaf tips verses the red oak (which deer find bitter) 

 

Acorns trump corn every time.

 

 

 

White oak acorns are the ticket in early fall, but they germinate immediately and are only available for a short time.  Red oaks don't sprout/germinate until spring, so they are the food source to hunt later in the season: December and January.

 

[robnj]

The deer in the pines have a sea of scrub oak acorns that they can reach  that are being utilized  now.  The areas of stunted white oaks that produce really do not get hit that hard. 

Edited September 17, 2013 by robnj

[Axiom]

 

Acorns trump corn every time.

 

 

50lb  of acorns...$150

 

50lb of corn ....$12

 

Deer may like acorns better but,  if they are looking for a gourmet meal they need not visit my bait piles....

[Bucksnbows]

We're only seeing chestnut oak acorns falling this year so far.  Looks like year 3 of no whites on our Sparta property.  I have done crown releases around all of my white oaks save for one small grove which will get done by Spring of next year.  That allows my white oaks to grow a fuller crown and produce more acorns over time.  Still waiting for my northern red oaks to drop acorns.  Lots of hickory nuts dropping now as well.

[_X7]

I'm seeing a few acorns in my area of Warren County. Nothing like I had expected though. Seems like it is long overdue for a good crop.

[Axiom]

Looks like year 3 of no whites on our Sparta property

 

 

 

 Got a bumper crop on my property in Chester.. That may account for the unusual # of bucks i'm seeing...

Edited September 18, 2013 by Axiom

[Bucksnbows]

Isn't it funny how spotty acorns are even within a relatively short distance?  Three years ago it was practically dangerous to walk on the forest floor due to all the acorns we had in Sparta and I actually slipped and fell more than once on downhill walks on what seemend like walking on miniature bowling balls.  Two years ago I don't recall seeing even a single acorn.  Last year we only had a few fall over maybe 3 days and all from our chestnut oaks.  This year so far, it's only our chestnut oaks again (so far), but we have a lot more of them than last year.  Northern red, chestnut, scarlet, scarlet/red hybrids and then white oaks are our predominent oaks on my property and in that order.  Find a good white oak flat or big tree (quercus alba) dropping a good crop and set up there!  

[Axiom]

 

Isn't it funny how spotty acorns are even within a relatively short distance?

 

 

Yup.. Was checking out my Chestnut and  Swamp oaks while sitting in my stand this morning.. Not an acorn on anyof them.. none on the ground either...

[Hatchet]

Yea I got'm ,right in the head ! Lol was clean'n my path for a possible hunt this week end n pow !

[Axiom]

 

Yea I got'm ,right in the head

 

Bet it sounded like they were dropping on a hollow log,  eh Hatchet?..    

[Hatchet]

Lol kinda like a bongo ! Late 70s mid 80s was a lot of fun but I pay'n for it now . Not much left up stairs !

Edited September 26, 2013 by Hatchet

[Haskell_Hunter]

I was in the woods this weekend hunting and then scouting on Sunday.  I noticed that we've got a bumper crop of Chestnut Oaks dropping acorns like rain.  The woods were loud with acorns falling all over the place.

 

Most of the other oak trees aren't dropping as many acorns and the ground is littered with Chestnut Oaks (aka Mountain Oaks).  Opinions vary about whether or not deer like these acorns or not, and what their preferences for them are.  Some say the like them, others say they hate them.  So I'm wondering if NJ deer don't like them or are eating something different right now because there's a ton of them on the ground.

 

Chestnut oaks like growing on the rocky, rough top of hills and down their slopes.  I'm also seeing a lot of deer signs (fresh poop, white tails running away from me) on the high ridges where these trees are mixed in with the small pines.  I'll probably head out again this week to do some more hunting/scouting but will be paying more attention to the oaks, their types, their crop, and of course any deer signs around them.

 

However, does anyone know if deer in NJ prefer the Chestnut Oaks (not Swamp, but Mountain) or will they start on another acorn first?