Narrowing the acorn window

[metropig]

The post about acorns got me thinking. My land in MO has a ton of Oaks all throughout. Last year with the drought as bad as it was here there were almost zero acorns. Normally however, there are so many acorns on my land that they don't all get eaten before they rot. Do any of you have any secrets for narrowing the spot where the deer will be feeding on them. I typically toss my stand on my back and hit the trees near bedding areas until I find one actively raining acorns and then set up. But I want to hear what others do and if anyone has some good tricks.

I normally leave things in the woods alone and prefer to not leave sign that I have been there. But I have always considered raking all the leaves away from under a big oak making the acorns easier to get to. Don't know if it would do anything but I've considered it many times.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

I try to find the closest mature white oak to a known buck bedding area I want to hunt. I still hunt near the buck's bed but it gives you an idea what direction a buck might leave his bed. The chinkapin, Burr Oaks, and Red oaks all drop acorns, but the white's are the best and the ones they will hit first.

I never done this but have heard of people fertilizing specific oak trees...Seems like it could help but it might be a wives tale.

[dan]

I never done this but have heard of people fertilizing specific oak trees...Seems like it could help but it might be a wives tale.

Its no wives tale in my opinion... Fertilize a spot under your tree in a food plot and watch each deer head straight to that spot when they enter the plot... Ever glass bucks in a field? Most of the time they don't sp[read out, they always go to one spot in the field... The spot with the best food

[dan]

I normally leave things in the woods alone and prefer to not leave sign that I have been there. But I have always considered raking all the leaves away from under a big oak making the acorns easier to get to. Don't know if it would do anything but I've considered it many times.

Your thinking like a person, not a deer... Deer find acorns with there nose not there eyes.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

I never done this but have heard of people fertilizing specific oak trees...Seems like it could help but it might be a wives tale.

Its no wives tale in my opinion... Fertilize a spot under your tree in a food plot and watch each deer head straight to that spot when they enter the plot... Ever glass bucks in a field? Most of the time they don't sp[read out, they always go to one spot in the field... The spot with the best food

Good point Dan.

My friend fertilized an oak in his front yard and said he has never seen it produce so many acorns. He swears by it and uses 13-13-13 on his trees. I never really thought about it until this thread; I've always wondered how much it might help but never had first hand knowledge.

[Stanley]

I try to find the closest mature white oak to a known buck bedding area I want to hunt. I still hunt near the buck's bed but it gives you an idea what direction a buck might leave his bed. The chinkapin, Burr Oaks, and Red oaks all drop acorns, but the white's are the best and the ones they will hit first.

I never done this but have heard of people fertilizing specific oak trees...Seems like it could help but it might be a wives tale.

Great point. If you have all reds and a few whites you know good and well where the deer will start.

[Southern Man]

If you find one they really like, they'll be there year after year, as long as the acorns are falling. I know of a spot or two like that.

[dan]

I think most hunters always hunt the same ground... I float around a lot based on where I think my best chances are. When we get a good acorn drop and there is heavy feeding on the oaks I like to hunt marshes and swamps.... I avoid wooded areas with oaks all over the place. The reason for this is if there are oaks dropping right in the bucks bedding area why would he leave before dark? In marshes or swamps I can find the few oaks that are on the high spots and set up at the transition leading to probable bedding, or at known nearby bedding... In a lot of cases I have found a white oak or two in the staging area, but rarely find oaks at the bad due to mature bucks bedding in low lying wet areas in the marshes and swamps...

[hoyt]

Miles and miles and miles of white oak ridges around here also. The leaves on the ground under their favorite trees will be all mulched up from being walked on over time.