Oak trees and acorns

[Czabs]

Has anyone ever picked up on a pattern at all that helps them determine if acorns are producing on certain trees? I've been doing some research on how to determine when they drop and it seems to be super random. I'm pretty much to the point where I'm going to have to do some late summer scouting to spot check areas to see if they are dropping and producing. I've screwed myself in the past by hunting secluded oaks that were producing the year before but the year I hunt them they aren't.

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[Hawthorne]

I go in August with binoculars and look at the tops for acorns. I have noticed that individual trees will drop about the same time year after year when they have acorns. Same with apple trees

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[cbniner]

red oaks drop every year and are less desirable because of the high amount of tanic acid, white oaks drop every other year and are more desirable for deer. red oaks have a blacker bark and pointed leaves, white oaks have a greyish bark and have rounded tips on their leaves.

[cbniner]

i think black oak and pin oak are in the red oak family, bur oak is in the white oak family i believe

[stash59]

red oaks drop every year and are less desirable because of the high amount of tanic acid, white oaks drop every other year and are more desirable for deer. red oaks have a blacker bark and pointed leaves, white oaks have a greyish bark and have rounded tips on their leaves.

I think your spot on with both of your posts. The key is the leaf tip shape. Round more palatable, pointed less. Although this is only a generalization. I believe wetter years help with the palatability of some of the pointed versions. Which could make them more desireable than some of the round versions.

[stash59]

I go in August with binoculars and look at the tops for acorns. I have noticed that individual trees will drop about the same time year after year when they have acorns. Same with apple trees

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I tried this once and just got a headache. Probably was because of my cheap binos though. So another call for good optics.

[Southern Man]

Has anyone ever picked up on a pattern at all that helps them determine if acorns are producing on certain trees? I've been doing some research on how to determine when they drop and it seems to be super random. I'm pretty much to the point where I'm going to have to do some late summer scouting to spot check areas to see if they are dropping and producing. I've screwed myself in the past by hunting secluded oaks that were producing the year before but the year I hunt them they aren't.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Oaks will drop acorns at basically the same time every year, that is if the type of oak drops every year. White oaks do not, but will drop about the same time every other year. But if you find an oak dropping, it does not mean that all other oaks of that species will be dropping. There are variables but that particular tree will drop about the same time of year, year in, year out. Same with White oaks, every other year.

When they drop is influenced by the weather, rainfall mostly, spring and summer rains. On hot dry years with a dry spring, I've seen them drop a month earlier, sometimes earlier than that. Without water they don't mature properly and will fall. A good example of that are Oaks on a ridgetop compared to oaks in the bottoms. Oaks on the ridgetop will drop sooner than the same species of oak in the bottoms. Bottom land oaks have more moisture in the ground and will hold longer. I see it every year here at LBL. The opposite is true to a point. On years with lots of rain and good growing weather, I've seen them hold longer before they drop, but not as long as when they drop early.

That's my experience with them.

[stash59]

Sounds like you took alot of time and observations to get there. Everything seems like plan old common sense after hearing your experience. Thanx!!

[Twenty Up]

Something I have noticed through scouting and trial and error in the woods has been seeking out the "loaner" oaks. Finding an oak such as a bur, white or the like by itself in a forest full of pines or reds creates a lot of attention to a small area. This is easier said than done, and my best luck has been in season locating trees with a lot of leaves pushed around by animals looking for acorns, the "better" spots will have bare areas with rubs around the tree.

What I look for before the season starts is the massive oaks and start looking around it, if there had been a clearcut or fire and the guys decided to leave the massive tree alone and some junk trees such as dogwood took over, that could be a good spot for a stand. I unknowingly used this technique to pull in a few does during the rut trying to get some food in their stomachs after being chased around, which also pulled a few bucks in.

[mheichelbech]

I don't know about being able to find which ones are dropping at a given moment/day other than walking and being there. One thing I know for sure though is that favored oaks will be shown by the surrounding saplings and brush being heavily browses down relative to the area around it. That should be somewhat obvious a lot of times.

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[Ghost Hunter]

Mid August trip for me to check the acorn trees. The one to drop acorns first around here is the red oak. Some binoculars will do the trick. If the acorns are still green it will be a while. If they are loosing the greenish tint an turning brown. It want be long.

[BigCedarJack]

Elevation Pattern

The first thing I look for is the effects of elevation on the acorn crop. I basically divide my area into 3 sections; top, middle, and bottom. I haven't figured out a pattern for the year to year on this, but it seems that freezes in the blooming part of the year effect it, as well as rainfall. I went on a bit of a scouting drive today and noticed that the trees up high seem loaded as opposed to the lower trees.

Does anyone have any tips on this?

[JackKnifeJake]

Went out on a walk today and the pin oaks were dropping immature green ones, about the size of a dime?

[oldrank]

I key on the reds late season. When most ag fields r cut n the green is gone the reds r still there after being passed up all fall. Same thing with crabapples. They like em late. My crabapple tree holds fruit into late late winter n deer n turkeys know.

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