Acorns

[BSK]

Sounds like you guys need bears to help eat the acorn crop so deer will move more.

Ummm, no thank you!

 

[backyardtndeer]

Sounds like you guys need bears to help eat the acorn crop so deer will move more.

Will pass on the bears. I don't mind heavy acorn crops, have done pretty well killing decent deer when we have had heavy acorn crops.

While out walking the other day, noticed a persimmon tree that has dropped a crap load of fruit, all about quarter sized or slightly bigger. Had been really wet here up until a couple weeks ago, and suddenly gone dry and hot, wonder if that has caused the tree to drop prematurely?

 

[BSK]

Will pass on the bears. I don't mind heavy acorn crops, have done pretty well killing decent deer when we have had heavy acorn crops.

While out walking the other day, noticed a persimmon tree that has dropped a crap load of fruit, all about quarter sized or slightly bigger. Had been really wet here up until a couple weeks ago, and suddenly gone dry and hot, wonder if that has caused the tree to drop prematurely?

Yes. When fruit/nut trees are stressed, they drop all the extra fruit they won't be able to carry to maturity under those conditions.

 

[Creek bottoms]

I hope for a big acorn crop to keep the turkeys in the woods.

 

[MickThompson]

The past 2 years I've discovered I know nothing about deer. We've had both extremes - 2022 was the driest year I can remember and the first year in my life I never found 1 acorn (on 600+ acres). I thought they'd be all over the place looking for food. No, they didn't even leave their summer range in my area. In contrast, 2023, more acorns I can remember in my life. I thought they'd have an abundance of energy chasing does all over. Nope, didn't move at all - didn't have to. I now just hope for average acorn years.

That's the tricky thing- do average years even exist for masting species like oaks? From what I see there are bust years, near bust years, and varying degrees of boom years.

 

[BSK]

That's the tricky thing- do average years even exist for masting species like oaks? From what I see there are bust years, near bust years, and varying degrees of boom years.

Seems that way, doesn't it?

But I've been giving our local acorn crop a somewhat arbitrary "grade" every year for 37 years. The grade is based on the percent of the ground with acorns in combination with the density of acorns. The grade runs from 0 (no acorns at all) to 10 (the bumper crop from Hell). I consider anything from 0-2 to be a bust, while a grade of 8-10 is a bumper crop. Anything 3-7 is an intermediate crop. Analyzing the grades over the last 37 years, the percent of years that fall into "bust, "bumper" or "intermediate" crop years fall about where you expect for a random distribution, albeit with a slight advantage towards bumper years.

 

[knightrider]

Sounds like you guys need bears to help eat the acorn crop so deer will move more.

Nope, you can have everyone of them back that the local warden has so graciously kicked out on people who dont want them!!!

 

[backyardtndeer]

Yes. When fruit/nut trees are stressed, they drop all the extra fruit they won't be able to carry to maturity under those conditions.

I figured as much. I will have to take a ride on the 4 wheeler on a cooler day and check some of my other persimmon trees. I have noticed some hickory nuts that have already fallen as well, hope the same doesn't happen with acorns.

 

[BSK]

I figured as much. I will have to take a ride on the 4 wheeler on a cooler day and check some of my other persimmon trees. I have noticed some hickory nuts that have already fallen as well, hope the same doesn't happen with acorns.

I'm hearing from hunters in Middle TN that are seeing persimmons shedding fruit.

 

[lafn96]

The strange thing was, even with all the acorns, they were hitting the food plots like crazy.

Acorns are pretty low in minerals; is the assumption that your plots had something they weren't getting from all the acorns? Any idea what it was that they were craving?

 

[JCDEERMAN]

That's the tricky thing- do average years even exist for masting species like oaks? From what I see there are bust years, near bust years, and varying degrees of boom years.

When I think of average years, I am thinking of varying degrees of boom years (wide spectrum there). Our place has a plethora of different oak varieties. Mainly mountain chestnut oaks and white oaks. Our reds are starting to wither away. Most years we have a good mountain chestnut production, with varying degrees of whites. I hear many folks say deer don't eat mountain chestnut oaks, but they sure do where we are.

The 2 scenarios I previously mentioned are the only scenarios we have seen on our place in 25 years, and they happened on back to back years . Who knows, but anything considered average on those other 23 years I'll take. They've been great, other than big ehd outbreak years.

 

[BSK]

Acorns are pretty low in minerals; is the assumption that your plots had something they weren't getting from all the acorns? Any idea what it was that they were craving?

Absolutely no idea. Last year was the first time I've seen this. Normally, in a bumper acorn year, deer hardly touch the food plots. The only thing I can figure is we did a massive liming and fertilizing of the plots in late September last year. Maybe the increased nutritional quality of the plots was the difference.

 

[timberjack86]

If I hunted an area of hardwoods surrounded by hundreds of acres of similar hardwoods, I would hate big acorn crops too. Nothing to concentrate deer movement and deer wouldn't need to move far to feed. But being a big patch of hardwoods surrounded by agricultural bottomlands, I love a big acorn crop! Once the crops have been harvested in the bottoms, all those big-antlered ag deer flood my acorn-producing hardwoods!

This year I'm hunting pine plantation with limited hardwoods and no ag.Guess where I'm hunting!

 

[backyardtndeer]

Should be a decent crop here.

 

[tellico4x4]

Reds & Whites both have them in Wayne which has been a long time since that happened for us. Aug will determine how many make it though.

 

[BSK]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting tellico4x4 and backyardtndeer.

 

[Rackseeker]

I haven't been in the mountains to look but, its rare to not find acorns somewhere in the mountains. When the acorn crop is spotty is usually the best years in the mountains. May have to scout harder to find the deer.

 

[killingtime 41]

I haven't been in the mountains to look but, its rare to not find acorns somewhere in the mountains. When the acorn crop is spotty is usually the best years in the mountains. May have to scout harder to find the deer.

I agree 100 percent. Usually there's acorns in the mountains. Sometimes it depends on what elevation your at least that's what I've noticed. Might not be any where you park. But walk higher up and you'll find some. Some years it's covered up from the bottom to the top. And it's like walking on gravel and deer are very hard to find. I haven't been checking yet. It I will shortly.

 

[deerhunter10]

I hope for a big acorn crop to keep the turkeys in the woods.

I'm ok with a average one. I don't want another crop like last years. Acorns are a double edge sword great for wildlife but makes hunting a lot harder.