Deer favorite acorns?

• Oct 12, 2015

• #1

hornhunter79

Senior Member

I know that deer prefer one type of acorns over others and I am learning how to distinguish the difference between the type of oaks we have in the area. My question is with yalls past experience which species of acorns do the deer prefer the most?

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #2

godawgs7

Member

White Oaks

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #3

sStealth

Member

Yep, white oaks

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #4

elfiii

Admin

Staff member

godawgs7 said:

White Oaks

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^ #1 favorite food source above all others for white tail deer.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #5

hambone76

Senior Member

White Oak without a doubt.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #6

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy

white oaks


a very very distant second red oak


They will eat chestnuts before anything else though. I have started planting chestnut trees from Dunstan. They are blight resistant and will bear in 3 to 4 years. You can find them in some Walmarts in February or March, or you can order them online. They are cheaper at Wally World though.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #7

S

screedee

Senior Member

They really like aCORNS.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #8

humdandy

Banned

Sawtooths! They will suck them up as they hit the ground.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #9

hornhunter79

Senior Member

humdandy said:

Sawtooths! They will suck them up as they hit the ground.

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I can't say that I have ever saw a sawtooth oak while in the woods.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #10

167WhiteTAIL

Senior Member

Golden Acorns are their absolute favorite . They are about the size of a kernel of corn.

Which ever tree you find the most poop under is their favorite.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #11

NCHillbilly

Administrator

Staff member

White oaks first, southern red oak ( the little bitty ones that are orange inside) second, all the other ones third, in my experience. They love the sawtooth acorns, too, but you have to plant those.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #12

Milkman

Deer Farmer Moderator

Staff member

I'm glad to hear you are trying to learn the difference between the various oak trees in your area. Expand it some more and learn all the trees in your area if you can.

I see you are from Lee county. There is a wise old feller hereabouts from that area too. Hopefully he will chime in with any specifics for that locale.


For us North Ga folks you already read above what they prefer up here. But you can learn little tricks about certain types of red oaks that make the big plum size acorns that they will come running to as well. Also if you have family owned land those sawtooths mentioned will bear acorns in about 7-8 years after being planted from a seedling.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #13

Forest Grump

Senior Member

hornhunter79 said:

I can't say that I have ever seen a sawtooth oak while in the woods.

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Sawtooth oak is not native to N. America, but have been planted here for several decades now. They are actually in the Red Oak family, but have a little lower tannin content than most red oaks. They tend to drop early, often gone before gun season opens, but they bear young & heavily.

My preference will always be white oaks, particularly swamp chestnut oaks. White oaks tend to be alternate bearing: meaning most only have a big crop every 2-3 years. Some do not bear at all in an "off" year.

I have never had the chance to hunt under chestnuts; my Dunstan chestnut trees are only now reaching bearing age. Chestnuts also tend to drop early, being more a bow season food than gun season. I have friends that have a chestnut orchard, and was asked to come look at it & advise them on several things. Theirs had nuts on the ground in Nov, but only because those are in an 8 foot deer-fenced enclosure. Mine dropped their last burs a week or so ago.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #14

Steven2014

Member

Swamp Chestnut Oaks, White Oaks and Live Oaks (these are the most common) are in the white oak group and are preferred by deer. Southern Red Oaks, Water Oaks, Laurel Oaks and Turkey Oaks to name a few are in the red oak group and are not preferred by deer but have a much higher nutritional value than white oaks. Sawtooth Oaks have been extensively planted for wildlife all over the U.S. but are not native and are invasive.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #15

Joey Youngblood

Banned

hornhunter79 said:

I know that deer prefer one type of acorns over others and I am learning how to distinguish the difference between the type of oaks we have in the area. My question is with yalls past experience which species of acorns do the deer prefer the most?

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Smart guy! Learning how to ID plants and trees will help you become a better hunter. I second most folks vote on white oaks, early in the season before the first big frost. After the first big freeze up here in the mtns, I almost always see more deer in the red oaks. Most of the mountains do not have water oaks, but on my S GA lease they get hammered. Up here we also have Chestnut Oaks (mountain oaks) that have very large acorns. Usually these are used as a last resort in the late late season or dead of winter, but can be productive when the reds and whites are both a miss.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #16

hornhunter79

Senior Member

So I have a stand set up on the edge of a cypress bottom that is surrounded by oaks. I now have the stand looking at two water oaks,three persimmon trees and a rub. I do know that I have a live oak tree roughly 50 yards from me but I would not be able to see it from that stand due too the brush. Should I relocate the stand to the live oak site?

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #17

hornhunter79

Senior Member

Oh the rub. The cypress bottom is used for a bedding area( it's mostly dry and has a lot of tall soft grass). I did not want to do too much scouting spreading scent and all to find out what direction the rub line lay.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #18

NCHillbilly

Administrator

Staff member

If those persimmons are dropping, you need to be where you are. One of the few things that deer like even better than acorns.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #19

hornhunter79

Senior Member

They are and I was thinking the same thing.

 

• Oct 12, 2015

• #20

Nicodemus

The Recluse

Staff member

hornhunter79, around here white oak and swamp chestnut oak acorns are the preferred hard mast, followed by the various red oak acorns. Soft mast like persimmons and crabapples will draw deer away from acorns till they are gone. Muscadines around here are mostly gone, except for the first of archery season. Naturally deer will go to crop fields which are all over Lee County as well as most of Southwest Georgia.

If you get into some of the few big second growth timber areas, focus on the oaks, and especially in the late season, when water oak acorns which have been mostly ignored while the more preferred acorns were the draw, are still good food sources. Don`t overlook patches of honeysuckle and beauty berries either.

Good luck with your hunts.