Trad Gang

Well, I took this past week off work for our season opener. For two weeks prior I would sit on a hill 400 yards away and watch a nice buck along with several others coming out into a soybean field every evening on one of two trails. A week before the season I hung two stand sets and continued watching him throughout the week on his late summer pattern. Well the opening evening came and due to a bad wind direction I opted to sit on the hill again and simply observe. A few of the deer showed as usual but the one I was after did not (in daylight hours anyway). The next evening came and the wind was right so I sat in one of the sets. Again no buck. I spent the rest of my week off watching and sitting in the stands a few evenings having no luck on the disappearing buck.

Well Sunday rolls around and I decide to take a little scouting trip. What I found shocked me. The acorns were falling and the white oak droppers had multiple poop piles, chewed caps and all the evidence of the deer were using the trees. Several worn trails also confirmed my findings. What's so strange about this you may ask? Well our acorns usually don't start dropping until October. So I was caught off guard and just wanted to give everyone a heads up that if your deer patterns have suddenly changed you don't waste a week as I did.

There are a ton of white acorns here in MI also on the ground. Makes it hard to pattern deer.

Did you have a dry summer?  We did in NJ and the acorns have been dropping for some time now.

TJ, I just noticed the same thing last week here in AR.  A bit early, but our season don't start until October so I still have time to change plans...

same here in central LP- not many whites around me, but the reds are dropping and my stands are hung accordingly- now just have to wait 2 more weeks......

Lots of mast on the ground here right now. Acorns, hickorys, etc etc.

There's so many acorns here you wouldn't believe it....better wear a hardhat on stand.

Were loaded with white oak acorns here like i have bever seen before. There dropping like crazy here as well and the deer are hitiing them hard. I saw white acorns this week on the ground half the size of my thumb! I have never seen them so big or plentiful.

It's gonna make for some tough early season hunting here when the season starts on October 1st. There everywhere and the deer don't have to move much at all to feed, heck they can probably pick them up from there beds in most spots!

Tom, I've been waiting on an update from you.....I was hoping for better news though!  

Our white oak acorns have been dropping for about a month now. I plan on being set up right in the middle of them when our season opens.

Keep plugging away at them, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Same thing here in Va. I've seen seasons like this and it makes for tough hunting. There's just so much mash that the deer don't have to do much traveling to find food. The trails that were wore out a couple of weeks ago don't even have a track in them. The thing about years like this is I've went 5 or 6 days without seeing deer and then one day there will 20 come through. You just have to hunt the oaks and wait them out. They will eventually come to the oaks in your area.

QuoteOriginally posted by bluegrassbowhunter:
There's so many acorns here you wouldn't believe it....better wear a hardhat on stand.

Hahaha, now that's funny right there.

Yeah this is a banner year for the mast crop. We had a real wet spring and a hot, hot, hot dry summer. I suppose that is the culprit for the early drop. I'm no NUT specialist though.

I can't wait to get out later this week and check out a piece of property I gained access to last year.  It has a few oak trees in an already naturally active area for deer.  Last year saw virtually no mast though.  

I am hoping for a swing in the action at these trees this year.  Regrettably, I haven't been out to check it out yet.

I am seeing tons of acorn dropping right now here in IL. Plus I have about 20 persimon trees that have fruit turning already. I watched a doe family group from my back porch slurping up persimons off the ground that had been winblown and ground ripened...yep I am gonna find me some white oaks to haunt as soon as season starts here!

The burr oaks around here have made it dangerous to walk on the wooded hill sides.  The ground is covered with brown shooter marbles.  I slid about six feet and my feet never touched the dirt.  It has pulled the deer out of the corn and into the trees for now at least.

ya there taking the corn out,acorns are falling and the beans are brown.gonna be a good year if anyone put out any late crops...glad i did

Tom, I noticed that the whiteoaks were dropping opening weekend. Haven't had a chance to get back out.

Interesting. In the past 2 months I've been in the woods a bunch. Only 4 days ago did I find the first acorns on the ground & they were very small & stunted. Either our acorns are late this year or in the lean part of their cycle. BTW, we have had a hot summer drought until about 4 weeks ago when rain started again.

Acorns here in centeral Texas are on the ground already! Most don't drop here until late Oct! What's up? It hasn't been a dry year here, you could say it's been wet! We are 15+ inches over our aveage for this time of the year. It has been HOT. ????

Same here in eastern KY, acorns and coming down like rain.

Yep. I noticed the acorn drop this past weekend as well.  I thought it was a little early. This will just give my late food plot more time to mature.
Stan

Great tip and input. Thanks for sharing!

Kyle

QuoteOriginally posted by straitera:
Interesting. In the past 2 months I've been in the woods a bunch. Only 4 days ago did I find the first acorns on the ground & they were very small & stunted. Either our acorns are late this year or in the lean part of their cycle. BTW, we have had a hot summer drought until about 4 weeks ago when rain started again.

A biologist once told me to produce a good crop acorn trees need plenty of rain in the spring. Also I think the white oaks only produce every three years and a burr oak will produce every year as they are (around here anyway) only found on our waterways and not on higher ground and get plenty of moisture every season.

Last thursday is the first time I visited my stands since I set them in April. You could roll an ankle there are so many acorns, on the way to my best stand I saw my buck, the brother to the one I killed last year. It is full of white and chestnut oak acorns, come on 9/25. Good luck to ya Tom.

Here in Illinois, we have had a fantastic acorn crop this year.  At least in my areas.  However, we have also had a pretty dry summer.  Because of this the acorns are already falling.  Deer have all but abandoned our bean fields, which are mostly brown already.  I have a few choice white oaks picked out for the early season, but I have a hunch that most acorns will have fallen and be eaten before season starts.

Around here in Eastern Iowa, the early acorn drop and the shear numbers are causing a real buzz in the hunting crowd. Walking through the timber, you are likely to be pelted by them. And, like others have already said, you need to watch your footing on slopes.

Lots of acorns in my area here in Wi. Probably due to the 2nd wettest summer on record. Now all we need is some deer to help the squirrels and chipmunks eat em.

Spotty in my area.  Either that or I haven't found them yet.  I've spent most my time on a bush bean field (imagine that) that is still very green.  

Most of the standing corn here is picked which is very rare.  I may have one, if I'm lucky, left standing to hunt when I get back from SC in two weeks.  I passed a combine this evening with the lights on as he finished up across from my house.
All that extra cover is gone.   :thumbsup:

Same thing here in central Ohio.  It's been a relatively dry summer and we have LOTS of acorns on the ground right now.

It's going to be an interesting fall.