I decided to do a short piece on the North American Oak Tree for one particular reason and that is the Acorns of the White Oak is on the top of the menu list for the Whitetail Deer.

There are over 300 species of of Oaks that are native to North America. Botanist generally divide oaks into two groups: 1.) White Oaks and 2.) Red Oaks sometimes called Black Oaks. These two trees are different from the other and can be recognized by the shape of their leaves and the amount of time it takes for their Acorns to mature.

The leaves of a white oak are lobed and the tips are rounded. The difference compared to a red oak are the leaves are also lobed but, the tips are pointed. The acorns from a white oak form in the spring and mature during the summer and shed/drop during autumn. Acorns from say a Red oak need two full seasons to mature for they drop off.

White Oak acorns taste less bitter than Red Oak acorns, that is why deer prefer acorns from the White Oaks than the Red Oaks. From what I have seen during my scouting there appears to be a very good acorn crop this year and if you can find an area that is dropping these lush and tasty morsels from the white oak trees than I will find a nice tree, hang a stand and be prepared because the deer will certainly show up. they seem to know where they are falling and where they are not.

This picture just happen to be in an area that I have recently scouted for the upcoming deer season.

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