Acorns! Wow!

[TA_Fab]

Its to late this year but next first of next year find a good cluster of oak trees and fertilize around the dripline. Do it again in the spring. Granddad use to do this in Menard at the old family ranch before feeders were even thought of. Those clusters always produced larger and sweeter acorns and the deer would walk past all other clusters to get to the ones he fertilized. My brother killed hiss first deer at one of those clusters. Even after he passed even the yrs we didnt fertilize the deer would still go to those first.

I’ve had success with this as well


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[Buckwheat]

Every year, same song and dance.

Same with us. Every year. Had several target bucks hitting my feeder hard. Sometime several times a day. To nothing and corn piling up. I was holding the acorns would hold off but they didn’t read my script.


“There's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.” -Fred Bear-

[Preacher Man]

Its to late this year but next first of next year find a good cluster of oak trees and fertilize around the dripline. Do it again in the spring. Granddad use to do this in Menard at the old family ranch before feeders were even thought of. Those clusters always produced larger and sweeter acorns and the deer would walk past all other clusters to get to the ones he fertilized. My brother killed hiss first deer at one of those clusters. Even after he passed even the yrs we didnt fertilize the deer would still go to those first.

What kind of fertilizer did Grampa use? Anything in particular?

[12thman]

Thanks for all the profound advice! The point of my post was that this is the biggest acorn drop we have seen here in the 15 years I've been on the lease. Nothing more. If you read my initial post you would note that we have oaks everywhere on the lease. In fact, One of my best stands is in a tripod under an oak tree covered in acorns right now. There was not a deer at that area in the last 36 hours. We have nothing that holds water in drought conditions except for cattle troughs that are near campsites so water is out. Just a tough start on our lease this year. That is all.

[batmaninja]

Its to late this year but next first of next year find a good cluster of oak trees and fertilize around the dripline. Do it again in the spring. Granddad use to do this in Menard at the old family ranch before feeders were even thought of. Those clusters always produced larger and sweeter acorns and the deer would walk past all other clusters to get to the ones he fertilized. My brother killed hiss first deer at one of those clusters. Even after he passed even the yrs we didnt fertilize the deer would still go to those first.

what do you use trip 13 ?

[Bayouboy]

I have been known to fertilize around a few oaks and cover it with moss. Not sure how much it helped

[hogmess]

Glad we have a huge bumper crop in San Saba county. Our deer are going to need them. We haven’t had good rain in a while. Everything is dead and it doesn’t look like we will be getting much rain anytime soon.




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[SaltwaterSlick]

this is dumb. Point me to which of the 250,000 live oaks on our place i should sit. It sounds good in theory but its still darn tough to get a pattern on one in the hill country with a bow.

Well if you don't want to go scout for a likely spot, then go sit your feeder and see nothing... That sound like a smart idea to you?


Beats all I ever heard/seen folks complaining about food for the deer that they actually want to eat. People don't seem to know how to "hunt" anymore... Just go put out a feeder and sit there. The deer are supposed to come...



Don't get me wrong, I sit feeders too, but if that don't work, go find the deer! Good grief.

[chehunt]

^^^^Slick, You have way too much common sense!!!

[Man]

this is dumb. Point me to which of the 250,000 live oaks on our place i should sit.

The ones that have a game trail next to them.

[TeamAmerica]

It's almost like the deer can survive without the corn feeders??

In all seriousness, we are covered up in post oaks. I would say hand corn under a few selects ones and near trails or a pond/water source would be even better.

[PondPopper]

I hunt in McCulloch county just north of you.. When the acorns drop hunt the travel corridors coming in and out of bedding area.. They are easy to find if you pay attention..They still travel the same trails.. I've killed some of my best bow bucks like this. It can even be more productive than a feeder on a good day..
It's a strange phenonenon . If Hand corn these travel corridors that act like they are starving even when acorns are thick... Acorn crops don't bother me.. I just switch gears..

[BrandonA]

What kind of fertilizer did Grampa use? Anything in particular?

I don’t know what he used he got it at the feed store. I was just kid. I used Triple 13. I would buy 50lbs sacks at feed store

[Dale Moser]

It's almost like the deer can survive without the corn feeders??

In all seriousness, we are covered up in post oaks. I would say hand corn under a few selects ones and near trails or a pond/water source would be even better.

If you're covered up in post oaks, get down in the thick stuff and find the bigger oaks to hunt.

[chase15]

Well if you don't want to go scout for a likely spot, then go sit your feeder and see nothing... That sound like a smart idea to you?


Beats all I ever heard/seen folks complaining about food for the deer that they actually want to eat. People don't seem to know how to "hunt" anymore... Just go put out a feeder and sit there. The deer are supposed to come...



Don't get me wrong, I sit feeders too, but if that don't work, go find the deer! Good grief.

Charlie this topic must strike a cord with ya. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you get riled up. The OP is just venting that opening weekend was tough because of the acorns. I concurred. Activity slammed to a halt all the sudden. Sometimes folks just like to gripe. I glasses a buck on a ridge last weekend from my tree get out of a bed, walk 10 yards eat for 30 mins and bed back down. If a lot of them are doing that right it’s just going to be tough. Just like when it’s a green October in south Texas, when they have plenty to eat they don’t move a whole lot and no matter where you go sit it’s going to be slow.


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