#617856 - 02/16/08 06:29 PM
Re: Chessnut oaks ?
[Re: Winchester]
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stik
TnDeer Old Timer
16 Point
Registered: 03/12/99
Posts: 18427
Loc: lenoir city,tn
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all the places i hunt with chestnut oaks, the acorns lay on the ground and rot. i have NEVER seen a deer eating them.
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#617863 - 02/16/08 06:38 PM
Re: Chessnut oaks ?
[Re: stik]
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Stovepipe
18 Point
Registered: 09/21/07
Posts: 21673
Loc: N1549518,E738760
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all the places i hunt with chestnut oaks, the acorns lay on the ground and rot. i have NEVER seen a deer eating them. 
Edited by stovepipe (02/16/08 06:40 PM)
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#617908 - 02/16/08 07:19 PM
Re: Chessnut oaks ?
[Re: Stovepipe]
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Bigg'un4214
8 Point
Registered: 05/10/04
Posts: 2395
Loc: east tn
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I have saw deer leave white oaks to feed on chestnut oaks. It takes several big frosts to make them more attractive to deer though.
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Tennessee roots over 200 years deep and growing.....
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#618132 - 02/16/08 09:56 PM
Re: Chessnut oaks ?
[Re: Kentucky Redneck]
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8 POINTS OR BETTER
10 Point
Registered: 08/15/07
Posts: 3869
Loc: Hardin, Co.
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Chestnut Oaks are the first oaks to drop acorns and some of the best early feed sign you will find is under these trees. I have killed many a deer during early bow season under Chestnut Oaks. Once White and Red Oaks start dropping they become the preferred food source.
Ditto
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" Some localities are willing to work for their sport, and have plenty. Others are willing merely to take what comes easy, and have little or none." - Aldo Leopold
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#618146 - 02/16/08 10:04 PM
Re: Chessnut oaks ?
[Re: 8 POINTS OR BETTER]
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Stovepipe
18 Point
Registered: 09/21/07
Posts: 21673
Loc: N1549518,E738760
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I'll just have to say that I've seen so many Chestnut oak acorns on the ground that one boot would cover a dozen nuts and the deer were browsing on briers and sumac instead. True, it was early bow season, and no frosts yet. But then again groups of deer may have different tastes from here to there. The deer where I hunt will let the turkeys eat em before they seem to even notice. I honestly can't even say that I have EVER observed them eating these acorns. I do have a substantial number of mature white oaks too and that may be skewing my observation data or their preference toward the chestnut acorns.
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#620044 - 02/18/08 10:01 AM
Re: Chessnut oaks ?
[Re: Stovepipe]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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It appears deer in some areas do prefer chestnut oak acorns, especially if no other acorn is available. However, in the majority of areas, the chestnut oak acorn is not at all preferred.
Chestnut Oaks will grow in much poorer soils than other oaks. They often dominate the rockiest soils and south-facing slopes (south-facing slopes are drier and poorer). The best groves of true White Oaks are often found on the moister-soil north-facing slopes.
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"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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#620300 - 02/18/08 01:41 PM
Re: Chessnut oaks ?
[Re: BSK]
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Stovepipe
18 Point
Registered: 09/21/07
Posts: 21673
Loc: N1549518,E738760
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It appears deer in some areas do prefer chestnut oak acorns, especially if no other acorn is available. However, in the majority of areas, the chestnut oak acorn is not at all preferred.
Chestnut Oaks will grow in much poorer soils than other oaks. They often dominate the rockiest soils and south-facing slopes (south-facing slopes are drier and poorer). The best groves of true White Oaks are often found on the moister-soil north-facing slopes. 
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Westside Dream Team
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#620318 - 02/18/08 01:59 PM
Re: Chessnut oaks ?
[Re: Stovepipe]
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bowriter
Non-Typical
Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40305
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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It depends on the amount of tannic acid in the acorn. In some areas, deer love them, especially the swamp variety in some areas. In other areas I'n not sure that the deer wouldn't starve to death first. On Cheatham, where the mountain variety grows, deer will eat them until any other oak starts to drop.
Here in Wilson County, at least where I hunt, they scarf them up as soon as they fall and will eat them as long as they fall.
So my conclusion is it is a combination of the variety-swamp or mountain-and the acidity. In parts of AL where I have hunted, the swamp chesnut is by far a preferred source.
Next to the sawtooh oak, as far as I know, they are the earliest to drop mast and the acorn is among the largest of the white oak variety.
And the leaves, when well soaked, make a great, short smoke for a grill.
And that is about all I know or care to know about chestnut oaks. If the deer are eating them, hunt them.
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