Acorns

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Brentwood:

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I really like the MSU Deer Labs picture they posted on the timing of acorn trees dropping in the fall…it shows the progression and timing of acorns in the southeast starting with white oaks, followed by water/willow, red, cherry bark, shumard, and nutall oaks. Those are the common oaks found in the southeast but a good visual that when white oaks stop dropping there are a lot more that are primed and ready to drop.

…also helps keep those people (***cough cough***) who are mad about their farm being planted in cotton instead of beans…😡
 
I'm actually hearing from some clients in the worst drought areas that they're seeing a few acorns on the trees. I haven't been looking in the trees, but I check every branch blown down. Contrary to what I was seeing early in the summer, now I'm seeing not a single acorn. But we shall see. Should be interesting come mid-September to see if there are any acorns left. If there are, they will be a gold mine of activity, but certainly won't last long on the ground.
 
Acorns are usually loaded in my area. I try to stay out until I'm ready to hunt. Thanks for the update. sounds like it may be a good year to hunt.
 
BSK said:
Interesting observation. I'll have to go back and look at my records for 2008.
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'07 was also a late freeze and statewide EHD year if my memory serves- a bad year to be be a deer. '08 was a year of plenty for the survivors. Wish I had taken a picture but I remember a persimmon that was so loaded in '08 that it doubled over into the road and unfortunately had to be cut
 
MickThompson said:
'07 was also a late freeze and statewide EHD year if my memory serves- a bad year to be be a deer. '08 was a year of plenty for the survivors. Wish I had taken a picture but I remember a persimmon that was so loaded in '08 that it doubled over into the road and unfortunately had to be cut
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Correct. 2007 was the Year from Hell. Very late HARD freeze. It had been an early spring and all the trees had already leaved out. Freeze killed all the leaves. Zero acorns. Then we had a near record drought in the late summer. The heat and drought produced the worst EHD outbreak I've ever personally seen in Middle TN. Most of the region lost at least 30-40% of the population.
 
Man, I remember the 2007 drought and EHD outbreak. I graduated college that spring and couldn't wait to finally be home to get a lot of hunting in. I remember having our whole place to myself day after day and never seeing a deer. I have notes but would have to dig through them. I just remember seeing a handful of deer during November.
 
JCDEERMAN said:
Man, I remember the 2007 drought and EHD outbreak. I graduated college that spring and couldn't wait to finally be home to get a lot of hunting in. I remember having our whole place to myself day after day and never seeing a deer. I have notes but would have to dig through them. I just remember seeing a handful of deer during November.
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Although we actually had a decent year in 2007 (so little food was available deer were really having to move to find it), that event was definitely the end of our high deer densities. Deer densities plummeted and didn't bounce back for about 5 years.
 
BSK said:
Although we actually had a decent year in 2007 (so little food was available deer were really having to move to find it), that event was definitely the end of our high deer densities. Deer densities plummeted and didn't bounce back for about 5 years.
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Man, you're right on the money. In 2012, everything exploded, and that year, I finally got the monkey off my back. That deer, the way I killed him, made me realize how my strategies up to that point had caused me to fail at many prior hunts. That deer taught me a lot and have had a lot of success since then.

2019 was also a devastating EHD year for us in our local herd. Since then, I have been relying heavily on leases in E TN with my FIL. I think this year we should be back to full throttle in Hickman with our local herd.
 
JCDEERMAN said:
2019 was also a devastating EHD year for us in our local herd. Since then, I have been relying heavily on leases in E TN with my FIL. I think this year we should be back to full throttle in Hickman with our local herd.
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Agreed. From what I'm hearing from clients in Hickman County, the bounce back in population this year is pretty significant.
 
Continue to spot check here on the "plataw" and we are as loaded this year as we were last all around the area. Very thankful.
 
Just got back from South Cherokee. No acorns, no muscedines, no deer sign, did see where the hogs have been rooting and of course 3 bears, I wish twra would have a quita hunt and take some of the bears out of the Ocoee bear reserve, thered getting to be too many I see them every time I ride through.
 
hoghunter65 said:
Just got back from South Cherokee. No acorns, no muscedines, no deer sign, did see where the hogs have been rooting and of course 3 bears, I wish twra would have a quita hunt and take some of the bears out of the Ocoee bear reserve, thered getting to be too many I see them every time I ride through.
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I really feel a month long archery hunt in the bear reserves would be very successful.
 
Even our hickories have no nuts. Have about a dozen around the camp yard & saw 2 nuts total in all of them today. Limb rats gonna have a hard time...
 

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