Persimmon trees

[HoytDawg]

Hey fellas, newbie here with a question for you more experienced TN guys. I moved to Nashville area not long ago but grew up in Mississippi River bottoms. We always keyed in on Persimmon trees early season with usually good success.

I will be hunting a local WMA this bowseason and have gone to scout twice now, walking about 5 miles total each time. I could not for the life of me find a single persimmon tree. I never had trouble finding them on edges back home, but can't find one here. The WMA is mostly rolling hills and hardwoods with some pine mixed in, so I figured a persimmon tree would be good to key in on since there's fixing to be acorns everywhere. Y'all have any advice for finding them in this terrain?


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[Mike Belt]

Re: Persimmon trees

Any food source is only as valuable comparatively as all others located in the same vicinity and during the same time frame. Almost everywhere I've hunted here in west Tn has persimmons. I've seen where deer hit them on numerous occasions but as a general rule persimmons aren't their primary destination while on a feeding travel route. They simply pass through an area and feed on them while on the move. Generally about the time persimmons start dropping around here there are other preferable food sources readily available. As mentioned in my first sentence, it's all dependent on what else is available and when. I've hunted places where there was zero agriculture and little to no acorns where deer fed heavily on persimmons, locust pods, and even horse apples. I've also hunted places that had plenty of agriculture and some acorns that would all be gone by late season but where trees held their persimmons into the close of the season and became a major food source.

 

[HoytDawg]

Re: Persimmon trees

Any food source is only as valuable comparatively as all others located in the same vicinity and during the same time frame. Almost everywhere I've hunted here in west Tn has persimmons. I've seen where deer hit them on numerous occasions but as a general rule persimmons aren't their primary destination while on a feeding travel route. They simply pass through an area and feed on them while on the move. Generally about the time persimmons start dropping around here there are other preferable food sources readily available. As mentioned in my first sentence, it's all dependent on what else is available and when. I've hunted places where there was zero agriculture and little to no acorns where deer fed heavily on persimmons, locust pods, and even horse apples. I've also hunted places that had plenty of agriculture and some acorns that would all be gone by late season but where trees held their persimmons into the close of the season and became a major food source.

So you wouldn't worry about the persimmons as much if acorns are dropping Mike? Would white oaks more likely be a primary destination early in the year?


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[Mike Belt]

Re: Persimmon trees

If you have white oaks dropping that's where I'd concentrate my efforts. They become the primary and preferred food source. What's good for the deer sometimes isn't good for the hunter in respect to "seeing" deer. If your mast crop is abundant the deer could feed any and everywhere. Sparse acorn production concentrates those same deer and feeding locations. Even then, all acorns may not be created equal. For whatever reason sometimes deer prefer to feed from certain trees over others. If you find a current feeding location like this hunt it while it's hot! It won't last long.

Going back to persimmons, I'm sure there are plenty of folks that will kill deer feeding on them and may even disagree with my stance on them being a primary food source. If you have acorns dropping in and around the same area as persimmons on the ground, you just multiply your odds on seeing deer.

 

[Headhunter]

Re: Persimmon trees

My luck in over 30 years of hunting in Middle Tennessee has been rare when hunting persimmons. Actually only luck when there was fresh deer sign around the persimmons and then still spent several times hunting and not even see a deer.

Acorns are pretty dependable for me. I will, on occasion, just go hunt an oak tree and not even check it. Just go climb near it and hunt and have seen many deer and killed some. For me, chinquapin oaks are the best tree to hunt near in Middle Tennessee but I mostly look for the best fresh deer sign near any oak tree. Been hunting that way for over 30 years.

 

[HoytDawg]

Re: Persimmon trees

My luck in over 30 years of hunting in Middle Tennessee has been rare when hunting persimmons. Actually only luck when there was fresh deer sign around the persimmons and then still spent several times hunting and not even see a deer.

Acorns are pretty dependable for me. I will, on occasion, just go hunt an oak tree and not even check it. Just go climb near it and hunt and have seen many deer and killed some. For me, chinquapin oaks are the best tree to hunt near in Middle Tennessee but I mostly look for the best fresh deer sign near any oak tree. Been hunting that way for over 30 years.

I did find 2 chinquapins on my scouting, but mostly white oaks of other varieties. If you don't mind me asking headhunter, other than looking for fresh sign, is there a good way to pick a certain tree when there's oaks dropping everywhere?



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[HoytDawg]

Re: Persimmon trees

If you have white oaks dropping that's where I'd concentrate my efforts. They become the primary and preferred food source. What's good for the deer sometimes isn't good for the hunter in respect to "seeing" deer. If your mast crop is abundant the deer could feed any and everywhere. Sparse acorn production concentrates those same deer and feeding locations. Even then, all acorns may not be created equal. For whatever reason sometimes deer prefer to feed from certain trees over others. If you find a current feeding location like this hunt it while it's hot! It won't last long.

Going back to persimmons, I'm sure there are plenty of folks that will kill deer feeding on them and may even disagree with my stance on them being a primary food source. If you have acorns dropping in and around the same area as persimmons on the ground, you just multiply your odds on seeing deer.

Mike I would agree with your assessment about hot trees. I think I'm going to be fighting that battle in a few weeks and have a tough time finding a single tree to key on, just because there's oaks everywhere.

I think back home they keyed on persimmons because we didn't really have many oaks at all. It was persimmons and honey locust pretty much for natural food. I think this year is definitely going to be a learning curve for me trying to pattern them with oaks everywhere.


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[Mike Belt]

Re: Persimmon trees

Hoyt... I wish I knew why certain trees are so attractive. I've hunted several places where a grove of trees or even a single tree drew the deer in until there were absolutely no acorns left on the ground...and they had to walk right past and through acorns everywhere to get to them. It's been debated that it was because of their age or what slope they grew on, etc but I've seen no definitive answer as to why. To make it even more confusing and even with acorns dropping I've seen these locations pan out every year there were acorns and then for whatever reason go dead the following year. I thought the surrounding terrain features in relationship to these areas may have dictated why these particular spots were so productive but I've seen no indication that that is the case. I know of no other way to find out how productive they may be yearly except by checking them out first hand. If you figure out why this happens feel free to pass that info along, lol.

 

[HoytDawg]

Re: Persimmon trees

Hoyt... I wish I knew why certain trees are so attractive. I've hunted several places where a grove of trees or even a single tree drew the deer in until there were absolutely no acorns left on the ground...and they had to walk right past and through acorns everywhere to get to them. It's been debated that it was because of their age or what slope they grew on, etc but I've seen no definitive answer as to why. To make it even more confusing and even with acorns dropping I've seen these locations pan out every year there were acorns and then for whatever reason go dead the following year. I thought the surrounding terrain features in relationship to these areas may have dictated why these particular spots were so productive but I've seen no indication that that is the case. I know of no other way to find out how productive they may be yearly except by checking them out first hand. If you figure out why this happens feel free to pass that info along, lol.

Haha, I'm just glad I'm not the only one who doesn't know why!

I'll probably start off hunting the closest white oaks to the bedding I found and then go from there. (Found 3 right next to each other about 20 yds from a pine thicket I think they're bedding in). No other way to figure it out but to hunt it. Thank you for the help, hunting these hills in Mid TN is a different experience!


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[Headhunter]

Re: Persimmon trees

Nope, find the "hot" tree and it can vary from year to year. Some trees will be hot for several years and sometimes a tree will be hot for one season. No clue why.

 

[Headhunter]

Re: Persimmon trees

Here is website with lots info on oak trees, http://www.pursuithunting.com/,

I disagree with this guy on some things, one thing in particular is that if it is a banner year for acorns, meaning it seems as if every single oak tree is loaded and dropping, he claims that is the best. He claims he can find the "hot" tree easily. Those years to me are the absolute toughest.

The website has great info for identifying oak trees.

 

[tahtah]

Re: Persimmon trees

I have picked up a lot of good tips and info from reading posts here and others' experiences. This is another I'm very interested in. I probably hunt the same WMA you are referring to. I switched from private agricultural land about 10 years ago and there persimmons where like candy to deer. We had to find the persimmons at the right time, but at the right time, the deer tore them up. However, there wasn't an over abundance of oaks and acorns where I hunted. Back to our local WMA, it's covered in oaks and acorns. At times you can hear them falling like rain. I searched high and low and have found several persimmon trees. I hunted them religiously the first couple of years. The deer didn't seem to know they existed.

I'll be watching this post anxiously to see if anyone has the magic sauce. :) But I tend to agree with the earilier posts, it all depends on what's available to the deer. You just have to be in the woods and see what they are gravitating to.

 

[muddyboots]

Re: Persimmon trees

Pursuit hunter on here years ago was very good at finding those killing trees as he called them. His main philosophy was find fresh poop. Just constant scouting early on for me is how I find them. More scouting than hunting for sure. So much that I don't hunt much early season now. Persimmons are not a preferred food around here.

 

[woodsman04]

Re: Persimmon trees

I used to think persimmons were gold. There was a tree in my back yard as a kid and they ate them like crazy. When I started hunting I always tried to hunt persimmons, but it never was the same.

I now have my own property, and it's got lots of persimmons, oaks, and honey locust. There is two certain persimmon trees that they eat on in September until they are gone, but the other persimmon trees around the place do not get touched. I do not know why, I just wonder if the certain soil that they grow in, or maybe the certain genetic make up of different trees make them taste different? All persimmons taste sweet to me when they are orange and soft, but for some reason deer prefer different ones.

Oaks are the same way. I do think white oaks are the best, and chinkapins are the best of the whites. But I have seen deer hit a certain southern red oak over white oak and chinkapins. I have also seen them hit mountain (chestnut) oaks over regular white oaks. It's just certain trees are better than others for some reason. If you are starting from scratch though, a white oak is the place to start.

Honey locust have been hit and miss in my experience. I've see them tear them up and seen them not touch them. I've never seen a pattern with these.


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[catman529]

Re: Persimmon trees

We have plenty of Simmons in mid TN. Maybe you're just in a bad spot for persimmons?

I wouldn't sweat it writhed way. I have had better luck over acorns than persimmons. Only a few occasions were persimmons hot. Seems like it has to be a certain tree or patch of trees in a certain spot to get the deers attention.


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[HoytDawg]

Re: Persimmon trees

Thanks for all the help fellas. I'll change my focus over to the acorns and finding a hot tree if I can. Y'all saved me from wasting a lot of time looking for the persimmons.




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[HoytDawg]

Re: Persimmon trees

We have plenty of Simmons in mid TN. Maybe you're just in a bad spot for persimmons?

I wouldn't sweat it writhed way. I have had better luck over acorns than persimmons. Only a few occasions were persimmons hot. Seems like it has to be a certain tree or patch of trees in a certain spot to get the deers attention.


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I guess so catman. The couple small private places I turkey hunted this past spring all have at least a handful on them. They aren't near as hilly or have as much hardwood as the WMA though, so maybe it's just the area I've focused my scouting on.


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[Andy S.]

Re: Persimmon trees

I agree with everything Headhunter has posted in this thread, good advice there. With that said, for SW TN, I have had a lot better luck bow hunting persimmon trees that were in the river bottoms (Hatchie & Mississippi Rivers), and very little luck hunting persimmon trees in the hills, even when the persimmons and deer sign were on the ground under them. I mainly hunt the hills now so it has been a while since I hunted a persimmon tree.

 

[Mike Belt]

Re: Persimmon trees

The last time I concentrated on persimmons I was hunting PI. There were no acorns and the crops were gone. There was little else for them to eat except browse and they were wearing the persimmons out. It just depends on what your area offers in the way of food.

 

[tree_ghost]

Re: Persimmon trees

On the properties I hunt in middle TN there are plenty of persimmons. From my observations the deer will hit them as they pass by but will not make them a primary destination for food. I had a farm that had a pipe line that ran from the bedding area out to the edge of a bean field. About 30 yards back from where the pipeline right of way dumped into the bean field was a persimmon tree. It was a deadly location when the fruit ripened. Every deer that came down the cutover stopped here to hit the persimmons and survey the filed prior to entering. I say that to say this...I don't think hunting persimmons in and of themselves is a very effective approach. However when you can't tie them into a bigger picture like the one above it can make for dynamite hunting.


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[HoytDawg]

Re: Persimmon trees

On the properties I hunt in middle TN there are plenty of persimmons. From my observations the deer will hit them as they pass by but will not make them a primary destination for food. I had a farm that had a pipe line that ran from the bedding area out to the edge of a bean field. About 30 yards back from where the pipeline right of way dumped into the bean field was a persimmon tree. It was a deadly location when the fruit ripened. Every deer that came down the cutover stopped here to hit the persimmons and survey the filed prior to entering. I say that to say this...I don't think hunting persimmons in and of themselves is a very effective approach. However when you can't tie them into a bigger picture like the one above it can make for dynamite hunting.


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That's exactly how we hunted them growing up tree ghost. Deer were coming to the beans but always came out of the bedding to check the persimmons on their way. We only had one white oak on our place and it wasn't in a good spot to be hunted, so I'm looking forward to learning how to hunt them this year. I was surprised some were already starting to drop as of last week.


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[tree_ghost]

Re: Persimmon trees

On the properties I hunt in middle TN there are plenty of persimmons. From my observations the deer will hit them as they pass by but will not make them a primary destination for food. I had a farm that had a pipe line that ran from the bedding area out to the edge of a bean field. About 30 yards back from where the pipeline right of way dumped into the bean field was a persimmon tree. It was a deadly location when the fruit ripened. Every deer that came down the cutover stopped here to hit the persimmons and survey the filed prior to entering. I say that to say this...I don't think hunting persimmons in and of themselves is a very effective approach. However when you can't tie them into a bigger picture like the one above it can make for dynamite hunting.


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That's exactly how we hunted them growing up tree ghost. Deer were coming to the beans but always came out of the bedding to check the persimmons on their way. We only had one white oak on our place and it wasn't in a good spot to be hunted, so I'm looking forward to learning how to hunt them this year. I was surprised some were already starting to drop as of last week.


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I have also seen 4 so far that have ripe fruit falling. They are positioned sporadically throughout the timber and because of this I haven't seen any significant sign around them. I have a place to hunt that has a great stand of pin oaks about 300 yards from primary buck bedding. There are 3 persimmon trees that are about halfway between the two of them. I am going to attempt to setup over that persimmon once the pin oaks start dropping in hopes that one stops there to scent check the hillside in the evenings before moving up the ridge to the acorns. I'll just have to access the sign when I get in there to see if it will work or not...


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[PSE Shooter18]

Re: Persimmon trees

:pop: