As the opening of deer season draws closer, many hunters are in the midst of pre-season scouting. Great hunts begin long before climbing into the stand. Scouting and planning are key for a successful hunt.

For the last several days here at The Proving Grounds, we have been out with our Nikon binoculars glassing the forest canopy for acorns. While deer consume both white and red oak acorns, white oak acorns have a lower tannin content than red oak acorns, making them much more palatable to deer. This usually results in deer targeting white oak acorns during the earlier parts of the hunting season. Deer prefer acorns over just about anything else when they start hitting the ground. For this reason, you can count on us being in a Summit Stand close to a white oak when acorns start falling.

Finding acorn hot spots is only half of the battle. Another critical part of the process is tree stand placement. Many areas of the country experience a shift in prevailing wind direction when colder weather hits. As you scout stand locations near productive white oaks, keep that early season wind direction in mind. You may have to move your stand once the acorn crop has fallen and cold weather rolls in so that deer are not downwind of you.

White oaks are a super-attractant for deer. They can be an invaluable resource for success in early season, but only if you put in the time now to scout and make sure that you can enter, hunt, and exit without alerting deer.

Enjoying time spent in Creation watching velvet bucks this summer,

Luke Resop

GrowingDeer intern, summer 2018