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How to Tell Good Acorns—And Pick The Right Tree To Hunt Near
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December 09, 2011
How to Tell Good Acorns—And Pick The Right Tree To Hunt Near
By Dave Hurteau
You need to know who to steal from, goes the saying (even though it should go “whom to steal from”), and for this video I have stolen a tip outright from Bestul, who stole it from a logger buddy of his. When you’re hunting an area with lots of oaks and you need to figure out which trees the deer are feeding under, make sure to keep a sharp eye out for acorns that do not have their caps. It’s something a lot of hunters overlook but shouldn’t. Acorns that fall with caps often have rotten or punky flesh; those that fall without caps typically have fine, firm flesh and are therefore preferred by the deer.
It’s a useful bit of knowledge when there are lots of acorns, of course, but also during years like this—at least around here—when there are very few. Before you pat yourself on the back for finding the one tree dropping nuts, check the acorns closely and make sure the flesh is good before you hang a stand.
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Comments (10)
They say you should learn something everyday... and I just did. Pretty cool. Thanks.
Never heard this tip before. Have always wondered why some trees are ignored while others are hit hard. Will place this bit of knowledge in the dark crevices of my mind.
Good one, Dave. Thanks!
Good advice! Makes a lot of sense.
Thanks!
Good tip on determining the health of the acorns. YOu may also see some difference in the amount of wildlife use of oaks in the red/black oak group versus the white oak group. White oaks tend to have much sweeter, tastier meats while red/black oaks have meats that are more bitter and less palatible.
Thank Scott Bestul, guys. He's forgotten more about deer than I know.
This is so cool! What a great tip. I would have never thought to do something like that. I am new to hunting and my boyfriend is the one with the smarts in that department. I'm going to see if he knows about this technique :)
Way to crack right into that acorn Dave ;) As an aside, I heard that to be edible for humans they have to be boiled first - any truth to that?
to Jakenbake - the boiling of the acorns is to remove the tannic acids which are found in the acorns and make them bitter tasting. The white oaks have reduced tannic acid and some can even be edible without boiling. The red/black oak acorns have a larger amount of tannic acid and need to be boiled - even a couple of times for some species to remove the tannic acids. Then you mash them into cakes and bake them. They are actually quite tasty if prepared properly.
i am not able to watch the video but i hunt an accorn flat every year. i was asble to shoot my first buck with bow this year opening day cause i watched him and some does leave early in the mornin then went and found a good tree to sit in right in the middle of the flat. from there i could watch all the deer coming out to feed on the fresh dropped accorns. this info on here would of helped last year but gives more to think about this year just hope i can have another great year on my oak flat!
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They say you should learn something everyday... and I just did. Pretty cool. Thanks.
Never heard this tip before. Have always wondered why some trees are ignored while others are hit hard. Will place this bit of knowledge in the dark crevices of my mind.
Good one, Dave. Thanks!
Good advice! Makes a lot of sense.
Thanks!
Good tip on determining the health of the acorns. YOu may also see some difference in the amount of wildlife use of oaks in the red/black oak group versus the white oak group. White oaks tend to have much sweeter, tastier meats while red/black oaks have meats that are more bitter and less palatible.
Thank Scott Bestul, guys. He's forgotten more about deer than I know.
This is so cool! What a great tip. I would have never thought to do something like that. I am new to hunting and my boyfriend is the one with the smarts in that department. I'm going to see if he knows about this technique :)
Way to crack right into that acorn Dave ;) As an aside, I heard that to be edible for humans they have to be boiled first - any truth to that?
to Jakenbake - the boiling of the acorns is to remove the tannic acids which are found in the acorns and make them bitter tasting. The white oaks have reduced tannic acid and some can even be edible without boiling. The red/black oak acorns have a larger amount of tannic acid and need to be boiled - even a couple of times for some species to remove the tannic acids. Then you mash them into cakes and bake them. They are actually quite tasty if prepared properly.
i am not able to watch the video but i hunt an accorn flat every year. i was asble to shoot my first buck with bow this year opening day cause i watched him and some does leave early in the mornin then went and found a good tree to sit in right in the middle of the flat. from there i could watch all the deer coming out to feed on the fresh dropped accorns. this info on here would of helped last year but gives more to think about this year just hope i can have another great year on my oak flat!
Post a Comment