The acorns from the White Oak tree are a well known favorite food source of the whitetail deer. Taking advantage of this fact in the fall bow season can put you in a position to get a crack at a big buck that has let his guard down for a tasty treat. Now, is the time of year to start your planning if you would like to try to use this tactic in the coming fall.

Late season scouting and trips afield looking for antler sheds and preferred travel routes over the next few months provide an excellent opportunity to locate and target a white oak tree to enhance it`s next acorn mass. Ideally you`d like to find a large white oak set off by itself that could serve as a central focus to draw deer in from all directions. The technique will work in areas that have several white oaks, just not necessarily to the extent that you would see with a single isolated tree.

Your first job will be identifying the tree during your scouting trips, to help in your search we have included a description of white oak tree characteristics as well as several pictures of the leaves, bark and acorns of the white oak.

Characteristics:

* Leaves have multiple rounded lobes. When they unfold, they are a delicate reddish pink and soon turn to green.
* Acorns oblong, 1/2-4/5", set in a bowl-like cap that is covered by scales. Nuts take a year to mature and their meat is not bitter.
* Bark gray, with narrow, vertical blocks of scaly plates.
* Height: 80-100`.

Once you`ve identified the tree you`d like to enhance, simply go to a store were they sell lawn & garden supplies?and buy a bag of tree & shrub fertilizer.

Next in the early spring (March & April), go to "the hunting" spot that you`ve chosen to target for increased acorn production, and with a shale bar or just a 1" plus thick bar, pierce 6"-8" holes, roughly every three feet, all the way around the outside edge of the tree`s canopy also known as the drip line.  Lastly, fill each of these holes with your fertilizer and then wait.

This tactic will help you pull in that big buck next fall when the acorns are dropping, your tree & the area you hunt will become a magnet to deer near and far looking to dine on those irresistable acorns.