Of course, the white variety is not the only important member of the oak family. Certainly, the northern red (Quercus rubra) and southern red (Quercus falcata) species have region-wide significance, as either or both of these closely related varieties exist in every Southern state. Indeed, these two red oaks produce much more consistently than white oaks do, and many years they will be the major food sources of our whitetails. Several years ago at the start of the season, every tree stand I own was positioned either in or leading to a red oak grove and that pattern held throughout the first six weeks of the season.

Many other oaks live in our region; some have regionwide significance and some are locally of great consequence. For instance, the scarlet oak (Quercus bicolor) is largely a tree of the upper South, as it grows mostly on upland ridges and slopes. Conversely, the turkey oak (Quercus laevis) is generally a tree of the lower South, as it does better in dry, sandy soil and in coastal dunes.

Most oaks grow in groves, but some of the species can be found as single trees in out-of-the-way spots. For example, the post oak (Quercus stellata) is one such variety. I rarely find it in pure groves. Where I do come across the post oak is as a lone oak growing in a pine thicket, a random tree along a fence line, a sole tree out in a field, or a lonesome oak on a hillside.

These random trees, whether they are post oaks or some other variety, do seem to have the magic ability to produce acorns every year and to be deer magnets. Learn now where they dot your local forest.

How do we determine the potential of oaks at this stage of the pre-season? Right now, very few oak trees have shed any of their fruit, and the only reason that has happened is because the weather may have been unseasonably dry. So any acorns we might find on the ground now will have little or no relevance once the season begins. What I like to do now is use binoculars to scan the treetops. Doing so can give us a fair idea about which oak trees and groves will likely be bearing fruit once bow season commences.

HOW THE LEAF DROP INFLUENCES MOVEMENT
Earlier, I mentioned that some oak trees grow in isolated locales. Those trees, specifically the ones that dwell in areas where the growth is dense, will be the ones to highlight once leaf drop occurs. Typically, when the various bow seasons begin in the region, very few leaves have fallen, and in places, they are even still green or just starting to turn.

But once the annual leaf drop starts, the deer no longer seem to feel comfortable -- especially in the daytime -- foraging in what is now a fairly open forest. I prefer to stay on stand the entire day, feeling that a whitetail can appear at any time. But rarely do I observe deer entering open woods, except during the low-light conditions of dawn and dusk.