Do deer prefer white oak or red oak acorns?
White oak acorns first, every time. White oak acorns are sweeter (lower tannin) and germinate the same fall they drop, so deer compete to eat them quickly. Red oak acorns are higher in tannin, hold longer on the ground, and fill in the late-season window after white oaks are cleaned out.
If a property has both, deer will hammer the white oaks first — typically September through early November — and then transition to reds. This means stand placement on white oak ridges in early fall, then shift to red oak draws in late October and November.
Identify your trees in summer when the leaves can confirm species. Stand placement on 'the white oak by the bench' is one of the more durable hunt setups year over year. Pair with current state mast reports for which species dropped this year.