How do acorns affect deer movement?
Acorns scatter deer across the woods or concentrate them, depending on the year's mast crop. In a heavy mast year, deer feed on acorns wherever they fall — patterns dissolve and stand setups on food plots collapse. In a mast failure, deer pile onto remaining food sources and patterns become predictable.
A typical mature white oak drops 1–10 thousand acorns at peak production. Deer are remarkably efficient on acorns: a doe and fawn pair can clean a 50-foot-radius drop zone in 24–48 hours, then move to the next tree. In heavy mast years, hunters report 'deer have disappeared' — actually they've spread out into 1,000-acre acorn buffets.
Reading mast each fall is part of pre-season planning. Walk your woods in early October. Identify dropping vs. failed trees. Position stands on the freshest dropping concentrations or on travel between drop zones and bedding. See current state mast reports for the regional picture.