First sign of deer season falls from above

Published 8:15 am Thursday, August 4, 2016

STEVE KNIGHT/texasalloutdoors.com

It may still be 60 days until the Oct. 3 opening of the Texas white-tailed deer archery season, but things are starting to take shape.

Whether it is a sign that the season is near or that the hot and dry weather is starting to have an affect, the first acorn of the year fell to my yard this morning. Well, in case anyone is checking one of those political fact checkers that are suddenly so popular, it actually fell in my driveway.

This looks like it is going to be a bumper acorn crop at least in eastern Texas, something that is not necessarily good news to the hunter locked to a feeder.

However, if the oak trees are stressed enough to start dropping acorns this early hunters may at least see some deer movement during a portion of the season.

While they may continue to grow some, for the most part antler quality has already been determined. The acorns, like corn, are a better source of fat to carry the deer through the winter.

While the early acorns may be good for the hunter, if it is a cold winter the deer could be stressed making it even more important for hunters to leave corn feeders running until the first green up in early spring.

Did I say deer season is just 60 days away?