difference between red and white

[ksredneck]

I know deer prefer white oak over red but the acorns aren't be produced yet so I was wondering how to tell the difference between the two trees by their leaves? can anyone help?

[ranwin33]

White oaks tend to have leaves with rounded lobes while red/black oaks tend to have leaves with pointed lobes.  This isn't the case 100% of the time, but it is a fairly accurate way of telling the trees apart.

[DeanoZ]

By the leaves mainly.  White Oaks leaves have rounded tips where as Red oaks have pointy ones.  See pics below.

[ksredneck]

thanks I figured out that its a red oak! will these distract deer from their trail to a main feed source?

[DeanoZ]

ORIGINAL: ksredneck

thanks I figured out that its a red oak! will these distract deer from their trail to a main feed source?

 
Depends on the main food source at the time.  When acorns drop in the hardwoods, if your a hardwoods hunter they will be the primary food source unless something else better is around.  Deer love acorns and generally prefer soft mast over other food sources.  But keep in mind acorns are only going to drop for a small window, and when their gone, they will move on to the next source.  If you've got a spot with an isolated few oaks I would hunt that spot in the early season.  Once it looks like the acorns are gone they will move on to the next food source, and if your spot happens to be along the way I'd say you found the ideal spot.

[Woods Walker]

Deer usually prefer the white oak acorns over the reds, as they tend to be less bitter, although this depends on the overall abundance of the acorn crop. In a lean year, they will eat ANY acorns they can find, with no discernible preference.
 
A good scouting tip is to find a few big white oaks that are in a remote out of the way place (such as not being seen from the road, field, or building), and see what kind of acorn load they are producing. If you can find some of these, they are the best early season places to hunt as you can find. They don't last for long, but you sure do have some good hunting in the meantime.
 
One other way to ID oaks without the leaves, is to look at how the main leader branches come off the trunk. This applies mainly to larger, more mature trees. If the leader branches tend to come off at a 90 degree angle, or close to it, then it's most likely a white oak. Reds tend to have more upright angled leader branches. The bark of the white oak is a bit different than that of the reds, but it's a subtle difference that most folks would need a book to determine.
 
One more point and then I'll end my long-winded response......
 
A good way to scout acorn trees, is to get yourself a good pair of binoculars, find some oaks, lay on your back and look at the ends of the branches. Try and count the approximate number of acorns that you see within the first foot or so of the end of the branch. If you're not seeing at least 8 to a good dozen, then it's NOT going to be a very good year for acorns. Lat year I spent several scouting trips doing this, and there were one or two, to ZERO acorns on the trees! Not a very good mast year, and the hunting reflected that in the woods.

[fasteddie]

Good tip WoodsWalker .........

[msbadger]

Good info and tips....couple of things I do is go out after a heavy wind storm....little acorns will be on the ground and sit and watch the squirrels....Last year we had a heavy red oak mast...the squirrels would jump from tree to tree nipping off tips of branches...the corns leaves and stems all attached would fall to the ground..after some bouncing around nipping the squirrels would hit the ground and start gathering the little bundles up...the woods were just littered with these little clumps of leaves and caps...this year no acorns but the beech are looking good....