are chestnut trees really all the hype?

[nocoolnamekyle]

i recently found some chestnut trees on some public i hunt. i want to know if anyone one has really seen them as a deer magnets that all the guys that do habitat work make it out to be? also would love to hear if someone has harvested a deer off chestnuts?

[backstraps]

Years ago I hunted a place that had several large chestnuts in a small group
Early season deer pounded them better than any fresh dropping acorn or green food

I was able to take a few off those trees while hunting there

I grow chestnuts at my house now. Deer love them, eat the leaves, rub the saplings and vacuum up the nuts!

[Edcyclopedia]

Yes they are, bear love them too.
They sound falling rocks and attract deer from afar.

[nocoolnamekyle]

Years ago I hunted a place that had several large chestnuts in a small group
Early season deer pounded them better than any fresh dropping acorn or green food

I was able to take a few off those trees while hunting there

I grow chestnuts at my house now. Deer love them, eat the leaves, rub the saplings and vacuum up the nuts!

What was early September? The state they are in has a October opener. Wondering if they will have shifted off them by then.

Yes they are, bear love them too.
They sound falling rocks and attract deer from afar.

That's good to hear I may need them to travel some distance as I don't have the bedding pin pointed.

[nocoolnamekyle]

Years ago I hunted a place that had several large chestnuts in a small group
Early season deer pounded them better than any fresh dropping acorn or green food

I was able to take a few off those trees while hunting there

I grow chestnuts at my house now. Deer love them, eat the leaves, rub the saplings and vacuum up the nuts!

What was early September? The state they are in has a October opener. Wondering if they will have shifted off them by then.

Yes they are, bear love them too.
They sound falling rocks and attract deer from afar.

That's good to hear I may need them to travel some distance as I don't have the bedding pin pointed.

[backstraps]

Years ago I hunted a place that had several large chestnuts in a small group
Early season deer pounded them better than any fresh dropping acorn or green food

I was able to take a few off those trees while hunting there

I grow chestnuts at my house now. Deer love them, eat the leaves, rub the saplings and vacuum up the nuts!

What was early September? The state they are in has a October opener. Wondering if they will have shifted off them by then.

Yes they are, bear love them too.
They sound falling rocks and attract deer from afar.

That's good to hear I may need them to travel some distance as I don't have the bedding pin pointed.

Our opener is last Sat of Sept and they were hitting them hard up into first week Nov

[ehlusive]

Are these called buckeyes sometimes?

[brancher147]

They are devoured by deer and bear as mentioned. We have a few surviving in the mountains near me but not enough to be a real draw anywhere that I have found. Chinese chestnuts in people’s yards are a similar draw to game.

[Hawthorne]

Dunston chestnuts were pretty popular with habitat groups 10 or so years ago when I was into it. They are blight resistant.Michigan was the very northern edge where they could survive. I planted some Chinese chestnuts and they didn’t do well up here. Sawtooth oaks same thing. I found someone that had a northern strain of sawtoothes. Few of those have done well

[KRONIIK]

Are these called buckeyes sometimes?

https://sciencing.com/difference-buckey ... 23161.html
Nope.
Totally different species and not even related, despite some similarities.
I learned this when I found what I thought was a chestnut tree and did some research to find out it was either a buckeye or a horse chestnut instead.
I forget which it turned out to be; all I recall is that I was disappointed that it wasn't a true chestnut. It is a very big tree.

I never did find out if deer even eat buckeyes or horse chestnut fruits, but they are somewhat (or HIGHLY) toxic to humans per the linked article.

[nocoolnamekyle]

They are devoured by deer and bear as mentioned. We have a few surviving in the mountains near me but not enough to be a real draw anywhere that I have found. Chinese chestnuts in people’s yards are a similar draw to game.

there are a lot of white oaks in the area and only about half a dozen of these chestnut trees. if they arent a draw maybe they are something to focus on when the white oaks aren't dropping. So after thinking maybe these weren't chestnuts, I did a little research on buckeyes and horse chestnuts and I believe they are still chestnuts. maybe someone can tell me otherwise by this picture.

IMG_6287.JPG

[KRONIIK]

They are devoured by deer and bear as mentioned. We have a few surviving in the mountains near me but not enough to be a real draw anywhere that I have found. Chinese chestnuts in people’s yards are a similar draw to game.

there are a lot of white oaks in the area and only about half a dozen of these chestnut trees. if they arent a draw maybe they are something to focus on when the white oaks aren't dropping. So after thinking maybe these weren't chestnuts, I did a little research on buckeyes and horse chestnuts and I believe they are still chestnuts. maybe someone can tell me otherwise by this picture.IMG_6287.JPG

I think you're probably right about those being "real" chestnuts, or at least a species somewhat related to the American native one.
The spines on the hull look to be "fuzzier" and less spiky than the horse chestnut images that come up on Google.

[brancher147]

They are devoured by deer and bear as mentioned. We have a few surviving in the mountains near me but not enough to be a real draw anywhere that I have found. Chinese chestnuts in people’s yards are a similar draw to game.

there are a lot of white oaks in the area and only about half a dozen of these chestnut trees. if they arent a draw maybe they are something to focus on when the white oaks aren't dropping. So after thinking maybe these weren't chestnuts, I did a little research on buckeyes and horse chestnuts and I believe they are still chestnuts. maybe someone can tell me otherwise by this picture.IMG_6287.JPG

I think you're probably right about those being "real" chestnuts, or at least a species somewhat related to the American native one.
The spines on the hull look to be "fuzzier" and less spiky than the horse chestnut images that come up on Google.

I don’t know or ever seen a horse chestnut. The fruit looks very similar to American chestnut. If there are any nuts left on the ground after they fall it’s likely not American chestnut if there are deer around. They eat them quick. Do you have a picture of the tree/bark/bud? Horse chestnut has opposite branching and chestnut is alternate branching that’s the easiest way to tell

[nocoolnamekyle]

They are devoured by deer and bear as mentioned. We have a few surviving in the mountains near me but not enough to be a real draw anywhere that I have found. Chinese chestnuts in people’s yards are a similar draw to game.

there are a lot of white oaks in the area and only about half a dozen of these chestnut trees. if they arent a draw maybe they are something to focus on when the white oaks aren't dropping. So after thinking maybe these weren't chestnuts, I did a little research on buckeyes and horse chestnuts and I believe they are still chestnuts. maybe someone can tell me otherwise by this picture.IMG_6287.JPG

I think you're probably right about those being "real" chestnuts, or at least a species somewhat related to the American native one.
The spines on the hull look to be "fuzzier" and less spiky than the horse chestnut images that come up on Google.

I don’t know or ever seen a horse chestnut. The fruit looks very similar to American chestnut. If there are any nuts left on the ground after they fall it’s likely not American chestnut if there are deer around. They eat them quick. Do you have a picture of the tree/bark/bud? Horse chestnut has opposite branching and chestnut is alternate branching that’s the easiest way to tell

IMG_5457.jpg

this is the only picture I took of the bark. should have taken more lesson learned.