But while the many complained, a few seemed to be enjoying the time of their lives. Those who weren't having much luck made statements like, "There are too many acorns in the woods. So the deer don't have to move," or else, "The deer must all be moving at night. I've been hunting both mornings and evenings and haven't seen a thing."

Then there's my favorite: "Our food plots are knee-high this year, but the deer haven't been in them. There are too many acorns on the ground."

Yes, I understand that many factors influence deer movement. But I can't understand why a hunter would continue to sit over a food plot if he knows his quarry is eating acorns.

Early in my hunting career, I was taught that the key to success was to follow the food source. Time of day, moon phase, temperature, barometric pressure, wind, terrain and deer densities are all factors that a good hunter should take into consideration. But food sources top them all.

RIGHT SPOT -- RIGHT TIME
In deer hunting, hunting over acorns may be as close to a sure thing as you can get. But it's not quite as simple as merely hanging a stand in an oak tree and taking your pick of the deer as they parade by.

It can be that simple, but there are some clear strategies you should know -- particularly if you're bowhunting in the early season when close shots are the rule.

Hunting "the woods" presents its own set of problems and challenges, and can be intimidating to people accustomed to hunting over food plots. Let's look at different situations at various times of the day and year, and see if we can lessen the intimidation of hunting the acorn crop.

MORNING HUNTS
I have a friend who does not deem himself a good deer hunter. And yet every year, he manages to shoot at least one big buck and several does for meat. His strategy?

Go into the woods late.

He's amused that I get up at the crack of dawn and reach my stands at daybreak He claims that deer are bedding down at around daylight, but get up a few hours later to move around and feed some more -- just about the time when most hunters are calling it a day.

He insists that he discovered this not because he's so savvy, but because he's too lazy to get up early.

It took me a long time to get my mind around the concept of going hunting after breakfast. Most of us are conditioned to begin our hunts very early in the morning. We anticipate that first hour or two of daylight.

I don't mean to take anything away from this strategy, but deer sightings are high during the early morning, and an awful lot of deer have been killed during this time.

The problem is, we get busted an awful lot when we approach an oak flat under cover of darkness. When I approached oak trees early during a year of heavy acorn production, I don't think I've ever made it to my stand without getting busted.