Some good information here. I very much appreciate it.
I've sent an email to Alan with the wildlife group hoping to get some answers soon, I'll report back with what he responds with and hopefully, I'll post the updates in the spring and the future etc.

My in-laws have a 275 gallon IBC container set up in the back of a truck specifically for watering trees planted on hunting plots. Their survival rate is 90% or better. I've planted Jan/Feb and have some loss, probably around 75% survival. But I do not water as often as they do.

I have used a 55 gallon drum laying down in a cradle to keep it from rolling. An adapter is made to attach a hose to it and let it gravity flow. Their 275 gallon tank uses a 12V Shur-flo pump to water.

This watering trees bit has had me flustered, and to be honest one of the reasons I've not tried it yet. Yesterday I brainstormed ways to provide water to the trees first when they were planted to help make sure the soil was solid and tamped down with no air pockets, and secondly to provide additional water in between rains. My guessing is that the ability to provide water on a reasonably consistent basis in the first year or two of the fruit tree's existence would further their chances of survival, in addition to taking all needed precautions to avoid critter damage etc.

Options: there are 2 wet weather creeks that run right next to and about 50 yards away from where I had planned on planting.
The property owners house is on the property(but not near enough run multiple hoses/power. I have access to water should I want to try and fill a tank. Wet weather creeks have steep drop offs, nearly waterfall type where I'm looking.

Original idea. Construct a rain barrel irrigation system, using the wet weather creeks to full rain into the barrels. As needed, use hoses and multiple 55 gallon drums.

2nd idea (having seen Kbush's post) I cannot get a truck to these locations, I don't own a 4 wheeler. Would a 12v pump have the ability to push water 100 yards uphill? This got me thinking, I've got a generator for emergencies that needs to be run under load regularly (as instructed by the manufacturer) a 110 v pump in a 55 gallon drum running off the generator providing a steady stream of water to the trees. I can fill the drum at the property. Any thoughts? This option seems to be perhaps more expensive (though not by too much) but probably more an efficient use of my time. The big question would be how much pump do I need?

All in all, If I watered twice a month it's a pretty easy cost to justify, and the property is about 20-30 minutes from the house so not a super imposing drive.

This is just my take but watering them really isn’t necessary unless you just plant them in a really dry spot and we have record type drought or something. I’m lucky in the fact that I live within easy driving distance of The Wildlife Group. I’m able to just drive over, have them dig trees up for me on the spot, and then take them straight home and plant ‘em. Doing that, I’ve had dang near 100% success on getting trees established that I got from them except the cedars. It was nothing to do with quality or anything like that….I think maybe cedars may just be more finicky to transplanting than anything else. I’ve only gotten about 50% survival on cedars.

Everything else though, be it pears, persimmons, oaks, chestnuts, you name it….even the apples…..has established themselves fine by just taking plenty of time to plant them right at planting time. The issues I’ve had with apples and plums have come later on down the road with disease. I usually go pick up 20-25 trees at a time and put them in one at a time with a shovel……taking the time to dig good holes…. pack the dirt well…..plant at the proper depth……keep the roots moist….etc….etc……Do that and you’ll be fine.

I’ve never used it (I probably will on any more cedars I try to plant)…..but they sell some stuff at the nursery called moisture mizer. I don’t know all the specifics of it but I know the gist of what its doing. It’s basically a crystalized type granule that you add to the hole when you plant that soaks up and holds 100 times its weight in water or something to that effect…it may be 1000 times. It a nutshell though, its got the ability to hold water around the roots for you better than your average soil. You can also go dig you up a 5 gallon bucket of pure clay and mix in a little on each hole when you plant to help hold more moisture if you’re planting in a sandy area. Adding some hay around the base of the tree will also help hold moisture if need be. Watering just really isn't necessary. Like I said though, this is just my take on things....I'm in no way trying to tell you what to do.

If you have hogs dont use the moisture mizer. Ive had them root it up.

I rarely water what I plant. My in-laws water the first two years until they are fully established. You could even haul water in 5 gallon buckets during very dry times if needed. Another tip is to put a small hole, maybe 1/16 or so in a 5 gallon bucket so if drips inyo the root zone. Fill from 5 gallon buckets once a week.

A lot depends on your soil. Keeping grass competition away from the tree helps a lot too.

Everyone's points are well made. The economical cost of building a watering source is going to be well in excess of $200 At that point I could easily buy another 2-3 trees. (I assume they're not insanely expensive. I may have just over thought it.

I have not heard back from allen yet, but I assume they're busy at the moment.

Any other tips?

You might try giving him a call. He's probably around the nursery somewhere. Most of your fruit trees are gonna be $15-$20 each for large bare root seedlings....I think they may technically call them "whips". They'll be good sized trees 4-6 ft tall. The oaks and some chestnuts will be around $2 each...That'll be for smaller bare root seedlings. Here's a $2 Nuttal Oak I planted this year to give you some perspective.......

This is what that $2 Nuttal oak will turn into in just a few years if you plant it on the right site and keep the competition sprayed around it. Research each specie you plant and find out what soil conditions it likes the best. Try not to plant “off site” no more than you just have to. Trees will do better if you plant them in the conditions they like.

Nuttall are one of my favorite trees. Love that late season acorn drop.

What is the benefit of bareroots that are as you described 4-6 feet tall vs containered trees they also sell (other than shipping, I imagine shipping is a big difference.. lol)

Up front cost. The container tree's are older more expensive tree's.

essentially you're buying 'years'? Fruit tree that generally starts producing in year 4, and is really putting them out in year 6 and 7. You can buy a bareroot 1-2 year old for 10 bucks, or a container 4 year old for 40? (ish) The equivalent (or nearly) of putting sod in your yard vs seeding.

Yea, you could say it that way. I bought 7 gallon container pears that were 3 years old and they produced pears that same year i planted them. More cost effective to do bare root, but i wanted some fruit sooner.

If you're planting trees then you're in it for the long term. You're really setting things up for what it'll be like 7-10 years down the road. A year or two is not that much....you can get a whole lot more trees for the money though to start out with the bare root seedlings. To really start making a difference and producing a lot of mast....you need to put in a decent amount of trees. One single tree is not gonna be a whole lot different than dumping out a little corn on the ground one day or something. Some individual trees produce better than others as well.

Your point is well made, my current property availability is 50 some odd acres that is all woods. At this point, I'm trying to get in the game, probably plant between 6-10 trees in February, split between two locations on the property. Ideally, next summer I can clear another lane or three for more trees. I would however counter your observation about a few pears is the same as corn dumped on the ground. One will get you a ticket, the other won't

I know you value the hard masts as indicated in your posts, but when I'm already covered up with so many oaks I stopped trying to figure out where they were, do you think it's worth planting additional hard mast varieties? In my walk up to my food plot yesterday(or giant mass of weeds that will be my food plot) I counted 14 mature white oaks. Inside a 100 yard stretch of walking. by mature I mean larger around than my waist. That's not to count the other flavors of oak that I know exist.

I would probably still plant some nuttal oaks if nothing else. Like kbush was saying, they’re the latest dropping acorn. You’ll be putting out hard mast late in the season when everything else is gone. A lot of these different trees have different drop dates. Having variety fills in time gaps and insures that your place is always putting out mast during hunting season….or at least over as long of a time period as possible. With you just starting out with a few trees I’d recommend to start with pears and nuttal oaks. Select for the later dropping varieties…..If you want to add other things look to chestnuts and persimmons.

http://www.wildlifegroup.com/shop-for-pear-trees/

Try the Keiffer pears and crabapples. Crabapples are hardier than regular apple trees and more blight resistant. I would not plant nut trees where you have other nut trees as you are trying to give the deer something different that they are going to like more. Be sure to use moisture mixer. You can buy at Home Depot etc. a lot of the time bigger trees are root bound and do not develop their root system as well. Also I use rootone which causes trees to grow more roots when transplanting them.

This is an added bonus of the nuttal that I really like. It has nothing to do with wildlife but many landowners still care about aesthetics. Nuttals turn a really vibrant red in the fall. It’s one of the more ornamental oaks. I think it would look very nice to plant them down a roadway leading to a cabin or something of that nature. The little ones I posted in my last pic are planted in a big horshoe shape that wraps around about 2/3’s of my plot you see in the T&M thread. I envision sitting in a bowhunting stand 10 years from now surrounded with vibrant fall colors…….oh, yeah……and acorns dropping in January. Food is at a premium in the late season....that's when it really matters. He who has the food in Jan, has the deer.

"Large tree with swollen base and open crown of spreading to horizontal or slightly drooping branches. Latest acorn drop of all oaks typically drops acorns December/January great from late season deer and duck.HABITAT: Wet, poorly drained, clay soils of flood plains; sometimes on pure stands."

I've found some still dropping good acorns in early March. Most drop earlier. That was what caused me to learn about the Nuttall Oaks. The one's I've located are along a drain that serves as an overflow between two creeks.

I see a huge difference in deer concentrating around food sources after Christmas as compared to the early season. They're real scattered early on as food is everywhere most years when bow season starts. I may see 3 or 4 at a time during early bow season but may see 20+ during January. If I had a choice....I'd love to have a lot of my mast dropping during that late time period. I think I'm gonna put in another pear package this winter and only use the latest droppers.