RE: saving acorns for later....
Do NOT store your acorns in 5 gallon plastic buckets (from experience).
Most likely, there are small little acorn worms in each acorn.
Given a dark location and all the acorns in one small area, these worms will multiply like crazy and devastate your acorns in no time.
Use a potato sack (holes for ventilation) and store from the string from a rafter in your garage or other location.
This seems to help a bit.
You are correct however, the squirrels will gobble them up real quick.
Also, the deer are very aware when these acorns naturally dropand know the areas in which they do so.
I agree that you'd do better with the corn.
Don't forget that you can still make a good cover scent using those acorns and a cheap blender.
Good Luck.