Mornings or Afternoons?

[YFKI1983]

unfortunately I live in the city so when I get up there for a couple of days I am wasting little time on the couch. I try to stay out as much as I can, I hate sitting when its hot though. I hope the weather cools off quick

[Thor]

I have work everyday at 4 so ill be out there from dawn till about 1-2 except Fridays, all day Fridays!!! Don't have much experience but the only bucks I've seen we're at 9 and 11 am

[gfdeputy2]

similar. never liked afternoons. jump more deer it seems and your hunt is forced to end, where in the mornings your hunt gradually begins and "you" decide when it ends, not mother nature. i still hunter afternoons though. But if you really want to put horns on the wall, you're going to have to get out of that nice warm comfy bed.

oh i still hunt all day long too! I also have had good luck around Lunch time seems the deer know when it is lunch time for most

[t_barb]

For my property, given the choice I will take the afternoon hands down...  For mature bucks, my number of sightings and "close encounters" out weigh mornings probably 5:1..  this is consistent year to year...

 

you have to learn the area you hunt and if you have limited time, align your time in the field with the periods that provide the most activity..

[oblivitar]

All my deer were shot in the morning with bow and gun.

[Uncle Nicky]

My best luck has always been late afternoon for archery. 

 

The down side is that if you hit one at twilight, you will be tracking in the dark, or worse, the next morning, PRAYING that it doesn't rain or a frost that thaws and wipes out blood spots.

[NYbuck50]

whenever i can.  i kill most of them in the am though

[BizCT]

I never hunted this early in the season, but based on trail cam pics, I should have bucks walking by me Monday morning (9/16) just after 6:04am (legal shooting).  I'm not waiting for the afternoon.

[Five Seasons]

Oh good god belo, are you starting the crap flinging again?

 

I agree with phade BTW, 90% of the deer I have taken in early bow season have been in the afternoon sit, but it all depends on the spot. I do have a few good morning spots, but they generally dont really start heating up until rut/gun season time.

 

a little jab and the crying begins. such thin skin...

 

like someone else said, it all depends on your property.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Whos crying, just pointed out what youre up to.

[2012_taco]

Yes I am only talking about bow season as this is the Bow Hunting Section.

Yes as most noted and I agree... I love and prefer the morning hunts for the many reasons mentioned. I love hearing the woods come awake with their own symphony of sound every day. I love seeing the day unfold and you can bet I will be out every morning opportunity during gun season but for bow season I'm gonna try something different this year.

I do not want to "over" hunt the area. Bow and gun and muzzle is a long season. I do not want to leave my sent and bump deer in the early morning but as October starts it's last third of the month, around the 20th, I plan to start hunting select stands in the morning as well as afternoon/evenings.

I agree 100%, I plan on getting out as much as I can, but I don't want to bump the deer out of the relatively small tract I hunt by going in in darkness with flashlights. I also believe that no matter how much you use scent control it is not perfect and the big guys start to pattern you and they disappear. Once the rut starts I'll pull out all the stops.

[Nomad]

I prefer the mornings myself, it's a nice way to start the day.

Oh your talking about hunting......

[Arrow Flinger]

I see more deer in the afternoons during the early season. Once the rut phases start, I see more deer during the mornings right up till about noon. It could have a lot to do with hunting public land too. There are more people around in the afternoons on public land!

[Doc]

I prefer mornings once I find myself on stand. I will admit that it takes a lot to get myself to go out and climb that old cardiac hill in the dark when I am really only about half awake. But I have to say that all the critters seem to be still on the move as the daylight begins. That's what makes it all such a great activity. The squirrels and chipmunks are going crazy, The raccoons are looking for a place to crash, and yes the deer are moving too. Just about all of the foxes that I have ever seen have been during morning stands. It does seem to be a more active time of day and a great time to be in the woods. Which time of day is more productive? ...... I can't say because I'm not always successful at getting out in the morning. So most of my observations occur in the afternoon simply because I hunt more afternoons than mornings. By the way, the older I get the more importance I place on the fact that hunting is not to be a chore, but rather an enjoyable pastime. Some of that kind of perspective accounts for my more casual hunting techniques these day .... lol. It wasn't always that way.

[BKhunter]

I live down in the city so I only get the chance to hunt the weekends. Because of my limited opportunities I hunt the morning and the afternoon and enjoy both in different ways. The mornings are great for watching the woods come alive and the evenings are great watching sun go down over the mountains. The night is great for the walk back to camp and the days stories over a few beers. I have had most of my success though during the afternoon hunts not sure why. As long as its not raining any hunt is a good hunt in my book no matter if its bow, gun or muzzle. I love it all.

[Merlot]

If I had the time, I would just assume hunt the afternoons positioned between the bedroom and the dining room because of the lay of the land that I hunt, plus I can skirt the areas of bedding easily through some neighbor farm field and slip into a couple of stands.

[WELLSY]

I hunt from check of dawn till about 11 or so and take a brake, I head back our around three till dark

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[wdswtr]

My morning successful hunts are very limited.  For me its 11 am till dark and most deer I have taken has been before 2 with evenings coming in second.  I think a lot of people over look the potential of mid day hunts. Just like you and me deer need to get up, eat, drink and do there business.  I cant recall off hand the number of hours between a deer needs to do these things but its not very long.  I will have to look it up again lol.

[asav2013]

Rule of thumb IV always stood by and its worked so,far , dont hunt fields or go near fields in the morning , get in 2 hours before sun up and catch those bucks coming from,the fields to bed, you know where I hunt, I have to go in super early because the swamp is alive pre sun up, I have to get in,2 hrs early down the tracks and slip into the pockets of bedding area and catch,them coming back,in onto the swamp very first light, for you hunting across the road from you house , go to the top of mc cabe park back so they,dont see your truck and glass right till dark , see where those bucks are coming out a few nights in a row , back track,from where there coming from about 150 yards and set up shop, the 150 yards will be there area to "stage" before they hit the corn fields when,dark,falls, just what I would do seeings there's alot of field and not alot of woods there, gotta find that sweet spot inbeteeen bed and food, till rut of course then,seek funnels where does frequent, good luck this season hope we can both get good bucks down,this year,

[First-light]

This thread has been going on for a while, but I have to say I'm a morning guy!!!!

[nybuckboy]

At asav2013

 

Thanks for the input. It is not real easy property to bow hunt as the layout of the land runs East-West so the wind is either out of the West/Southwest or South most of the season. I can not gain access to the land from north which would be great. I can some what from the East.

 

It is even more difficult now because the corn is up so late too. I used to be able to glass up until dark but with the corn you can't see a thing. The corn did not start to come down until the day before gun opened last year and doubt it will be much different any year. 

 

The land does always have some nice bucks but as I say it is a bit difficult to bow hunt.

[asav2013]

Yea I thought about the high corn right after I hit reply, I dont know exactly where curtins property lines are , but from the big dip on mcabe go up the snowmobile trail up into those woods would be a good place to go in, I do alot of my scouting on snowmobile after dark , I know one thing for sure is mt hunger has things all screwed up over there I had a beautiful spot picked out on tommys to only find a out there's a mt hunger tree stand 40 yards from the spot, you could also park off 20 by baileys old trailer that burned down and access there but all up hill , follow that hedgerow up along dick Barnes field and it should drop you into those woods , but like ya said wind is a big factor, with a west wind it would give ya leway to circle down wind of the woods

[NFA-ADK]

Interesting.  I tend to not be a morning person.  But I love nothing more than watching the woods wake up and the sun warming me up like so may of us do.  I tend to still hunt with about a quarter mile to a few miles of hiking to get to my still hunting area's.  By the time lunch time comes I am usually a few miles back so heading out for lunch is not an option for me.  While still hunting I try to look for signs, if good enough sign is found, I go in about a hour before first light to see if I can ambush.  No movement by 9-10 am gets me moving again...

 

With such few days available to hunt, I spend every minute I can in the woods.  Sitting at camp is just not as fun as hunting...  Both my ADK bucks where taken at 10 am and noon.  I have had my best ambushes at first light after tracking the day before usually patterning a doe heard with a buck in chase or from tracking the buck. 

 

Usually I am in the woods from 10 am or earlier to dark.  The better sign I find the earlier I get into the woods...  Just finding sign gets my adrenaline pumping as the deer can be so few...  Only one mature buck track spotted all last year in snow, arg I should hunt other spots but I am on a mission!!!  Can't wait to scout/hunt Moose River September 27th!!!  Going to see if that big buck is still around!!!  If he made it he will be a sight to see!!! 

[asav2013]

ADK IV always want to track a buck like the benoits do, looks like alot of fun

[gjs4]

What does your scouting tell you? when is the moon overhead or underfoot? Where are your hunting spots along the animals travel circuit? Can you enter and exit that spot? 

 

Very few situations warrant an October morning sit without tons of homework unless you like to see less deer in the woods with each venture out