Mornings or Afternoons?

[nybuckboy]

I was not planning any morning sits, only afternoon sits from 3 or 4 til dark until later in the month. Thoughts?

Edited September 13, 2013 by nybuckboy

[gfdeputy2]

about 80% of the deer I have shot have been mornings

[landtracdeerhunter]

I figure in bowhunting, it's all about being out there.

[BizCT]

Makes no sense to me. Can't shoot a deer from the couch. Hunt dark-dark unless you have something else to do.

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[Lawdwaz]

Why would you sit out a morning hunt if you had the time?

[Don_C]

Most of my deer have been shot in the morning as well, but I have one friend who only hunts afternoons, he just won't leave the cabin in the morning and he is successful year after year. Do what you enjoy or what works for you. 

[nybuckboy]

I do agree that you can't shoot them from your bed but my rational for this is... It is easier to get the time in the afternoons from the office and in addition,  I don't want to bump deer going in early. I would rather go in when they are bedded down and sit til they begin their late day/evening feed. Later in the month when the seek phase heats up the bucks are likely to be on the move throughout the day and then I will be in the woods all day. 

[CuseHunter]

Even though waking up at 5am sucks, I love the silence of the morning and knowing as sun breaks, a buck is near. I have at least 10x's better luck in the AM. I think it's because the deer where I hunt start going more nocturnal as the season hits and are still lingering around in the early morning.

[Five Seasons]

about 80% of the deer I have shot have been mornings

 

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.

[GreeneHunter]

Nothing like being in the woods before sunrise and seeing the woods "Wake Up" !  I've taken most of my Deer before 9 am .

[moog5050]

Are you folks talking about the entire season or early season?  Last year I hunted mornings and evenings early season, but only took deer in the evening.  Later in the season (early rut), I took a buck in the morning.  It may be tougher to beat them to their bed in the mornings in early season.  I plan to focus on afternoons early season and then adjust.

[jjb4900]

I do agree that you can't shoot them from your bed but my rational for this is... It is easier to get the time in the afternoons from the office and in addition,  I don't want to bump deer going in early. I would rather go in when they are bedded down and sit til they begin their late day/evening feed. Later in the month when the seek phase heats up the bucks are likely to be on the move throughout the day and then I will be in the woods all day. 

if you don't have the time before work to follow up on and care for a deer you may have shot, then you're probably making the right choice........unless you have the option of calling in and getting the day off.

[Jeremy K]

What the difference if you shoot them before bed time or after bed time , i rarely hunt only morning or afternoon , i like to just hunt the whole day.

[NYBuckHunter27]

Afternoons only until around the last 2 weeks of October and than both morning and afternoons sits to finish out the season. Early season you wanna keep the pressure down especially on small parcels of land. If you hunt in and around fields it will be hard to not bump deer in the field in the early mornings when trying to get to your stand. I  strictly only hunt food plots and hay fields from oct 1st to about the 20th and do not even enter the woods because its just so green and  thick still and usually warm weather so the big bucks will be tough to find.

[NYBuckHunter27]

I do agree that you can't shoot them from your bed but my rational for this is... It is easier to get the time in the afternoons from the office and in addition,  I don't want to bump deer going in early. I would rather go in when they are bedded down and sit til they begin their late day/evening feed. Later in the month when the seek phase heats up the bucks are likely to be on the move throughout the day and then I will be in the woods all day. 

 Me and you have the same ideas, and by the looks of your picture..you don't need any advice from anyone lol

[Fantail]

.. It is easier to get the time in the afternoons from the office and in addition,  ... 

Well then there you have it.

 

Otherwise, this makes no scene to me.

I was not planning any morning sits, only afternoon sits from 3 or 4 til dark until later in the month. Thoughts?

 

Good luck this season.

[ants]

If I could only hunt morning or afternoon I would choose mornings. I have had most of my luck in the A.M.

[mac]

mostly mornings til end of Oct then all day sits as much as possible

[growalot]

I say do a few sits and see what the deer in your area are doing...Here it's a crap shoot...for every gun hunter is a bow hunter so the pressure is close to being equal and they move to the activities around them...I can't address your area...ie...I have a neighbor that won't go out until 9am....so when I plan sits in that particular area of my property I won't go out until 7am...not my usual 5a.m.....I have had some of the best buck action then ...for they push them up and then I'm not sore or tired by mid morning and those buck are on us usually getting into fights or chasing one anther...pre rut mid morning hunts can be great for buck activity if the weather is on the cool side...the big boys are checking territory...at least here...Ive taken some nice deer between 9 and 12

[phade]

Early and Late season hunting for me accounts for about 75% hunting in the afternoon. Rarely will you beat a buck to his bed in the morning unless the conditions are correct or you have some other lead on him letting you in on an ambush spot in his safe zone.

 

I will hunt a morning or two in early October for a doe if I feel inclined but only in an area where I feel I don't have a mature buck around and I can get in/out safely without burning ground. I will also try lower-priority areas where I feel like I simply cannot acess the area in daylight for an afternoon hunt.

 

As October nears end, then it starts to make more sense in hunting mornings because bucks core areas increase and they tend scrapes and look for that first estrous doe, which sometimes keeps them out of their bed longer. Heading into the chase phase, sitting all day in the appropriate spots makes sense - even if that means being close to bedding in the a.m., transitioning to a funnel to for mid morning through mid-afternoon, and moving back to a bedding area around that 2-3 p.m. dead time.

 

Late season, deer are on edge. Very hard given the lack of cover and the fact most deer move close to the food (if they have to), and the constant pressure. This leaves afternoons as the more reasonable hunt to try to catch them in their bed and set up between that food source or on the food source itself if they are showing there in shooting hours. Again, some deer will show you they can be had in the mornings at this time, but you need to be very close to their bed an be able to get in before they get there - typically that's a one and done hunt because you're burning ground to beat that buck to the spot. But, it can be done.

 

There's no hard rule, but for me, most of my early season hunts are p.m. hunts.

[nybuckboy]

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.

[Five Seasons]

like most have said, during rut it doesn't even really matter. I do prefer tracking and gutting in daylight though.

 

Early and Late season hunting for me accounts for about 75% hunting in the afternoon. Rarely will you beat a buck to his bed in the morning unless the conditions are correct or you have some other lead on him letting you in on an ambush spot in his safe zone.

 

 

 

the great buck bed hunter has entered the thread
 

[WNYBuckHunter]

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.

[Danny]

all depends where i'm hunting i have one spot out east you can sit all day, i guarantee you will only see deer heading in one direction the last hour of daylight without fail.

[phade]

like most have said, during rut it doesn't even really matter. I do prefer tracking and gutting in daylight though.

 

 

 

the great buck bed hunter has entered the thread

 

 

I'll rise above your feeble attempt at poo flinging. A prime example of who starts crap on this site, right there.

 

Let's not derail what has been a good thread.

Edited September 13, 2013 by phade