Times

[Dom]

Just wondering what time do most get to their stands/blinds I like to be in atleast 1 hour before first light most days and sit all day

[fasteddie]

I try to get into a stand about one hour before legal time . It lets things settle down . I just sit back , close my eyes and listen to the woods wake up .

[G-Man]

Depends on the day, weather,ect opening day i try to get in about 1/2 before sunrise.. but i only sit for an hr or so.. never could sit all day so i go back to camp... there's always later to go out after i warm up and maybe after another piece of pie... My friends refer to me as the lasyiest hunter out there ..but i always fill my tags... hunting should be comfortable and fun first...a deer is never worth me getting cold or losing sleep over....

[burmjohn]

I love getting in the stand early, about 30 to 45 min before the sun starts to creep out. It is amazing to watch things start to pick up when the sun comes up.

[WNYBuckHunter]

It depends on what stand I hunt. Some of them, I get out there an hour or sometimes more before day break. Others, I wait until its light out before I go in, then I still hunt my way to the stand. Ive shot a couple like that before I ever got to the stand.

[Doc]

It all depends on which season it is. For bow season, I try to get on stand as close to daybreak as possible.... Maybe 15 minutes before it starts to get light. Opening day of gun season, I get on stand a lot earlier usually an hour before daylight. I have had a couple occasions where I got to my stand area a bit late and found someone else already in the area, too close for me to be comfortable. If I'm already there, I can warn them off with a flashlight and so far haven't really had anybody that refused to keep on moving. After opening day, it is mostly still-hunting so I get out when I can without any particular hurry. Usually that is around sunrise.

[gjs4]

if youre anywhere near a field it should be after light....in the woods (am hunts) 1 hr during bow and as early as you can make it during gun.... exit means just as much too

[ny hunter]

Like most I like to get in at 45min to hour before the sun comes up.I love to watch the woods start to stir up.

[jusputtn]

These days I'll start still hunting in, w/ gun, at or a little before day break. My stands are merely way points that I'll stop at for a while. I've gotten deer @ dawn, dusk, & in between. The only consistancy being that I've always been out hunting when I've gotten one.

[BizCT]

Shotgun season, I usually get to my ground spot 30-45minutes before daylight. Any of the archery hunters, ever run into a bear in the dark walking to their spot?

[WNYBuckHunter]

Nope.

[ny hunter]

No not yet,That is an encounter I hope I never run into.

[Geno C]

during bow im in atleast 1 hour before sunrise... sometimes earlier. i dont mind sitting in the dark for awhile lol

[fasteddie]

Shotgun season, I usually get to my ground spot 30-45minutes before daylight. Any of the archery hunters, ever run into a bear in the dark walking to their spot?

Not yet and I hope I never do !!!

[Paulie]

No bears yet, but the thought of it scares me. I usually walk in with a light but don't use it until I get to the tree I'm gonna climb so I can see what I'm doing. I feel like I'm lighting up the woods and will be attacked from behind !!! Normally in in 30 min before its gets light but it depends on where I'm hunting.

[Doc]

It's not the bears that you have to worry about ...... It's the mountain lions that'll get ya'. How about this ...... how about a growling, slobbering, coyote with rabies (shades of Cujo). I know what you guys are talking about. I've heard that occasional twig snap in the pitch dark on my way to stand, and it always causes just a little quicker pace after that...... lol. But if you let your imagination get too big of a hold of you, you will be waiting until full daylight before you start out.

Where the heck was it that I saw a picture of a bear perched up in some guys treestand? Now there is something to think about next time you approach your stand ..... lol.

[Dom]

I read an artical in here where some fools have shot before legal shooting light so I would worry about getting shot or shot at before wildgame would scare me i have been shot at so use a light when going to your stands and blinds

[Doc]

I read an artical in here where some fools have shot before legal shooting light so I would worry about getting shot or shot at before wildgame would scare me i have been shot at so use a light when going to your stands and blinds

You bet!! My flashlight is a must. I use it on the way in or out whenever it is dark. Also, after getting on stand, I use it to signal hunters that may be setting up a little too close, that I am there.

And yes, they do shoot way before legal shooting hours. I hear it every year, and at times, it is so dark that it's really hard to believe that they can even see anything at all to shoot at. Doesn't seem to matter to them. I just hope that they can't talk themselves into believing that deer carry flashlights.....lol.

[G-Man]

Doc had the bear in the treestand several times last year...not a pleasent thing.. plus to add insult to injury it would tear up the seats!!! Not as bad as my one friend last year who was in a stand and had the mother and cub come in under him and not leave for 2 hrs after sunset.. wouldn't have been to much of a problem but the stand is only 6' off the ground and he was in between the cub eating apples, and the mother tearing up a rotten log looking for grubs.. He didn' want to make noise to scare them as he was in the only tree the cub would probably climb and he was low enough the mother could of swiped him out of the stand..and getting down between a mother and cub is not really smart... Thankfully a text to me to come scare them away via driving the tractor back to get him ended the situation before something could of happened....

Edited September 28, 2011 by G-Man

[Doc]

It probably wouldn't make your day to put your hand up on the platform while coming in some morning, and feeling a big old fuzzy paw ...... lol.

[Deerthug]

I try to get into a stand about one hour before legal time . It lets things settle down . I just sit back , close my eyes and listen to the woods wake up .

You read my mind Eddie!

[jusputtn]

I read an artical in here where some fools have shot before legal shooting light so I would worry about getting shot or shot at before wildgame would scare me i have been shot at so use a light when going to your stands and blinds

I agree. Been shot at, not a fun thing. Just point the flashlight at the ground, any game that would be spooked by the light would be spooked by you anyway.

[adirondackbushwhack]

I agree. Been shot at, not a fun thing. Just point the flashlight at the ground, any game that would be spooked by the light would be spooked by you anyway.

Not to worry flashlights don't spook deer.

[Dakota Dog]

I have 3 stands I hunt out of. If I hunt the stand on the edge of the corn / soy bean field I like to be there at least an hour before light. My 2nd stand is on a hay field surrounded by apple trees except on the south end and that is how I enter the field so if sitting in the hay field stand I head in at daylight and still hunt on the way in. The 3rd stand is up in the hemlocks and again I like to be in that stand at least an hour before day light because of the deer patters in that area. Dark time walking I have two must: my flash light and my orange vest. Once day light comes and I am snuggled in my stand they both go in the back pack.

[Doc]

By the way, relative to flashlights, during gun season, I always have a lite going if I am walking in the dark or even close to being dark. However, during bow season, if I can navigate without a flashlight (moonlight, or some snow covered conditions), I will keep the light off. I use it strictly to keep myself from being shot during gun season, or falling over the edge of the ravine in bow season. ... lol.