Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: CJC on October 15, 2009, 07:22:00 PM
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was wondering when your success happens? my schedule allows me hunt mostly in the evenings, and rarely in the morning. just curious.
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I have killed more nice bucks in the evenings than in the morning.
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Evenings.
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I have taken more deer in the evenings, but better bucks in the morning, especially during the rut.
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I love evenings.
Since deer and hogs like crepuscular light (usually), I feel my chances decrease with increasing daylight, and improve with decreasing daylight. It is a confidence factor for me.
My anticipation level rises as the light decreases and decreases as the light increases.
The darker it gets, my anticaption rises until I can't see to shoot. The lighter it gets, the more "antsy" I get and want to go back to camp and eat breakfast!
And most of my success has come in the fading light of evening.
No science here, just prefer and have had most success just before dark.
John
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I have killed more deer in the mornings than evenings but I hunt more mornings.
I think the best hunting can be in the evenings though and it does get more intense as the light fades. The downside is it is usually 90 degrees and many of the deer will run and I end up tromping around in the dark trailing and cleaning deer.
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I love hunting evenings. I don’t have to get up early to get out. But I would much rather recover a morning shot deer.
I would say it is a toss up. Often it depends on where I hunt. I have two spots where I have shoot 9 in the mornings and only one at night. The area I grew up in, and have hunted all my life, I shoot about equal morning and night. For bucks it is definitely mornings during the prerut and rut. If you hunt in travel areas between doe bedding areas or down wind of a good doe bedding area you will get a lot of buck movement late morning to mid day. I think it is the best time to catch a buck on the move in a pressured area. He can stay in bed until dark, but it is hard to leave the ladies alone when the sun first comes up.
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I have seen more deer in the evenings but have hunted more evenings. I have seen better bucks in the morning and prefer to hunt the morning.
I like it because of the anticipation of seeing animals after the light comes up. Also when it is still dark and you have animals all around, it's priceless. Definitely my favorite time to hunt.
Charlie
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I am like many of you, I had seen more deer in the evenings and prefer to hunt then, but it seems like i have killed more deer in the morning. I'm not sure why, maybe just dumb luck. Of course I am yet to get my first trad bow kill, so that may change as I get deeper into this.
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Don't forget mid-day awesome time to catch a buck cruising for does :D
Tracy
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Seem to be the odd man out on this one. I kill more bucks in the morning than I even see in the evenings. 8:30am is my witching hour. I think it has to do with were you hunt relitive to the feeding -bedding area distance. My go to stand is almost right between the two. If I sneek into my stand before first light and bump deer that are bedded I might as well turn around and go home. They returned to bed early and I won't see hardly a deer. Full moon seems to get me the most. By the way, I really hate getting out of a nice warm bed! But I really like shooting deer more!!
GLENN
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I like mornings, catching the deer half asleep from being up all night. ;)
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K.S trapper got it. I have seen more mature deer in the middle of the day than any other time, especially during the rut. Mornings have been better for me than evenings. Matter of fact I don't think I have ever seen a mature buck on an evening hunt in the last five years. I do hunt a bit more often in the mornings than the evenings.
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I enjoy evening hunts better, but see and kill more deer in the early mornings. Like others have said, the later it gets in the evenings, the better I feel my chances are. The later the mornings get, the less confindent I feel seeing game.
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I haven't harvested a deer yet but, I've seen most of my deer early morning and some mid afternoon. Not too many in the evenings for some reason.
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Is it legal to hunt them in the morning? :eek:
I am always up at the crack of 11 - and I hunt evenings. :readit:
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I always liked evenings best and see more deer in the evenings. For me I think it is the areas I hunt, mostly food sources. Deer are pretty predictable on coming to food if you have found the right food source in the evenings. Not so much in the mornings and I often run them off going in in the morning. Now that I work evenings and mostly hunt mornings I need to learn to hunt mornings better.
Mike
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Deer seem less alert in the mornings.
If you can get in position without spooking them, I think mornings are best.
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Had this same discussion with a long time hunting partner just the other day. For years (30+) I favored evenings for the same reasons mentioned above.
However, after considering the best hunts and best buck sightings I have switched to favor mornings. Even though I have clearly hunted far more evenings over the years and shot plenty just before dark I must admit I have seen more bucks, better bucks during morning hunts.
Theres no question I would rather sleep in, stay warm and hunt evenings, but my past experience is pushing me out of the rack early.
As far as the best hour? For me it's 9am can't tell you how many bucks show up around that 9am hour.
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I have learned I can hunt many more consecutive days if I hunt in the evenings. I, like most folk, am up until 10-11pm anyway. I am not up at 4:30am normally. Too many consecutive days of 4:30am will wear me out.
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I saw more deer in the evenings these last 2 weeks than early morning.
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On bait piles,food plots and around feild edges I have always seen more deer in the evenings.Hunting hardwood ridges the mornings and mid day have always been just as good as afternoons.I hunt a lot of evening because of going after work ect but much prefer shooting deer in the mornings.Much easier for tracking and skinning in good light.Like most of use however the best time to hunt will always be when you can. :)
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9:30 am and mid-day have been the best times for me.
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For me it depends on the setup...A lot of setups are harder to get into in the mornings. My big buck sightings are pretty well split between morning and evening. However, my game cameras over the past thirteen years show a majority of the daytime big buck pictures are in the morning and alot of those are between 11 am and 12 pm. Most of my kills have been in the evenings...only because most of my misses have been in the morning... :D :D :D
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I'm 50/50 on mornings /evenings. some years I saw more deer in the mornings and other years I saw more deer in the evenings.
As in taking deer both are good, Now that was when I lived in Jersey and I'll let you what/how I find it here in Tejas. Also being on blood thinners the evening hunts where better of me. The reason is I could stand the cold better as it was warmer then the mornings.
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Good topic I like to hear when, and why everyone else chooses to hunt.
I prefer to hunt evenings. For some reason I don't like to walk into the woods before daylight. I don't know why.
Looking back at all the deer I have killed more than half have been shot between 10am and 3pm. Either at the end of a long morning sit or when I have started my hunt early in the afternoon.
I will hunt at any time of day I can get in the woods. If I am busy in the morning and the evening but I can squeeze a few hours out midday I am in the woods so that may be a factor.
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The best time to hunt is whenever you can.
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My frist few years I could only kill in the evenings. Then I became a mornig killer and now I can't deside. I belive I seen a servey last year on when trophy class bucks were killed and it was 50/50. As buckrack said best time is when you can hunt. When I was a morning killer I work swings.
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Both, but to choose between the two, I pick mornings as the rut gets closer. When rut arrives, it's all day!
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Evenings only for me early in the season when deer are hitting the crop fields. During October acorn drop and through the rut both are good. During late season I go back to evenings only due to the cold. Burrr!
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Prefer mornings just because I like being in the woods when the sun comes up. Enjoy that time and being there when the wood "come alive."
If I thought about it long enough I would have to say that I have shot more deer in afternoons though.
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I like a lot of people hate stubling around in the dark going to a stand in the morning especially due to the proximity of morning spots are rarely on edges. Best results I have found is don't try to get into your stand before daylight unless you are hunting some sort of edge of cover expecting the deer to come back at first light. If you are hunting in cover, on ridges, in funnel type areas in blinds or stands then leave the vehicle when you can see fairly well and move slow or still hunt on the way to your stand, being afoot in the first 30 to 60 minutes to me has always been an advantage, plus you spook less deer on the way there. Although I rarely get the chance to hunt at these hours I think 8:30 to 11 am is the best time to have a good buck stroll by especially in and around the rut! Funnels between two known bedding areas seem to produce the best sightings/results at these hours.. at least for me.
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I'm not a morning person, either, but I think it is the best hunting overall. I try to be out there and will go in when it is still dark if I can get myself up and know my way in well. :knothead:
Like jcar said, there is just something special about sitting thru pink light and watching the woods come to life. :archer:
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Literally 50-50 for me. I like the mornings better though. Evening hunting stresses me a bit - I always feel like I'm fighting a ticking clock and tracking in the dark stinks.
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Most definately in the morning. The big boys have been out all night running and are less alert in the morning. IMO. Not to mention it's great to see the woods come alive when the sun starts to rise.
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I like the evenings the best. I hate going into the woods in the dark with a climber trying to find a tree to climb. I like going into the woods and find the tree I want to climb in the day light. I have no trouble walking out in the dark. However, the deer activity is normally only the last hour or less. However, I don't mind tracking in the dark.
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I hate to leave my warm bed. I am an evening hunter. Catch them heading to the field.
I have seen my biggest bucks in the middle of the timber around noon. Took a nice buck last year at 1pm.
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I have eight racks on the wall I can see, 4 were killed in the evening, 2 in the morning, 2 midday [10:00- 2;00]. If I averaged the time spent in a stand per deer, a.m. would be way ahead of p.m. Looks to me like its easier for most to get out for an evening hunt. Brian, Up my the crack of 11;00? You should try to get more rest. LOL.