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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: PeteA on October 27, 2015, 08:12:00 AM
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I've been hunting with a bow for 35+ years. I'm basically a weekend hunter in a bow only suburb 50 miles outside NYC.
Hunting primarily on public land. I have always been a firm believer to walk in in the dark and get on stand 45 minutes before light. Hopefully to beat the croud. So I'm usually heading in to my area at 5:00am with flashlights and moving as slowly and quietly as possible. I have about a 45 minute to 1 hour walk in to the area I hunt.
I've resently had some conversations with a few members of my crew who believe in walking in at twilight vs dark. The thought is, why walk in, possibly with deer around you without being able to see them.
What are the rest of you guys doing?
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Pete, I usually go in well before light, mostly to let the Woods settle down a bit. I want those deer that are cruising just at twilight to be undisturbed. Plus, it gives any sent left down to dissipate. I've had other hunters push deer out on me by going in late near my set up. It gets frustrating.
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go in at dark...always have. I like to watch the light appear from the stand.
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After Breakfast..... :coffee:
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About 30 min before daylight.
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I get to my stand at least a 1/2 hour before first light.
As for walking in and seeing deer at first light I think people are fooling themselves. If you have to walk normally 45 minutes to your stand to walk in with any stealth to avoid spooking deer that walk will take you a good two hours.
One time at the end of a morning hunt a friend who was 400 yards away walked over to my stand. I asked him did he see any deer and he said no. I counted eight deer that he had spooked walking slowly to my stand. Walking through North East woods leaves is impossible to be quiet.
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I live a hundred or more miles from my stand, I'd love to be in it half an hour before legal shooting time and stay till I can't see to shoot but that usually don't happen! Sometimes I'll grab a cheap hotel room in a nearby town and then I can get in it before light. It's closer for me to go elk hunting!
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Depends on the spot and time of year/day for me. Generally though I am in my stand and settled in 30 minutes before twilight. I have had instances where I go in and shine my light and see eyes near my stand and then I just stay put and honker down by a tree and wait til I can see and watch the deer move off.
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I try to get there an hour or close to it before daylight. Often, though, it is more like 30 minutes before light.
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In WV our legal shooting hours are 30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset. I like to on stand at least 15 minutes before legal shooting hours.
Like others have said, I love to watch as the world wakes up. I've been hunting this way for over 50 years.
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It depends on how close your stand is to the bedding or feeding area. During the rut it doesn't matter so much as deer are moving more during daylight hours so I try to be in stand as much as possible. Usually from daylight till noon, take a break for lunch and then back in stand for the last three hours before dark.
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I time my walk in so I arrive at my stand a few minutes before shooting time, which is usually just breaking day. In my younger days, I went in in the dark. Spooked a lot of deer that way. I'm a lot quieter when I can see where I'm going.
In my area, one usually only get's one chance at the bigger bucks. I don't want one making me in my stand when there's not enough light to shoot. When that happens, he won't be back.
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I try to give myself an hour before daylight. In the afternoon I shoot for 3 solid hours of legal shooting light or better. During the rut I stay on stand all day any chance I can get. I agree with mint and think folks are fooling themselves sneaking in at daylight and missing out on deer and watching the woods wake up...its magical. Sure it works in some situations but I dont like bumping deer
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I might add that when I am hunting public land I refuse to make any move at twilight for safety purposes. I always wear blaze orange head covering and do not want to get shot. I think its the most dangerous time to be walking around the woods. A flashlight is easy to distinguish from an animal...
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Right after a nice buck probably walked by :(
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I have been going in at twilight figuring i could sneak in better that way. I have spooked deer too often this year doing this so I am going in well before daylight this week. My spot is only 150 yards from a food plot. Last group I spooked was heading through there at 8 am
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I get in the stand 45-60 minutes before shooting light. I put my son who's 13 up first though Gives me the opportunity to take my time and make sure he has his harness on and is set.
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Hey Pete... It's time for you to think out of the box, my friend... :dunno: ... Just have fun with it!
... mike ...
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My advanced age has dictated what time I arrive and set up. Hunt alone almost exclusively and with all the infirmities that come with age, it behooves me to walk in with enough daylight to ensure my safe arrival. Another reason is because I've had to pass on a couple of animals that I was sure were decent racked bucks simply because I didn't have enough light for an ethical shot. Vowed not to let that happen again. If a big boy trots past my stand before daylight, so be it. Couldn't have shot it anyway. And finally, why sit in the dark for an hour and get cold. A spooked deer is a spooked deer, regardless as to whether is was in the darkness or the daylight. JMHO.
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I like to get in there well before daylight...and let the woods settle before daybreak.
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I've chosen my stands or prepare the way in so I can move to them quietly. I like to be in the stand 30-45 minutes before "Sunrise".
Sunrise is just before 8am here now. I get up at 6:30, shower, small breakfast and by 7Am I'm in the truck driving .75 mile to my parking spot under a large bur oak tree in my son's yard.
I can be in my favorite stand by 7:15AM after I walk out of the house.
If I oversleep (very rare for me) and I can't be in the stand by sunup, I stay home.
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At least 20 minutes before first light.
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so far for me with fallow deer i can only hunt the afternoons because the stand is on a trail between feeding and bedding areas. usually you can't get to the stand without spooking anything in the feeding area so mornings are hopeless.
in the afternoons i can get to the stand without spooking anything because they aren't there yet.
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With my Bum Left Leg I couldn't Sneak Up on a Dead Critter. :rolleyes: I try to get in ands settled down while its still dark, but just about the time I can see the Bright Morning Star from my Seat. :thumbsup:
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I try to be up the tree and settled about 10 minutes or so before I can see. Much sooner than that and I get sleeply sitting up there in the dark and that's one thing I try to be very careful with at my age and on my meds is drowsiness.
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90 minutes before sunrise
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This morning was about 15 minutes before legal light. I beat a doe there by 10 minutes. Just a wee bit too dark for a shot, and she is all I saw.
Between 30-15 usually. Any longer and my butt gets sore sitting before it's even close to shooting time. I don't even mind getting to stand right at very first light, but I hate being late.
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I do not hunt out of tree stands, because I am stuck on astronomer's time, the earliest that i have gotten out in the last 3 years was 10:00 AM. The sick part was, by 11:00 AM, I was walking back to my vehicle to get my deer cart.
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I like to get in early enough to get completely settled in my blind or stand and , when Ive got my bow across my lap, close my eyes and listen to the woods waking up...usually try to get in 45 minutes before first light.
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I like to start to my stand well before daylight that way I can take my time getting to stand not making too much noise and to have plenty of time to get in stand. Rushing can cause accidents getting in or out.
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Originally posted by VA Elite:
go in at dark...always have. I like to watch the light appear from the stand.
X2
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About an hour after I wake up.
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Walk in darkness along my trail, which I know, no flashlight. Sometimes small green lens headlight used. It is about a 45 minutes walk from my truck to my peace of heaven. Try to leave truck about 1 1/2 hours before legal light. :campfire: :coffee: