Late season hunting?

[doublewhopper]

If you only could get out once a day either early morning or late evening for a hunt which one would you choose?


It seems right now I am mostly going to be able to get out for evening hunts anymore, but it seems to me the bucks and deer are starting to return to their pre rut patterns and trails.  

Anyone notice this too?

[rg176bnc]

Definatly evening this time of year.  Get in the stand w/ about 2 hr to spare.  Find a corn field if ya can.  If not soybeans.

[elkbow]

i like morning hunts myself,i like being in their bedroom when they come crawling back in after a night of feeding and laying in the fields all night,i see way more bucks in the mornings than i do in the evenings around home.

[Bonebuster]

Mornings may be better if the deer have had alot of hunting pressure. The cold mornings keep hunters in bed, and the deer have adapted to it in my area. Evenings can be good, but often the movement is just before dark.

Just a thought.

[luv2bowhunt]

I like evenings better in the late season if I am looking to fill a freezer with a doe. If I am after a buck I will choose the morning and hunt right on top of the bedding area.

I like to get right on top of the bedding areas in  the mornings before the deer get to them but will not get too close to them in evening for fear of jumping the  deer... I have no reason to spook them any more than they already have been!

In the evenings I try to set up within about 100 yards to the bedding areas... enough room to feel comfortable that I have not spooked them (if I have been quiet and the wind is right)... on trails leading to feeding areas. What I like to do is find areas that have good browse for deer on the way to corn fields. I have had no luck with soybean fields after about the 3rd week of October, deer are trying to get their fill of carbohydrates right now to get enough fat to get them through the winter (at least in my neck of the woods), soybeans are full of protein which is good for antler growth when they are still actively growing.

Watch the wind now more than at any other time of the year... the deer are accustomed to humans being in the woods by now and will not tolerate the least amount of human scent.

Kevin.

[carphunter100]

Here in WV I will take from daylight to 11:00a.m. any day over the eve. I have had good luck in the eve. but I have had great luck in the mornings. This is for killing bucks.

[flatlander37]

Evening hunts always seem to more productive on the farm where I hunt, and I believe it also helps to watch the moon phase.  We see more bucks feeding late afternoon to evening, and does at both times of the day.

[Shawn Leonard]

If the deer have been pressured mornings are no good, they head back to bed well before light. Midday is good if it is real cold and evenings are good if you set up mid-way between bedding and feeding areas. Shawn

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

This time of year, I'll take evenings over mornings.

When it gets very cold (single digits around here) the deer will yard up in pine and cedar thickets and come out in the evenings to feed. Get between the pines and the food and you could be in for a parade of venison.

Last weekend I was up in WI hunting a property I'm rather fond of. Five-below wind chill and 3-day-old snow on the ground. The best sign I saw in that woodlot was a single trail with four sets of tracks. No real late season food source there and the neighbors have several acres of pines bordering an alfalfa field. I left and went to check out another 5-acre piece of land I have permission for.

That spot was absolutely tore up with sign. It looked like a deer farm trampled the place. The sign got heavier and heavier the closer I got to the back of the woodlot. Once I hit the property line, it was easy to see why: a 5-acre standing sorghum across the fenceline.

I found a good spot about 60 yards inside the property line, set up my stand and within 15 minutes I was covered in deer and turkeys all afternoon. But three weeks of solid rifle hunting had them wound pretty tight, and I didn't have any real cover to work with. I must have gotten busted four or five times that afternoon, but what a fun time it was.

The next morning three deer came by within bow range and everything came together. I let a pair of button bucks and a doe fawn walk by, then took the big doe that was bringing up the rear.

Botton line this time of year: when there's heavy snow on the ground, if you don't have a good food source nearby, you've got a better chance of seeing a sasquatch than a whitetail.

[Arwin]

Evenings here. The deer are freaked out!!! I do like midday though during the last 2 weeks of season.

[elkbow]

we don't hunt the gun season,instead we load up the feeders and leave them alone,they have the farm to themselves unless someone tresspasses.i see more deer in the evenings but better quality deer in the mornings here.whatever you prefer because it seems everyone here has they're own pref..usually stand placement is diferant for each time frame.deer likely will stage up before entering a field where timber feeding deer will feel more secure to feed earlier.

[mmgrode]

Late season bowhunting is some of my favorite hunting...bare none.   A buddy of mine and I hunt together every year during the late season in a large cedar swamp.   Baiting is legal here and at times it can be almost magical in the late season. In addition the deer seem to concentrate there in the winter making it even better. It sure is fun to head out, scout in the snow(way easier), set up natural ground blinds and bait them in.  We also set up cameras to see what we've got coming in hitting the baits. In fact, I'm going to go and check them tomorrow and place some more bait out.  The anticipation is a large part of what makes it so exciting.   Man, I get psyched for the late season hunt.  I'll tell you what, right now I could really use the meat. The only problem with this type of setup is the deer being mega spooky coming in, but hey, that's why we thoroughly brush the blinds in.  They never see it coming. It also sure is fun to see how my friend does when we meet back up at the end of the day.    

We always hunt in the afternoon in the swamp.  Partly because we see deer move in the afternoon and partly because we just don't feel like getting up that early.       Happy hunting, Matt

[PICKNGRIN]

Afternoons seem better for me here, but at times after a good cold snap, or snowy weather, the deer may be up and moving for feed earlier than you might expect.  Have sometimes seen them out and feeding at 2:00 p.m.