mornings vs. evenings

[bear1336]

I saw more deer in the evenings these last 2 weeks than early morning.

[James Wrenn]

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.  

[Michael Arnette]

9:30 am and mid-day have been the best times for me.

[Widowbender]

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

[**DONOTDELETE**]

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.

[woodsman196]

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.

[buckracks7]

The best time to hunt is whenever you can.

[twitchstick]

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.

[Tom Leemans]

Both, but to choose between the two, I pick mornings as the rut gets closer. When rut arrives, it's all day!

[KentuckyTJ]

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!

[jcar315]

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.

[FrozenFew]

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.

[Fletcher]

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.    

Like jcar said, there is just something special about sitting thru pink light and watching the woods come to life.  

[GingivitisKahn]

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.

[leatherneck]

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.

[fishone]

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.

[katie]

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.

[Bone lake]

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.