stand approach, flash ligt or first light?

[adkmountainken]

%99 of the time i go in to my stand by flash light which is NOT easy. when going in at first light i am much more quiet and it takes 1/4 of the time BUT i soooo love bring in the stand at first light. which way is it for you and why?

[Sean B]

Hey Ken, I try to get in as early as possible so I can let the woods settle down alittle.  I've gone in at first light, only to have deer come in as I'm setting up and not ready.

[Bowwild]

Being in the stand to watch the night replaced with day has been one of the joys of bowhunting for me for more than 4 decades. In fact, 80%+ of my bowhunting is in the mornings, mostly for this reason.  

Actually, I rarely use a flashlight. I know my area very well and don't need a light to move safely and quietly (except for the occasional skunk that ends up on the same trail in front of me). I have a light handy and I use red LED bulbs to be less visible to the critters.

[mark land]

Many of the areas I hunt in are so thick with alot of ground cover and limbs and stuff it is much easier and quiet for me to slip in just as soon as I can see the ground, I just spook too much game and make far too much noise trying to go in the dark and absolutely hate using any type of light in the woods, you can see that light from a long way off.  Has worked for me and have been able to slip by or around or even stalk some animals on my way in which I'm sure would not be there if I was stumbling and crashing thru the woods in the dark waving a flashlight around!

[goldflinger]

I usually try to get in the stand around 45 minutes before sunup, which is 15 minutes ahead of legal shooting time. Sometimes it is bright enough I do not need the flashlight at all, and other times I use it intermittently, but I all ways have it with me.

[smokin joe]

I love to be on stand and watch the woods wake up. So, most of the time, it is a flashlight for me.

[Jerry Jeffer]

Neither, I walk in the dark of early morning with no light. I know my way well enough that I can be set up by the time it is getting light.

[BigBucksnTrucks]

Majority of the time with a flash light.  I like to get settled in to my stand before the critters start wandering around.  I've gone in a little late before just after the sun rose and walked up on a huge buck and 3 doe feeding near my stand. I sat behind some tall grass in the snow for 30 or so minutes waiting for them to wander off. That was a chilly morning!

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Flashlight.

If I waited until first light I'd have an unfilled buck tag right now instead of the deer I put in the freezer last Saturday. I shot him exactly right at first legal light.

[centaur]

I'm with Bowwild. I very seldom use a flashlight, but I try to always get in before first light. I know many of my areas pretty well, and I go slowly in the dark. When your eyes become acclimated to the night, a lot can be seen if you move slowly.  Even without a flashlight, deer blow at me often in the dark. Their night vision is a lot better than mine.

[2treks]

Flashlight.
I walk in while still dark and use the light only as needed.
Manytimes I have nudged deer off only to have them come right back before light. It is rare for the deer to blow at me,and only do so if they get my wind.
Firstlight is the best light,for killing deer.
Thats how I see it anyhow,I hope it shines a little light on the subject.

[Rob W.]

I hunt public land mostly and get there very early most mornings. I tried waiting but it just wasen't for me.

[KOOK68]

I voted flashlight, but my old bones don't usually wake early enough for morning hunts      

[Marc B.]

If i go in at first light I'm really running late. I love to watch the woods come alive in the morning.

[JPE]

I really like going in before light but I am so much more quiet at 1st light. The ridge where i hunt most does not see much action untill about 8am unless they are pushed from the neighbors property.             Jim Pyles

[30coupe]

I didn't do the poll because I do both. It depends on how early I get up and how fast I move when I get up.

I don't think the deer give a hoot about flashlights. I have one now that has a red led which is okay for walking in. The red light is NOT intended as a way to avoid scaring deer. It is so that YOUR night vision is not inhibited by the light. A bright, white light reduces your night vision for about 30 minutes on average. The red light has little or no effect on your night vision.

I rarely bump deer walking in at first light, but you do need to get settled in the stand quickly or the deer will be on you. I killed a buck a couple of years ago on a morning that I overslept and got into the stand right at legal shooting time. I can called him in and killed him before I even had time to don a face mask. Heck I didn't even have an arrow on my bow when I first saw him. I don't really like cutting it that close, but I don't mind walking in during that predawn period when the eastern horizon just begins to show light. Usually I can see without lights at that point.

Still, I agree with those who like to see the day begin from a tree stand. I don't know that it makes killing a deer any easier, but it is pretty cool anyway.

[Alexander Traditional]

I use a flashlight,because I like to get in the stand and have plenty of time for things to calm down before daylight. If it's a place I'm familiar with I don't even have to turn it on much.

[huntmaster70]

I go in before first light & carry a green LED Streamlight if I need to use one. (But very rarely use it except to cross creeks.)

[RedShaft]

i do both, some times when its bright moon or snow on ground i can use my natural night vision. if not i use the light. but sometimes i don't get in until you can just start to see by human eye,. i think they call it the "witching hour" seems i never see deer rite off the bat anyhow so i dont spook any that i know of.

in the evenings i usually climb down before dark, i dont much like the dark when hunting by myself and am man enough to admit it. so i usually dont need a light coming out.

[RedShaft]

id also like to add that, the deer i have see dont mind flashlight at all. walked rite by them laying 20yds away and just looked at me never spooked. had this many times.