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Instead of always arriving early to locations. Maybe start once light is visible is a better approach?

HuumanCreed

HuumanCreed

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Aug 21, 2020
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Westminster Maryland
I am a firm follower of the idea of early bird catches the worm. So I'm usually walking into the area/tree I'm planning to hunt at an hour before lights. Sometimes earlier. But no matter how quiet l try to be or how early l am. I know l bumped them walking in. Sometimes within close area of the tree. Make me wonder if l should change my approach. That l should come in when l can see. And take notes of where the deer are running away to and follow them. Then setup at location between where l see them run off and sights of trails.

This is more aggressive then what I'm doing so far. Which is look for trail and settings up on the trails. But my lack of success this season and the facts that l bumped deer walking in is frustrating me. I'm sure I'm on trails but l have not been able to get close enough. I know there are other reasons I'm failing. But I'm opening to trying something new.
 
HuumanCreed said:
I am a firm follower of the idea of early bird catches the worm. So I'm usually walking into the area/tree I'm planning to hunt at an hour before lights. Sometimes earlier. But no matter how quiet l try to be or how early l am. I know l bumped them walking in. Sometimes within close area of the tree. Make me wonder if l should change my approach. That l should come in when l can see. And take notes of where the deer are running away to and follow them. Then setup at location between where l see them run off and sights of trails.

This is more aggressive then what I'm doing so far. Which is look for trail and settings up on the trails. But my lack of success this season and the facts that l bumped deer walking in is frustrating me. I'm sure I'm on trails but l have not been able to get close enough. I know there are other reasons I'm failing. But I'm opening to trying something new.
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I’ve had a very similar hunting season in hill country this year. I’m bumping deer in and out while seeing nothing in the tree. I believe swirling winds are my issue. Idk what I’m doing in the hills. I’ve watched a bunch of videos from Bobby Worthington and the like but haven’t been very successful.
 
This advice is for hunting feed trees. When I started out, I would go in well before light. It was dang near impossible to beat them to the tree. They were already there. Forget going in quietly. Part of this was the fact I was still using a Summit climber at that stage but even today, they have such good hearing and can see better in the dark than we can. Also, since they are there already you aren't going to set up on that tree in the dark with them standing under the drip line.

What I found works is wait until about half an hour after daylight. Generally, they will feed until daylight and then ease off a short distance to bed down, rest, chew their cud and sleep. It is then that I will sneak in and very carefully climb. They will likely be close by, under 100 yards. I also think if they can, especially does, will set up downwind of a feed tree with line of sight to it. I believe they want to monitor it all morning because they plan to revisit it late morning to mid-day. I have a lot of success morning hunting easing in 30 minutes after daylight, easing in slow and quiet, and setting up and sitting until 11:30 or noon. I've shot quite a few in that 11 to noon timeframe.
 
In previous seasons I’d always go in well before daylight, thinking that it was always best to do so. But I’m always stepping on stick, making noise going in even when I’m trying to be silent. On some pressured public, I can see getting to an area early to beat the other guy in. But every morning hunt this year I’ve gone in right at gray light or a little later and I don’t feel like I’m missing anything at all by going in like this. I’m way more stealthlier easing in, watching every step, especially that last 100 yards to the tree. I’ll still bump one going in occasionally but not much you can do about that. There’s some areas where I’ll get back in there, usually on an ebike, well before daylight and walk the last couple hundred yards when I can see without a light. In areas where the deer move thru mid morning or so, a gray light entry works great. Some areas the deer move in right at daylight, in that case you gotta be in super early. Just gotta take it case by case.


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It really depends on the individual hunting location and situation. Sometimes going in early is best and other times, going in later is best.

I often wait until daylight before going to my hunting spot. Deer are moving at the break of day, and it is easy to bump them if you are walking around at that time. If one wants to hunt the daybreak movement, you would actually need to be in your stand one or two hours BEFORE the break of day as to give time for things to settle down. If you get to your stand 15 minutes before daybreak, most likely you ran off anything nearby.

But if you wait until after daybreak, the deer have bedded, which is a good time for you to slip in and set up. This lets you be ready for when the deer get back up and feed/move which happens around a couple hours after daybreak.
 
I almost always wait till grey light unless the place I'm going is far away and a bunch of road walking..... But I'll still hang back to close the final 1 or 2 hundred yards till I can see.

It's all luck of the draw....last quota hunt I walked in early in the dark and had a pig walk under me mid climb. If I would have had a stupid primer in the gun I would have shot it cause I was able to hear it coming mid climb and start pulling up the gun....the pig popped out and stood 10foot from the muzzleloader dangling 10foot up but I was still able to raise it up and shoulder the gun in time. If I had been 1 minute earlier I would have been set but if I had been 1 minutes later I probably gotten a shot on the ground....IF I had loaded a primer at the truck. Dummy. Either way....on the flip side I have plenty of ground encounters walking in too....it's definerly.sityatiinal but I lean more toward waiting till I can see.....u can't shoot them in the dark
 
I like going in super early for no other reason than I don't want to feel rushed and relax a little bit in the dark.

Once the rut hits, I don't worry as much about sound. I cannot walk quietly. The entire public I hunt is covered in waist high sheep Laurel. Doesn't matter how slow you go. I don't care about a some deer spooked. I'm banking on the buck whose a mile away later. 1000029698.jpg
 
I prefer to make my final approach at daybreak most of the time. I can walk quieter, I can see sign, I don't get off course on my way to pre sets, and really important is I don't leave as much odor because I'm not brushing up against brush and foliage...I can maneuver.

But sometimes going in "late" can come back to bite too.
Like yesterday for example. It just cracked daylight and I was still about 25 feet from my tree when I thought I heard a soft grunt fairly close. I stopped to listen and sure enough here comes one of our better bucks. I was trapped out in the open and the last thing I wanted was for this buck to see me this close to the tree
So I slowly eased down to the ground and laid flat on my face and hoped he wouldn't see me. I had my hands over face and kinda peeking through my fingers and I could see him walk within 1 foot of the tree I was headed for 25 feet away.
He came in all puffed up, ears laid back and walking stiff legged. He was in a mood.
Instead of him continuing his direction, he turned and started walking right at me!
I swear to God in heaven he got within 6 or 8 FEET from me and stopped. For a second, I wondered if I was about to be gored! I could barely see him in my peripheral vision and then he walked a few yards away and then snort wheezed! I still had my face at the ground and couldn't see him at that point.
I heard a twig snap and then silence
He was gone.
This is my 54 deer season and I've never had an encounter like that. Simply incredible.

If I was 5 minutes earlier......
 
NMSbowhunter said:
This advice is for hunting feed trees. When I started out, I would go in well before light. It was dang near impossible to beat them to the tree. They were already there. Forget going in quietly. Part of this was the fact I was still using a Summit climber at that stage but even today, they have such good hearing and can see better in the dark than we can. Also, since they are there already you aren't going to set up on that tree in the dark with them standing under the drip line.

What I found works is wait until about half an hour after daylight. Generally, they will feed until daylight and then ease off a short distance to bed down, rest, chew their cud and sleep. It is then that I will sneak in and very carefully climb. They will likely be close by, under 100 yards. I also think if they can, especially does, will set up downwind of a feed tree with line of sight to it. I believe they want to monitor it all morning because they plan to revisit it late morning to mid-day. I have a lot of success morning hunting easing in 30 minutes after daylight, easing in slow and quiet, and setting up and sitting until 11:30 or noon. I've shot quite a few in that 11 to noon timeframe.
Click to expand...

Where do you set up if the deer are downwind and in line of sight of the feed trees?
 
bigmike23 said:
I like going in super early for no other reason than I don't want to feel rushed and relax a little bit in the dark.
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This is me. I hate feeling rushed. I want time to take my time. And I need to build in time for stuff to go wrong. I’ve met me. Stuff is going to go wrong.

My advice is stop trying to go where the deer are when the deer are there and go where they ain’t but will want to be and meet them there.

I find hunting transitions to be a better morning option.
 
HunterBob said:
Where do you set up if the deer are downwind and in line of sight of the feed trees?
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A lot of mornings I like to stay on the ground and get in a just off wind location. I think we get busted more than we know by climbing near feed trees, whether they blow at us or not. I think a morning where we didn't see anything may very well be that we were seen or smelled and they just eased off without a fuss. I also use Scentlok and wear clean rubber boots so my scent signature in these areas is greatly reduced.
 
shmelton said:
If you get in early, you are just giving more time for the thermals to drop your scent down into your hunting area. If the sun is on the way up the thermals will rise.


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Click to expand...
Yep.
And there's nothing worse than sitting in the dark and having deer blowing at you.
It's even worse when the ground is damp and you can't hear if there is anything walking under the stand. Can't even scratch an itch for fear of educating the herd to avoid that tree.
Why would I risk being busted when I can't shoot or even determine which deer it was that I just educated?
 
Its time and location dependent. I was setup 45 min before daylight last Sunday. Thermals weren’t a problem, all of the movement was going to be on the hillside above me plus there was a steady breeze even before daybreak. I saw four bucks, including the one I shot within the first 20 min of daylight and then had encounters with the two biggest bucks on the property 20 min after that. None of these encounters would have likely occurred if I would have waited until daylight and then walked in and climbed a tree. It’s more likely in that scenario that I would have instead spooked everyone of those bucks.

I’m usually not trying to walk into and hunt areas I expect them to be during the night but, in my experience bumping a deer an hour or more before daylight ends up spooking them less then bumping them after daylight. It’s also very unlikely that any encounter I have walking in after daylight is going to result in a shot at a deer from the ground with my recurve so in most cases I’d prefer to be in the tree and setup when day breaks.

But, there are other times and locations where I do wait until after daybreak and walk in and setup, so in my opinion there’s not a single correct answer.
 
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So I’m not educated on this at all but here’s my take.

If you know the area, know the tree. I think it’s best to be in and ready to go. Unless it somehow messes you up but since you know the spot you should know this.

For me my problem is spots in either never been in or I got to plan e and I’m going in blind. Those areas I need to get okay with being in the general area I want to be in. Then setup in gray light. It’s tough to let myself do that
 
Probably only time I’d really bust my butt getting setup an hour or more before legal light are the first couple days of the rifle splits I might hunt on public.

Otherwise i like walking in with grey light at least. helps me see better and be quieter.
 
Absolutely! An Old Feller Once Told Me: You Know Deer Can See in the Dark, Right? Then Why Would You Walk in While it's Dark and You Can't See Them? May Be Different in Timber but Where I Am, it's All Fencerows and Open Ground Where They Can See For a Mile! I'm Sure I Have Changed Everyone's Mind W/My Philosophy.
 
Serious question. For you guys walking in after daylight so you can see deer, are you talking rifle or bow? If bow what’s the benefit? Do you anticipate getting a shot from the ground or you just want to see what you spook?

Ive had deer literally watch me walk by at 20 yds before daylight, I’ve also bumped them and after daylight realized they only moved off 50 yds and bedded back down. Neither of whose things happen very often when you bump them in daylight.

Also, they’re much more likely to see us before we see them at grey light. That lighting level is the biggest discrepancy between our vision and theirs. Because they are crepuscular their vision is best at grey light, much better than ours.
 
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I don't know about those guys but for me I'm anticipating shooting a deer 20yds from the truck with any weapon. As thick as our woods are u never know when something may just be there.

U never heard somebody say or seen for urself deer tracks on top of tire/boot tracks right near or at the parking area?

The deer move much more quiet then me but they still make noise walking thru palmettos or water and I normally hear deer before I see them. Every once in a while I spot them first but it's not often
 
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