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Morning hunts: climb in the dark, or wait until light?

BTaylor said:
Whenever I get in the tree and setup is right on time. Sometimes that is well before shooting light, sometimes it's closer to 8 or 9am lol. It's always situational for me. There are 5-6 spots I intend to hang this year that I will be lucky if I am setup before 7am due to distance and/or difficulty in getting there. One spot for example, short drive (15 minutes to boat ramp), launch boat, 11+ mile boat run, mile hike. There is a limit to how early I will get up, lol.
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I get made fun of sometimes, because I'll get up at 2am if it'll give me the edge, and that's what's needed to get me to a spot at the required time lol...
 
New spot I wait until gray light. Every time I have climbed a new spot in the dark, as soon as I can see, I see a much better tree. A known spot and tree. I use a light walking to the tree, then turn it off before I climb. I like to be done climbing at a minimum 30 minutes before legal shooting light, if not earlier.
 
I like to be completely set up and ready at least 30 minutes before legal. I climb with my headlamp with green LEDs as I personally can see better then the red. The most important thing to remember is to give yourself plenty of time so that you can take your time climbing. It's better to bere slow and methodical then to be fast and dangerous. My advice to you would be to wait until you get comfortable with your climbing method. Do a few evening hunts first. It won't take you long to start to feel comfortable. Good luck and stay safe out there.
 
bowhunthard88 said:
I get made fun of sometimes, because I'll get up at 2am if it'll give me the edge, and that's what's needed to get me to a spot at the required time lol...
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Back when I was chasing ducks pretty hard, it was not uncommon at all to roll out at 2am and have even left the house at midnight a few times. These days for deer hunting I have mostly hard rule that I am not getting up before 4am. That is esp true when I am going to be on our big rivers. I have lots of years experience on them and a pretty good sized river boat but I still want to be fully alert running them cause crap can go sideways in half a blink on the water.
 
BTaylor said:
Back when I was chasing ducks pretty hard, it was not uncommon at all to roll out at 2am and have even left the house at midnight a few times. These days for deer hunting I have mostly hard rule that I am not getting up before 4am. That is esp true when I am going to be on our big rivers. I have lots of years experience on them and a pretty good sized river boat but I still want to be fully alert running them cause crap can go sideways in half a blink on the water.
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I used to do "suicide runs" for steelhead, and I've pushed pretty hard for predators... But anymore, the only thing that still lights my fire like that is whitetails lol.
 
Lots of great responses here, thank you!

Related question, though I think I know my answer I'd love to hear what y'all have to say. When climbing in the dark, what part of your signature are you most worried about: light, or noise?

As in, if you are halfway up a tree and find your gear clanging a bit, would you rather keep clanging or would it be worth it to you to turn on a light if it means you'll reduce or eliminate the noise?
 
bluguitar89 said:
Lots of great responses here, thank you!

Related question, though I think I know my answer I'd love to hear what y'all have to say. When climbing in the dark, what part of your signature are you most worried about: light, or noise?

As in, if you are halfway up a tree and find your gear clanging a bit, would you rather keep clanging or would it be worth it to you to turn on a light if it means you'll reduce or eliminate the noise?
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No clanging if possible, ever, period.
 
bluguitar89 said:
Lots of great responses here, thank you!

Related question, though I think I know my answer I'd love to hear what y'all have to say. When climbing in the dark, what part of your signature are you most worried about: light, or noise?

As in, if you are halfway up a tree and find your gear clanging a bit, would you rather keep clanging or would it be worth it to you to turn on a light if it means you'll reduce or eliminate the noise?
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Use a red headlamp and reduce the noise.
 
I've tried to scare deer away from up in the tree with a light..... They just watched like a deer in the headlights. When my feet touched the ground they bolted. Younger does....im sure a smart older deer would maybe act different?...

I use a headlamp if I decide to climb. Green is my flavor. My woods are really thick and it's next to impossible to move quietly in the dark. Most times if i arrive before daylight I'll find a place I can hide and wait on the day on the ground so I pick the "best" tree.... To be honest with u guys I usually wait at the truck until I can start to see a little bit. Ive scared away lots of deers while trying to navigate in the dark. Based on the sounds I'm hearing they jump up, trot 30yds, and stop and wait for me to keep moving. If I linger they move off. That same situation at gray light may offer me a shot vs no shot what's so ever in the dark.
The distance traveled plays a big role and mode of transportation....ideally I want to be at or withing 50-100yds of the destination location at gray light.

I used to get stressed about not being set up half hour, hour, whatever amount of time, before sun up. I don't stress it at all anymore. I get there when I get there.....and the mornings I do make it up all super early I'm bored outta my mind by 8:30 and if I havent seen or heard anything to make me think otherwise I'm packing up so I can go walk around and find something better
 
Weldabeast said:
I've tried to scare deer away from up in the tree with a light..... They just watched like a deer in the headlights. When my feet touched the ground they bolted. Younger does....im sure a smart older deer would maybe act different?...

I use a headlamp if I decide to climb. Green is my flavor. My woods are really thick and it's next to impossible to move quietly in the dark. Most times if i arrive before daylight I'll find a place I can hide and wait on the day on the ground so I pick the "best" tree.... To be honest with u guys I usually wait at the truck until I can start to see a little bit. Ive scared away lots of deers while trying to navigate in the dark. Based on the sounds I'm hearing they jump up, trot 30yds, and stop and wait for me to keep moving. If I linger they move off. That same situation at gray light may offer me a shot vs no shot what's so ever in the dark.
The distance traveled plays a big role and mode of transportation....ideally I want to be at or withing 50-100yds of the destination location at gray light.

I used to get stressed about not being set up half hour, hour, whatever amount of time, before sun up. I don't stress it at all anymore. I get there when I get there.....and the mornings I do make it up all super early I'm bored outta my mind by 8:30 and if I havent seen or heard anything to make me think otherwise I'm packing up so I can go walk around and find something better
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I have a similar problem where if I set a deadline for myself to be setup by a certain time I end up rushing. My type A personality I guess. It ends up making me walk too fast, make too much noise, and/or get sweaty on my way in, all of which are bad of course.

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Y'all confirmed my thinking though, it's always good to check. I've never had an issue spooking deer with light, I think they just don't recognize it, especially if it's above their heads. I'd rather be seen by a deer than heard.
 
If I’m going in blind, never been to the spot and haven’t picked a tree, then I want grey light.

If I have a tree picked already or climbed it before, then I want to be set up a bit before first light.

In general, I give a tree 2 sits, at least. I like to scout and set up for an afternoon hunt so I’m ready for the morning there too.


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