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Mornings, afternoons or evenings?

I've kept a log for the last 15 years and it shows mornings have been more productive for me but not by much. So I guess the best time to be in there is every second there is enough light to shoot!
 
I think I am done hunting mornings. I cant hardly bring myself to wake up early if im not getting paid. I get up early all week and hit the woods. It just feels like too much work to do it on my days off. I thought about this today. The few bucks that I have seen and shot were 11am (seen) 1300 (harvested) 1730 (shot low but survived). Im sleepin in gents and it feels great!


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In the past, I tended to be out there as much as possible regardless of morning or evening. I attended a hunting beast seminar in September and I asked Dan this same question. His response was evenings only until October 15. Where I’ve been hunting, the deer are mainly feeding on acorns up to this point so I’ve found it impossible to get in early enough to beat them back to the bedroom. I bumped deer on the way in every time I tried going in early this year and I’m generally in the tree an hour or more before daylight after a solid 45 minute hike in. Even though I prefer watching the woods wake over watching it go to sleep, I am starting to adjust to mostly afternoon / evening sits. I find it a lot easier to get in quiet in daylight. Often you have more wind cover in the afternoon to help with getting in close. It is Easier to scout your way in to fresh sign in the afternoon.

Once the rut starts kicking in, these rules go out the window and I try to be in the woods whenever I can.
 
I suck a mornings. Never seem to be able to get in quietly. I sleep in and stick with afternoons until pre rut (then all day).

Sometimes if I have the time or patience, I'll get in real early for afternoon to catch midday activity (11 or 12)
 
slonstdy said:
For many years I swore the best time to be out in the woods with the greatest odds of shooting a buck was those few hours that make up first light thru sunrise. The problem I feel with hunting at that time is I've bumped many deer while I walked in the darkness to the tree. I've changed my thinking the last few seasons and have been putting more time in afternoon and evening hunts.
I hunt mostly wooded areas with low lying marsh/swamps mixed in. There aren't any farms or ag fields so the deer are feeding in the mast trees which are everywhere so I setup on trails from bedding areas usually. I know if you find the does you find the bucks and I've had success at all times but I'd like to hear what you guys think as far as your thought process for why you prefer a certain time of the day. Get there early and catch them going to bed or get there later and catch them leaving to feed?
Click to expand...

I really prefer hunting evenings for the entire season minus the rut when I sit dark to dark. I'll hunt mornings here and there but not often. I always feel more confident entering the woods when deer should be bedded. I used to get busted a lot in the mornings. Every deer I've ever killed except for two have been between the hours of 4pm and 8pm
 
I just asked the big deer slayer around these parts. Kills 2 p&y a year. He agreed mornings just dont produce. He said he kills them late afternoon and evening. If you knew is kill record that would be good enough.


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So far this year I have taken one doe in the early evening around 6:15 pm, a black bear at 7:30 am and a buck at 8:40 am. Been doing a lot of all day sits, in at darkness and out when I lose shooting light and have had sightings at both mornings and evenings. So far nothing in my neck of the woods is swaying me one way or another but I still have doe tags available and also plan to jump across state lines to try and fill a couple of buck tags as there's plenty of season left to figure this out. I'll keep ya posted...
 
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