Sneaking In

[Allegheny Tom]

Talk about anxiety... this is exactly how I feel. I'm scared and I'm not affraid to say it. I'm waiting for @Bwhana and maybe a few others to chime back in.

What gives me anxiety is getting busted while I'm in the tree in the dark and the odds of that happening go way up when you can't see your surroundings.
Nothing worse than having a deer (that I couldn't see or hear coming) pick me off in the tree because I moved to scratch my nose or whatever. Having a deer stomping and snorting at me in the pitch dark sucks. Is is a fawn or the mature buck that I just screwed up on? Who knows? Cant see 'em.

You need to apply tactics to the situation. Sometimes, it may be better to go in an hour or more AFTER in gets light. I have a field that deer are in from late afternoon, all night, and into early light. There is no way I can walk thru that field during "normal" access hours. But if I wait until well after light I can pull off mid day hunts which can be dynamite during the seek/chase phase and post rut (freezing cold weather).
And sometimes a super early access is what you need to do. Know your herd as best you can, and be extremely careful to not educate them to the fact they are being hunted.

 

[Jtoddg]

Interesting concept. I've always preferred to go in during what we have referred to as gray light. Since you are seeing shadows and no color. At least the last several hundred yards. Except when hunting with others because they wanted to get there well before shooting light. I'll have to go through my notes or keep track of sightings to see which produces more.

 

[Red Beard]

Thanks John, Tom, Murph and others. Thank you for elaborating on this. It's something I never considered. Makes sense though.

Yall are a great set of guys. Thanks for being willing to share tactics with others!

 

[sdonx]

I felt the anxiety today. I got up really early and headed in towards the scrape line and trail I had pinned the day before next to a femoral creek. I just needed to get on my gps pin and find the 2 big pine trees in a hardwood stand. Well, turned out my app was 90yards off on my pin. I spent all of the darkness looking for the area and working up a heavy sweat. I finally just rested and waited for first light and I walked right to where I wanted to be. Of course, by the time I set up, it was day light. It made me feel like the morning hunt was over before it started. Im gonna sleep in tomorrow a little and head in when the woodpeckers start to kackle. Thanks


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Been there many times...lol


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[Bwhana]

Just like saddles, you have to find what works for you and it may be different at times depending on the situation. Main thing is have fun, learn something new each time out and apply it the next time.

 

[Kurt]

I agree as well. For me 98% of the time I'll sneak in under the first light of morning. If I have a bit of a walk I'll leave at dark and time it so I'm close to the stand as the sky lightens enough to see the rest of the way in. I have a good trail network in the WMA I hunt so I can cover a lot of ground on the trails. If I'm hunting a particular bedding area I've been known to slip in an hour before light. I figure He'll still be on rounds and I'll hope to catch him coming in. If he slips by you in the dark and you have the wind you can wait him out. It's an aggressive tactic but it works. I'd prefer to catch him coming out on an evening sit and I'd try that first, a few times. When I use a light I prefer a red hand held over a headlamp. I let just enough light slip through the crack of my fingers to light my foot steps, not that you can't do it with a headlamp. I've also needed to become a deer on my way to the stand because I bumped deer close to the stand. Walk, walk stop walk walk stop, make a quiet contact grunt. This little move requires the right terrain and cover Then like Tom said, it's imperative to get up the tree and set up quickly. Killed a 2.5 yr old 8pt doing this. It probably not going to get you a mature deer, but at the point I have to resort to this I figure what do I have to lose. That being said, don't be afraid to bag the plan and slip out and hunt another spot. That's the beauty of the saddle.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Just like saddles, you have to find what works for you and it may be different at times depending on the situation. Main thing is have fun, learn something new each time out and apply it the next time.

And if I were to spend hours in a tree in the dark, there's no better way than to be in a saddle as opposed to a conventional seat like ladders, climbers or lock ons.

 

[Silvio]

Does anyone have any luck going in early? 2-3 hours before day light?
My plan is to setup shop and hang out. The deer seem to be spooked. I hunt a farm with 90% field and I want to get next to their bedding.
Good plan or should I do the usual "hour before light" ?

Keep in mind, deer have been feeding all nite, and in most situations they are bedded down where they feed. In ag areas It's better to go in at or just after day break. On the other hand if you suspect a buck is traveling a long ways to feed you can do morning hunts by goingin very early to his bedding area and set up in the dark. But keep in mind also your peak deer activity will usually happen bet 9 and 12...over the years I've seen the vast majority of my older bucks at 11am give or take a few minutes. Also, remember terrain features such as (creeks, blowdowns, fence rows, hay bales) are just a few concealment features to use when you need to be stealthy entering or exiting a chosen stand location. I can tell you the emerald ash borer has helped me shoot two different 130 class bucks. Without those blowdowns to conceal my entry the game would have been much different...
May the Magic of the Whitetail Forever Enrich Your Life

 

[woodsdog2]

As the season progresses from feeding patterns to funnels and travel areas between doe bedding areas to intercept rutting bucks, I think getting set up super early has much less of a bearing on your success as the deer can and will show up at any time, especially with does coming into estrous. Ideally, I would like to be set up super early but in reality, its probably not going to happen. In the north country here one really has to consider the wind temps and other factors. Going in two hours before first legal shooting light most likely means I'm leaving daylight legal shooting earlier too because we can only take so much cold and wind. In that situation and if I'm feeling so inclined, I may climb down and then find another spot and set up again... not very likely after freezing for 4 to 5 hours. As we say in trapping, "Set on Sign" If you work the wind and set up reasonably quietly you'll have some action. You know every area is different due to a variety of variables like hunting pressure, wind direction, food sources etc. I think we make ourselves crazy tying to predict a buck's every move. I understand another poster's "anxiety" about setting up when the sky is breaking in the eastern sky, I too feel that I'm behind the eight ball. But we really shouldn't. Think of how many times you waited and waited when set up super early and you saw nothing or worse, you already buggered deer out before even legal shooting. I strive to be set up about an hour before legal shooting light but not first light. So in actuality, I may be set up about half an hour before legal shooting.

 

[Bwhana]

I've also needed to become a deer on my way to the stand because I bumped deer close to the stand. Walk, walk stop walk walk stop, make a quiet contact grunt.

Speaking of becoming the deer, if I spook a deer and it is blowing (not a single blow and run) at me, I will often blow back multiple times at it and stomp. It's an aggressive tactic and does not work consistently, but when it does work, I've had them either calm down and let me pass or even come in close. Usually does and small bucks, at any time of the day, but it has worked on 2 mature 8 points that are in my collection now.

 

[Buckhole75]

When hunting public ground I go in early with a light so as not to make any one mad even though that is not my preference.On private I go in as soon as i can see to put one foot in front of the other with no light.When you go in with a light way early you are the only thing moving around making noise and you alert everything in the woods.First light brings noise for cover from the woods waking up.Just ease in steady and get settled.Works for me

 

[lhold450]

Going in early requires a light, which I prefer not to use. I was taught about 30 yrs ago by an elder in a club that if you wait until it is breaking dawn just barely enough to see 3 ft in front of you, no light is needed and the birds waking up make a lot of extra noise and cover your sound. It has worked well for me and I have taken bucks less than 5 minutes after climbing, but rarely bump one. If I am going deep, I will use the light and go early, but will wait to cover the last 200-300 yds in that pre-dawn light.

That’s exactly what I do too. That hour before daylight is usually the quietest and most still the woods get, so there is nothing natural about a grown man fumbling through the woods with a light on their head. And when someone is so focused on getting to their stand at a certain time they don’t focus on what they could be bumping on the way in. Once I got in the mindset that my hunt started when I left the truck and quit using a light I started seeing a lot more bucks.


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[lhold450]

That pre-dawn light always gives me anxiety. I feel like I messed up the morning hunt by being "late". I'll have to change that thinking.
Thanks
I'll give it a shot tomorrow, hopefully some points on the board.

Late? You say that like you’re plan is to beat the deer in the woods. They live there...


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[10essee]

Do you guys that go in in the light walk out in the evening before it gets dark. Wouldn’t going in without a light and walking out in the dark with a light kinda contradict each other. Just wondering cause I’ve always went in 1.5-2 hours before light and never really given much thought to it. Just wondering.

 

[Kurt]

Here in MA we can only hunt until sun set. That usually gives you plenty of time to get down and mostly out before full dark.

Late? You say that like you’re plan is to beat the deer in the woods. They live there...


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If you "pattern" a buck You should generally know where he is when. If your brushed in on a food source and you try to sneak in after the does already started coming out, your late, I think it's more that kind of late.

 

[rambotogo]

Going in early requires a light, which I prefer not to use. I was taught about 30 yrs ago by an elder in a club that if you wait until it is breaking dawn just barely enough to see 3 ft in front of you, no light is needed and the birds waking up make a lot of extra noise and cover your sound. It has worked well for me and I have taken bucks less than 5 minutes after climbing, but rarely bump one. If I am going deep, I will use the light and go early, but will wait to cover the last 200-300 yds in that pre-dawn light.

I do this during bow season and I hunt with a bow during gun season . Start going in early with a light and plenty of flo orange on after gun season starts,I just feel a lot safer.

 

[lhold450]

Here in MA we can only hunt until sun set. That usually gives you plenty of time to get down and mostly out before full dark.

If you "pattern" a buck You should generally know where he is when. If your brushed in on a food source and you try to sneak in after the does already started coming out, your late, I think it's more that kind of late.

If you’re hunting a food source and want to go in 2 hours earlier then sure, go early if you can get in clean. I have always hunted funnels and transitions though, and in my experience I busted a lot more deer going in with a light than I ever saw at daybreak.


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[Allegheny Tom]

Do you guys that go in in the light walk out in the evening before it gets dark. Wouldn’t going in without a light and walking out in the dark with a light kinda contradict each other. Just wondering cause I’ve always went in 1.5-2 hours before light and never really given much thought to it. Just wondering.

We can't be "static" with how we do things. Adjust and roll with what you have to work with.
For some of us with small properties, or limited access routes, the worst thing you can do is educate deer that they are being hunted. If I plan to hunt a particular spot in the rest of the season, I sure as hell don't want to bet busted climbing down the tree, or blow all the deer out of a field on the way out every evening if that's the only access I have. I often struggle late in the day with the decision of when to get down. Sometimes I make a lot less disturbance if I get down 15 minutes early because there are no deer present. Plenty of times, I decided to wait just a little too long and I end up being trapped in the tree long after dark. It's pitch black and I have no idea if deer are still in my lap or not. Too many times I guessed wrong. It's amazing sometimes how deer will watch you climb down and not really spook until your feet hit the ground.

Old does don't forget when they see a human in a tree. They come in look up in that tree that they saw the predator in. Fawns watch mom and they learn. I know a successful hunter that was busted in the tree and deer actually looked for him when they approached. He left the 1st stand in the tree and hung a 2nd stand in a tree a few yards away. He shot a does while she was standing there staring up at the empty stand.

I'm not really crazy about those last minute shots before dark. Knowing the exact location of the hit can be crucial to recovering the deer. Even with lighted nocks, guys misjudge where the deer was hit all the time. Plus the odds of deflections go way up under low light conditions.

On the other hand...If it's one of the last hunts of the season for that spot, I really don't care if I wreck it by getting busted at dark.
I often laugh to myself walking out of the woods on the last day when I get busted. Deer snorting, stomping and crashing away and continuing to snort up a storm the whole time. No reason to be bothered by it then, but if it's the beginning of the prime hunting period (Halloween-ish) I'm not so happy when I screw up.

Take what the deer give you and make the best of it. Sometimes getting out 15 minutes early is the prudent thing to do.

 

[Silvio]

We can't be "static" with how we do things. Adjust and roll with what you have to work with.
For some of us with small properties, or limited access routes, the worst thing you can do is educate deer that they are being hunted. If I plan to hunt a particular spot in the rest of the season, I sure as hell don't want to bet busted climbing down the tree, or blow all the deer out of a field on the way out every evening if that's the only access I have. I often struggle late in the day with the decision of when to get down. Sometimes I make a lot less disturbance if I get down 15 minutes early because there are no deer present. Plenty of times, I decided to wait just a little too long and I end up being trapped in the tree long after dark. It's pitch black and I have no idea if deer are still in my lap or not. Too many times I guessed wrong. It's amazing sometimes how deer will watch you climb down and not really spook until your feet hit the ground.

Old does don't forget when they see a human in a tree. They come in look up in that tree that they saw the predator in. Fawns watch mom and they learn. I know a successful hunter that was busted in the tree and deer actually looked for him when they approached. He left the 1st stand in the tree and hung a 2nd stand in a tree a few yards away. He shot a does while she was standing there staring up at the empty stand.

I'm not really crazy about those last minute shots before dark. Knowing the exact location of the hit can be crucial to recovering the deer. Even with lighted nocks, guys misjudge where the deer was hit all the time. Plus the odds of deflections go way up under low light conditions.

On the other hand...If it's one of the last hunts of the season for that spot, I really don't care if I wreck it by getting busted at dark.
I often laugh to myself walking out of the woods on the last day when I get busted. Deer snorting, stomping and crashing away and continuing to snort up a storm the whole time. No reason to be bothered by it then, but if it's the beginning of the prime hunting period (Halloween-ish) I'm not so happy when I screw up.

Take what the deer give you and make the best of it. Sometimes getting out 15 minutes early is the prudent thing to do.

I just mentioned in another thread how easy a stand location can be burned out...if you really dont have a plan to maximize your exit/entry approach your going to lower your odds. I believe morning hunts are the most difficult to get into while afternoon hunts are simply easier...this doesnt mean or give you a free pass. Skip the days to hunt that really educate the deer of your presence...go scout another piece of property or spend time with the family but educating your resident deer from Oct 1st thru the 20th really minimizes your chances during the pre-rut. Your focus should be on pre rut movements and set ups that have the potential to let you score on morning hunts.
May the Magic of the Whitetail Forever Enrich Your Life

 

[Ckwilli]

It's a funny tactic but most of the areas I hunt are near roads. About 7:00 in the morning there are a lot of people driving to work. The deer seem to pay attention to the vehicles and vehicle noise. I use the noise cover to sneak in and set up. I've killed several deer, just after setting up, using this technique.

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