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When to climb down.

ThereWillBeSpuds said:
This property is unusual in that you are required to go through a Time operated gate to get onto and off of the property I've tried calling the game warden in charge of the property to get a clarification about staying past when the gate closes because the gate will open for a car exiting but I haven't been able to reach him.

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Very interesting. Hopefully you can get some clarification soon

Allegheny Tom said:
"Dark" varies from day to day. A gloomy day is often too dark to shoot long before the end of legal hours.
And don't be sucked in to the paradigm that the 1st and last half hour are best for deer movement. Those time might be good for deer movement but are they the best times for YOUR STAND LOCATION?
I contend that if deer are coming past you at the beginning or end of light, then maybe your stand is in the wrong spot.
I have great action hours before dusk (and well past dawn).
And take this to the bank...the worst thing you can do is to be seen by deer climbing down at dark. I would rather call it a day and get down a few minutes early, than educate deer because I wanted to eek out 5 more minutes in the tree.
We screw up WAY more often in those last 5 minutes than we kill deer.


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As with all things hunting, it depends on your property options, stand locations, and deer in your area. My stand location is wherever the sign and wind take me for that hunt on that property. My last hunt I was hunting between several acres of corn fields and bean fields in just a little hedgerow of woods that's about 75 yards wide. Bucks bed in the corn and move through the woods to munch on acorns before getting to the beans. Legal light end was 7:38, a shooter emerged from the corn at 7:10, munched acorns until it was dark, and moved out of the woods after last light. He was the only deer I saw that night but that's what I expected. I was going after an old buck and not expecting to see lots of does. If I would have set up in a different spot on that property, I know I would have seen more deer, but not the one I was after. They like bedding in the corn because of how that property lays. On other properties, I'd have a better chance to hunt closer to bedding and see deer earlier. My first hunt of the season I had action around 4:50 because of where I was located, away from ag fields. I'm not saying it's not possible to see deer well before dark but odds grow in your favor the longer you can stay on stand. How you exit your stand and the impact that has is another topic entirely but should be considered in your choice of stand location to start with.
 
Yesterday, I stayed till I couldn't see anymore about 7:10. Sunset was at 6:59. I got everything down and packed away using a headlamp. I pulled down the masons twine I had just preset when it snagged my climbing line. I am not sure how that happened since it was dark. I stumbled out hoping I would not fall into one of the steep sided ponds which are about 20 feet long. I had to just go through the thorn bushes and hope for minimal bleeding since I couldn't see to avoid them. I was about 500 yards from the highway so I could hear the trucks which was nice. I didn't see any deer. I think I will start to pack up about a half hour before sunset. I have never seen any deer this late and if I did I wouldn't shoot at them in the dark.
 
PEEJAY said:
yea but sometimes when you forget your bow there's just nothing you can do but watch... :rolleyes: i guess i could haul up a bigass rock n pray he walks directly under the tree next time. Tim Wells might have already slocked a few like that lol
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Tim just jumps on em from above Rambo style and gives em the ol fashion chuck Norris glare. Buggah drops dead within sight every time.
 
bj139 said:
Yesterday, I stayed till I couldn't see anymore about 7:10. Sunset was at 6:59. I got everything down and packed away using a headlamp. I pulled down the masons twine I had just preset when it snagged my climbing line. I am not sure how that happened since it was dark. I stumbled out hoping I would not fall into one of the steep sided ponds which are about 20 feet long. I had to just go through the thorn bushes and hope for minimal bleeding since I couldn't see to avoid them. I was about 500 yards from the highway so I could hear the trucks which was nice. I didn't see any deer. I think I will start to pack up about a half hour before sunset. I have never seen any deer this late and if I did I wouldn't shoot at them in the dark.
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mature bucks are hesitant to start cruisin around before the lights go out. every minute counts. several times ive climbed down early and tried to pull my bow back up half way down the tree to get a deer walking by, i actually got a nice doe the last day of hunting season doing that but scared off most of the herd. i always wait til dark now. just do everything sloooow in the dark. i try and carry backup everything especially lights.
 
i would never ever get down a half hour before sunset. no way. that is prime time man. for those 30 minutes i am doing nothing but looking around in every direction. i could understand AT sunset but not a half hr before. if you cant get down and out quietly in the dark you need to practice and get more comfortable with your gear. some people on here are making things too complicated to get up and down a tree and putting killing deer second to having all this crazy climbing tech.

How is it any different than getting SET UP in the dark on morning hunts??? assuming that you are not walking in and getting set up when its already light out. ive killed most of my deer in the AM and if i wasnt ready by the time the lights turned on, most deer would have busted me or already been cuddled up back in bed. highly pressured deer start moving back pretty early.

Also, i reallllly doubt you cant get out that gate after dark. they just let peoples deer spoil? makes no sense to do that with so many deer being shot in the evening. sometimes it can take over an hr to drag or pack a deer out. we have to be done hunting on public here by 30 min after sunset and have another hr to get out. but if you are tracking a deer you just have to call DNR and let them know to get approval. that way they know you're safe and not hanging in a tree upside down or something
 
All this talk about forgetting stuff, makes me want to admit on the opening day of archery this year, I got to the hunting land an hour away and realized I left my tags at home and another time I left my arrows...
 
I bring a book to read while sitting... keeps me from fidgeting. So when it's too dark to read, it's too dark to take an ethical shot. In MN your bow / rifle needs to be "unloaded and cased" when in the field outside of legal hunting hours. A large pillowcase from the thrift shop, or a trash bag, tied shut, meets the legal requirements in MN without bulking up my pack. Just sneak out as silently as I sneak in, and spend a good 5-10 minutes glasses for movement or game before moving.
 
PEEJAY said:
i would never ever get down a half hour before sunset. no way. that is prime time man. for those 30 minutes i am doing nothing but looking around in every direction. i could understand AT sunset but not a half hr before. if you cant get down and out quietly in the dark you need to practice and get more comfortable with your gear. some people on here are making things too complicated to get up and down a tree and putting killing deer second to having all this crazy climbing tech”

x2...you really need to stay in the tree until legal hunting light ends or your ability to ethically fire your chosen weapon...I am completely shocked about the replies people leaving early or setting up late to avoid the dark
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Iron_llama said:
In MN your bow / rifle needs to be "unloaded and cased" when in the field outside of legal hunting hours.
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Are you sure on that?
Subd. 3.Exceptions; hunting and shooting ranges.

(a) Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary under this chapter, a person may transport an unloaded, uncased firearm, excluding a pistol as defined in paragraph (b), in a motor vehicle while at a shooting range, as defined under section 87A.01, subdivision 3, where the person has received permission from the lawful owner or possessor to discharge firearms; lawfully hunting on private or public land; or traveling to or from a site the person intends to hunt lawfully that day or has hunted lawfully that day, unless:


(1) within Anoka, Hennepin, or Ramsey County;


(2) within the boundaries of a home rule charter or statutory city with a population of 2,500 or more;


(3) on school grounds; or


(4) otherwise restricted under section 97A.091, 97B.081, or 97B.086.
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97A.091 is for game refuges (cased and unloaded unless hunting)
97B.081 is anti-shining
97B.086 is night-vision (unloaded, cased, and in a vehicle)
 
I am in the above camp. I do not climb down until LEGAL shooting time is over. I'm allowed to hunt until then and I plan to. If I shoot a deer at the very last second of the last minute, then I will give it time, probably take my gear back to my vehicle as quietly as possible, then go back in and track/recover/gut (if legal in that area)/and pack out. In Ohio I have to put all my arrows back into my quiver at the end of legal shooting time. That is 1/2 hour after sunset. That's when I climbed down, pack my gear, and walk out. I am almost always the last person out of the woods in the areas I hunt. In the morning, I go in a couple hours before legal shooting light, get set up, and then wait until legal shooting time to nock an arrow.

I would learn to get familiar with your gear by practicing in the dark. Invest in a green or red flashlight and use it for setting up and climbing down. Then just take your time walking in and out in the dark.

Remember, the spirit of the "legal" shooting time regulations is there to be followed. If you are out there shooting deer well before or past that will be problematic. If you have made a personal judgement that you have enough light to make an ethical shot on a deer and "legal" shooting time is over at 7:20 and it is 7:21, well, in my book that is between you and the trees.
 
Just my opinion but I don't read nearly enough responses that say guys adjust their climb down time to the situation.
Ya gotta just to what you are dealing with. If you are hunting a property that you need to keep fresh, or are in a location where you expect deer will most likely be present AT quitting time, or your exit will take you thru an area where you know deer will bust you, then getting down a little early can be an effective strategy.
My point, there is not a broad brush answer to the OP's question. Good whitetail hunters understand when, where and how they should adjust their tactics.
 
PEEJAY said:
i would never ever get down a half hour before sunset. no way. that is prime time man. for those 30 minutes i am doing nothing but looking around in every direction. i could understand AT sunset but not a half hr before. if you cant get down and out quietly in the dark you need to practice and get more comfortable with your gear. some people on here are making things too complicated to get up and down a tree and putting killing deer second to having all this crazy climbing tech.

How is it any different than getting SET UP in the dark on morning hunts??? assuming that you are not walking in and getting set up when its already light out. ive killed most of my deer in the AM and if i wasnt ready by the time the lights turned on, most deer would have busted me or already been cuddled up back in bed. highly pressured deer start moving back pretty early.

Also, i reallllly doubt you cant get out that gate after dark. they just let peoples deer spoil? makes no sense to do that with so many deer being shot in the evening. sometimes it can take over an hr to drag or pack a deer out. we have to be done hunting on public here by 30 min after sunset and have another hr to get out. but if you are tracking a deer you just have to call DNR and let them know to get approval. that way they know you're safe and not hanging in a tree upside down or something
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I've seen it several times where bucks stage in their safe zone which is usually far too thick to get a shot off up until dark. They'll walk out into the open with just minutes of shooting light if you're lucky. If it's too dark for me to shoot but he's still in the field near my stand I'll even wait him, does or whatever out until they're gone so I don't spook them.
 
1 of the places I like to hunt has a rule u have to be out 30 minutes after office sundown....if u hunt back in there u gotta get down early or u have the MPs waiting 4 u at your truck. So I verify official sundown for that day and try to plan accordingly.....
 
Weldabeast said:
1 of the places I like to hunt has a rule u have to be out 30 minutes after office sundown....if u hunt back in there u gotta get down early or u have the MPs waiting 4 u at your truck. So I verify official sundown for that day and try to plan accordingly.....
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will they let you track without a weapon?
 
especially in FL...even North FL i would hate to leave a kill over night if i know its dead
 
Weldabeast said:
1 of the places I like to hunt has a rule u have to be out 30 minutes after office sundown....if u hunt back in there u gotta get down early or u have the MPs waiting 4 u at your truck. So I verify official sundown for that day and try to plan accordingly.....
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Man, that is insane
 
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