OK which do you think is the best time morning or evening and please include you area you hunt and why you think it is better.Thank you.(and not because you can see your pink arrows better)...LOL :D
Where I hunt the deer generally are moving from the south to the north in the evening and just the opposite in the morning. It just depends on wind direction for me. Any kind of south wind is good for me in the evening and generally any kind of north wind is good in the morning. I really like the morning hunts since it gives you all day to deal with a hit animal. If you shoot a deer close to last light and are uncertain of the hit it makes for a long, nerve wracking night of waiting to track.
Dan
There's some variables in that question I'm afraid but for what it's worth. In my area (east central IL) evening hunts almost always result in more deer sighted, but mornings always seem best for mature bucks.
evening, cause I know I can get in with out spooking them.
I see more deer in the evening but have shot most all my larger deer in the morning. I hunt and live in western Arkansas in the Boston Mountain area. My treestand sites are all on the eastern slope of the mountain within 1/4 mile of my back door. The morning sun gives my old eyes more light to see my target!
Evening, I'm lazy and don't like to stumble around in the dark after getting up too early.
During the rut, I prefer the mid day. I hunt near doe bedding areas and get to watch many daytime sparring sessions and even a few whoopee encounters. It seems that the mid day bucks let their guard down more often. I have had success slipping into grassy/ brushy doe bedding areas on hillsides.
I like mornings better. Evening hunts make me feel like I'm racing the clock.
I used to Live in Jersey and I was 50% on both mornings/evenings. In early bow & first part of Fall bow I liked the mornings better. When the last part of fall and Winter bow got there I liked Evenings better. Main reason I'm on blood thinners and the cold got me out of stand more then I would have liked.
Evening hunts for me,I seem to see more deer right at dusk. Down side -tracking in the dark.
Mornings I just hate trailing deer in the dark. When there is snow on the ground then evenings as the blood shows up easy for these old eyes.
DD
I've thought about this alot myself. Of the 10 mature midwestern whitetails I've killed 7 of them were killed on mornings and 3 on afternoons. With hunting after work, etc, I probably get 3 afternoon hunts for every morning hunt, so mornings seem to be much more prolific for me.
For just "deer hunting" not specifically hunting mature bucks I'd prefer evenings both early and late season as I'd focus on food sources regardless - and I've always had the best success hunting food in the evening.
Just my experience.
Ryan
I do better in the mornings. Where I hunt in Pa., I definitly shoot more deer in the morning. Between 8 and 10 is my time. The evenings are best the last hour, but the mornings I see deer for a lot longer time
I have had more success with larger bucks in the morning, but see more deer in the afternoon.
I prefer the morning for the enjoyment factor.
During the rut I will hunt all day.
David
i like morning hunts! i can kill,track, clean process all at same time. lotta eve hunts with late shots takes till next day to recover.
I would prefer to shoot one in the morning, but the evenings seems to produce better 3 out of 4 times for me down South.
close to bedding in the morning, close to food source in the evening. All day during rut near doe bedding. It really depends on when you are hunting and the area you are hunting. For example, if you are hunting a small piece of property, you may not have permission on the piece of property the deer are feeding on heavily at the time, but you have their primary bedding area, so you would want to focus your attention on the morning hunt to catch them moving from feeding to bedding from my experience.
In Minnesota this time of the year if you find a food source it doesn't matter.
I see more does in the evening. When bucks are chasing does, I'll see more of them around 8-9:30 in the morning. The rest of the time, bucks usually come out much later than the does, so you have to get close enough to the bedding area to catch them during shooting light.
I enjoy both for different reasons. I love mornings and sitting in a stand watching as darkness turns to grey light and the world wakes up. In the evening, it is easier to walk in to my stands and my hopes seem to increase the longer I sit, knowing that movement is likely to increase as daylight falls.
As to which is more productive for hunting, that's a different question, and I have had good success on both, so I hunt both every chance I get.
I haven't noticed a difference. We've seen and shot nice bucks in the morning and in the evening. I'll hunt both if given the opportunity.
I prefer evenings simply because most of my hunting land is an hours drive, 30 minutes on an ATV & a 20 minute walk away from the house. Getting up a 3AM on a cold December morning is about as much fun as it sounds!
Mind you, I've hardly seen any deer, morning or evening regardless!
Evening has always been better for me. ...that magic time right before sundown.
Morning hunt with a north wind produces the most buck sightings for me.
Mornings seem to be better hunts (the sun rising, the woods coming to life, the deer interested in something other than eating) and give a better opportunity to recover deer that have been shot. It also gives me the chance to decide how long I want to stay in the stand hoping to get a shot. Unless I have shot a deer, when I get out of the stand I can go back to camp, visit with my buddies, get a bite to eat and relax. If I have any problem locating the deer or if I find the deer and need help getting it back to camp, I can call my friends and have them come help me, or I can help them if they have shot a deer. Doing all that in daylight is much nicer than trying to find my way around in the dark. The two biggest drawbacks to morning hunts are the colder temperatures and having to get out of a nice warm bed much earlier than I prefer.
All that said, I have killed many deer on evening hunts and love being out during the magic hour before it gets too dark to shoot. I can say that my hunting buddies and I have failed to recover far more wounded deer on evening hunts than morning hunts. That is one of the most disturbing aspects of hunting and one that I do my best to avoid.
Allan
Depends on the Moon, and weather. For Me I prefer morning hunt. But have been successful in evening hunts as well. You will be a far better hunter when you figure out there is no noon time break, No siesta from hunting for me.
I prefer evenings! there really is no specific reason other than the area I hunt I tend to see more deer in the afternoon! HA! Jason
I like mornings better,i have shot most of my deer in the mornings.Here in southeast Pa i hunt in the suburbs north of philly.There is alot of things in the suburbs that can change the patterns of the deer in the coarse of a day.In the mornings you have a better chance at them before they get spooked.