I have read many times by the experts about mid-day deer movement. I (like I assume many others) was brought up in the tradition of hunting early AM and late PM and taking a "break" mid-day. Do I have it all wrong?
I understand that some of the optimal game movement times according to the solar/lunar calendar are during the mid-day times.
I, unfortunately, often do not have the time or the patience to hunt all day like some folks, and, of course, the rut changes everything as far as "normal" deer movement.
I often wonder if one would have as good or better success sitting in a stand from 10-2 then hunting the morning and/or evening sits? :help:
When I'm at deer camp in Michigan's upper peninsula, I sit mid day 9-3 as often as I can.
I will be honest here... sometimes I am so exhausted from devoting time to work, family and school that on Saturday its much easier to sleep in, eat breakfast with the family, then go hunting for a few hours and then be home for the remainder of the day. this has worked out really well for me late Oct. and early November. The best part is that I feel well rested, and my family feels like I am still available. I love the 9-2 sit! =)
I like evenings and have always hunted then (4PM till legal shooting times)
I always see the best movement then.
However at 53 my eyes are getting much worse
I see better in the mornings, however I have a lot of pain in the AM from back surgery.
So it normally takes me at least 2 hrs to be hunt ready in the AM
30 minutes to soak in a hot tub and then the rest for joints to get fluid.
Aint getting old fun :banghead:
FYI
There is no bad time to be in the woods.
:archer:
I love to hunt 10-2... I have seen and killed many mature deer during that time....I usually start around the rut....
Area's with high hunting pressure seem to get more mid day movement. This is also true when it's really cold.
Personally, I've seen more action in the morning and specifically between 8 and 10am.
Due to my work schedule & my son getting home from school... I'm pretty much a 9am - 3pm hunter!!!
I rarely, if ever, get in the woods before 9am. Likewise, I usualy leave around 2-3pm. I don't like hunting in the evening because ALL of the 4 deer that I lost, were shot in the evening.
Getting a "late start" has proven very prosperes in the past!!! :thumbsup:
I've not spent enough time in the stand during mid day hours but a lot of nice deer are shot during this time frame, especially rut and COLD weather/snow. I've got an equal split of deer shot in the AM or PM.
I went for a period of five years shooting my deer between 9:30 and 12 noon. All of the deer were shot while I was sneaking back to my car from my tree stand on the busiest public land in our area. Most of the other hunters crashed out about 9, then all of the deer would relocate. On the busiest piece of private ground we used to hunt, my son shot a bunch of deer between 12 noon and 2 PM. On that, the lazy wheelie hunters on the land would take a ride around after they quit hunting on the field drives. The deer came out to feed after the activity settled down. The 9 to 3 time is also nice because most of the time, you get the woods to yourself. One of the biggest deer I have ever seen was 10 yards from me at 10 AM, by my van. We were late, I had a concert that night and I over slept, I said 'screw it I got get out for a while'. I was loading my bow and the big boy and a hot doe came right to the fence across the road from me. the buck ran behind my son as he was heading out, he never saw it or heard it because of the strong wind. I headed out to head it off at a funnel and shot the next biggest deer in the area as it trotted past me at about 11 AM.
It can depend on where you're hunting. If hunting suburbs, human pressure may be too much for anything but the common "dawn/dusk" times.
But if one is looking to fill a buck tag in the more typical rural setting, when the chasing starts, mid-day can be king. Most does are bedded up by 10am and the bucks are still on the move, looking.
Mid-day during the rut is a good time to do some aggressive grunt calling.
For me personally, my 2 best bow bucks were both taken around 3pm and the 2 nicest bucks I've seen in a few years were ones I grunted in around 3pm, but he busted me due to sloppiness on my part and the other was about 10:30am that I grunted in to about 8 yards but sadly had no shot due to him facing me head on in thick 2nd cut poplar.
I know folks love to get up before daylight and watch the woods come alive and that's the smart tactic in early season, but during the rut, I've better success going out around 8:30-9ish and staying out as long as possible.
If you do go out before daylight, and the rut is in full swing in your area, don't believe for a second that when 10am comes around, that the hunt is somehow over. In many cases, it's just starting, if a buck is what you're after.
I go out mostly in the evening. I work 3rds, eight hour shifts and every other weekend. Seems like I get cold easy so starting out in the cold is pretty rough.
My son won't need me to ride shotgun with him much longer. He will be getting to and from school without my help come Nov. 1st. He is also starting his first real job. He won't be needing his momma so much. So I will be hunting more. Mornings, evenings and in-between. I will need the distraction.
I don't sleep well during the day so mid-day hunts sounds pretty good right now.
Thanks for the responses, lady and gents!
I've always wondered if the mid-day success would equal or exceed the early/late sittings.
Don't get me wrong - I love being out in the deer (or hog) woods anytime, but there is a lot to consider on those early morning hunts when:
1) it is bone chilling cold,
2) you have a long drive to your hunting property,
3) leaving a perfectly good naked wife (or husband) in a warm bed,
4) add your own reasoning here!
I love to hear the woods come alive and see the first light of the day, but it's touch to do at times!! :goldtooth:
I have taken my share of deer but have never taken one before 9 AM.
I have killed most of my bucks where I hunt from 10-2p.m. If the moon is out during the day I have found hunting all day can be especially good.
What got me started hunting those hrs. was one day I came off of my stand at 9:30 and went back at 4:00p.m. There was a mud hole that was slicked over and sometimes between when I left my stand and came back a deer had made a big track in that mud. I rarely ever see a deer here before 8:30 anyway.
i will tell you this, and you can take it or leave it, but there is a phone/computer app called Isolunar which has almost never been wrong on feeding times in the 3 or 4 years i've been using it.
if it says the peak feeding times are middle of the day, middle of the night, or any time in between, you can take it to the bank.
my buddy told me yesterday that he was stiff and sore from a long sit, got down at 9:45, and as he was packing up, sees a huge doe and a yearling 50 yards from his stand. Peak time yesterday was 10;15. that is just one of dozens and dozens of accurate times over the years.
Once the weather starts dipping below 80 here i oftrn hunt from 7or8 till about 12 to 1.....i like getting the extra bit of sleep. Yes I've read some leonard larue articales about midday hunts.
I pay attention to the lunar calendar only when its a full moon and new moon weeks. on full moon weeks i hunt daylight till 2:00. high deer movemnt between 9am-2:00pm. i can always bet i have mature buck on my trial cameras during mid morning this week. for me its the best time to kill a big deer. more often than not i do not have luck in the afternnons during a full moon. deer tend to feed at night and mid-day.
saying all that if i get a chance to hunt i hunt. i will not go hunt just b/c of the moon phase. cant kill a deer on the couch
I enjoy threads like this. I have had luck on all day sits during odd hours during the rut. Mostly 10-12 and around 2 but then again I never tried it during other times.
Rifle I sit dark to dark for nearly a week. Boy that's rough sometimes!
My usual sit is from sun up til 1 or 2(later if I'm seeing movement). I have killed the majority of my deer after 10am.
Rob
In the areas I'm hunting now when the clock strikes 8:00am I go ahead and draw my bow.
for me, when I hunting in the mts. it depends on the time of year. Early season mornings and evenings have been best plus the heat is more tolerable. Later in the season in the big wood areas any time of the day can work and sometimes mid day is best.
In suburban areas near my house, morning and evening are almost always best. Rarely are deer seen during the day except the rut.
Oddly this year I have seen a lot of deer activity about an hour earlier in the evening than I normally would. Is it the moon? I killed a doe at 5:15 and saw a nice buck at 5:30. Usually the last 10 minutes of daylight is killing time here. But then tonight I only saw 2 doe. They came by about 10 minutes after shooting light. They passed right under me. For some reason I just didn't want to get down after it got dark. It was nice to see them. It was a new stand spot.
So I guess I have no idea what time is best!!!!
Tedd
If I had to choose I would go with mornings. I like the optimism that the new day brings.
I also believe the big boys tend to move a
little longer in the mornings if not pressured. Going to safety vs heading towards danger.
I usually try to hunt until after any mid-morning thermals pick up. Trying to catch one relocating (never have).
This is a great thread! Rob W - why do you think most of your deer come after 10? Thanks,
I'm enjoying the replies
I think mornings sometimes get a bad rep because they are hunted less. I read somewhere that in a big buck survey it was almost 50/50 morning versus afternoon. But that doesn't account for the skewed number of morning v. afternoon hunts.
For the non-hardcore like me, it is usually easier to hunt afternoon due to obligations, stand issues in the dark, waking up at 4 a.m. and all that. I probably hunt 3 afternoon hunts for every 2 morning hunts.
The other benefit I see to morning is the chance of late morning or second movement. With afternoon, it's usually one window that's closing with daylight.
Saying all that, I've had more luck in the evening.
I hunt military land and many of the deer move after 0900. I have seen equal amounts of game early, mid day and late.
Little bucks, earlier AM and afternoon. Big ones I see chasing early AM, early evening, but I've seen a bunch cruising during the seeking time of year from 10-2. They are usually alone, and they are all I usually see so it can get lonely. This is in both heavily hunted MI, and Illinois and Indiana. They wait until does are bedded and then go look for them. They cross trails does use and check bedding areas. I have some stands we've killed and seen giants from that look like ridiculous spots and are overlooked. Usually it takes a little work to discover the hidden gems, and lots of hours on stand. Last year I killed a 5 yr old at 4:20PM and my bud a 4 yr old at 12PM. Different states but repeatable most years for sightings. IMO you have to really want to see the big ones to sit that long. My bud doesn't get to his stand until 9 AM after we worked out travel patterns. Now that's a great nights sleep!! I use different theories and tactics depending on the state and area hunted. I won't sit that long unless it's Nov 4-12 and 15-?? It can be unproductive.
Hearing all of the responses has been very interesting! I have killed all of my largest bucks between first light and 0900 hrs. and I definitely see the most deer during that time unless it is very cold and late in the season. However, during the rut I started sitting all day and sometimes see lone bucks cruising through looking for does. The cool thing about that is I have found them very susceptible to calling when they are alone.
A lot of it has to do with where you sit and hunt too. I used to spend most of my time hunting wooded river bottoms surrounded by fields of corn and prairie. This limits where the deer go to to bed to some extent (usually only in the cover near the river bottom) and gives good visibility. I usually sat funnels near bedding areas and would see a lot of activity, but if you didn't get in at first light you could screw it all up. If I sat field edges it was almost always a first light / dusk game. This was on private property with little pressure. I really miss those days!
I'm a big believer in mid day hunts especially when the deer are rutty.
Think about it. A buck is on the hunt for a hot doe for whatever reason (doesn't matter if he is looking for his next one, his first one, etc.). Most areas we hunt have bedding areas that concentrate deer and the bucks just move from bedding area to bedding area looking for their next "victim".
They have much better odds of finding their next love interest buy checking places that have more "candidates" rather than feeding areas or travel areas where they are either more spread out or on the move.
Look at it this way. A single guy looking for his next date, rarely sits on the street and watches the women drive by. He has much better chances if he goes to a bar or club where there is more of a concentration of "acceptable candidates". That's a big crude as far as analogies go, but it works.
Hoping to get out some tomorrow. Tempted to carry my muzzleloader with me, but just may carry the longbow.
From the last week of October until rifle season it's definitely a morning game for bucks around here, especially from about 1.5-3.0 hours after sunup. This time of year you might see them anytime, but if I had to choose I would take mornings.
I see the most buck activity in the evening during the early season.
Up to last week in October I hint mornings till 10:30 and evenings last three hours. Last week of October through first week of gun i hunt as much as possible with 9 to 12 being about the best time to be out until gun season opens then anything can happen or not happen those days. I figure even in the early parts of the season I want to be ready when others are on the way out in the am our out to hunt in the pm. I hunt high pressure areas and you have to play the hunter as well as the deer.
I have had spots that this time of year I don't even go out until half hour after sun up and hunt till 2 or 3 then a short break and back at it. This is primarily when I am buck only hunting.
Moon phage an temps play a part an public or private land. 11-3-13 , 19am-3pm is supposed to be one of the best deer hunts of the season! Nothing is sure fire, but moon phase had worked for me 75-80% of the time, over the last 20 years!