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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2014 17:20:06 GMT -5
I was watching North American Whitetail and they were exploring the age old debate of which is the better time of day to hunt (specifically bucks). This has probably been discussed on here more than once, but what the heck, I'll dust it off again.
I realize there are a lot of variables at play from time of year, weather, terrain features, etc...but, when push comes to shove, which do you like better?
It's a no brainier for me. I MUCH prefer mornings. I have a much higher confidence level on morning hunts. I have actually never killed a buck late in the evening. I've killed a couple in the early afternoon...like around 3:30, but not during the classic last few minutes of light that so many guys love. I have killed the big majority of bucks in the mid to late morning hours. Around 9 to noon...including my 3 of my 4 biggest bucks.
There is something about mornings that just gets me going.
What say you?
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Post by esshup on Apr 10, 2014 17:26:04 GMT -5
For the areas that I hunt, it all depends on the moon cycle and the activity in the property surrounding the piece that I hunt. One thing for sure, if it's a full moon, I am in the woods in the middle of the day.
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Post by dbd870 on Apr 10, 2014 17:55:40 GMT -5
I would guess for bucks mornings have the edge for me as well. Doe's, it's a toss up.
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Post by swilk on Apr 10, 2014 17:56:00 GMT -5
Of the last 5 bucks I have killed .....
1 shortly after first light. 1 late morning....10:30E or so. 1 during the noon hour. 1 mid/late afternoon....4:00 or so. 1 right before dark.
I prefer afternoon/evening hunts simply because I can manage them through the work week but as far as when "I feel lucky...."? Just about anytime I'm in the woods if the conditions and time of year are right.
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Post by M4Madness on Apr 10, 2014 18:47:06 GMT -5
I prefer morning hunts by far, but my last two bucks were both taken around an hour and a half before legal shooting light ended in the evening. I just like the simple fact that in the morning, it is getting lighter and lighter by the minute. I hate in the evenings when it is growing dim and you start worrying about it getting too dark before you get a shot opportunity.
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Post by shouldernuke on Apr 10, 2014 18:52:18 GMT -5
Over the years and before Nov. 1st or so evening is king by far no question no matter where I hunt .I believe it all has to do with food!! Its the deer's biology that makes it this way ,they are putting on the pounds and they have laid up all day for the most part and cant wait to eat .
When Nov rolls around until about the 20th or so its all about the morning they are always late cruising for doe or chasing them into late morning that time of year ..Once again its deer biology they have chased most the night and it don't stop when the sun comes up either .Last 40 years for me killing bucks have been mostly evening and before Nov. by 2-1 at least .
My last 3 buck deer however were killed in Nov and in late mornings after 10:00 am with a single doe all out of the same 100 yard square area its a bottleneck in a wooded area . I have slowed my Oct hunting a lot with th eOBR in effect no need to push that hard anymore .
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Post by shouldernuke on Apr 10, 2014 18:52:29 GMT -5
.My question for most the morning killers of bucks would be what time of year it was .>?
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Post by MuzzleLoader on Apr 10, 2014 18:58:45 GMT -5
Evenings by far, rarely get up early to deer hunt. Once or twice during shotgun but that's it. I have too many open fields of soybeans and corn to even try to get through. They are moving from the bean corn fields to bed in the nearby cover. All I do is spook them trying to get in my spots in morning. Evenings I can get on the edges to cut them off.
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Post by steve46511 on Apr 10, 2014 20:11:08 GMT -5
Going by actual bucks taken my records and memory shows every single October bow kill was in the AM(19)and the remainder of the 44 buck total during firearm had only one single buck taken in the PM on thanksgiving day, also my latest buck taken.
I actually have hunted MORE evenings than mornings too during my working years when I only had sat. and sun. to hunt the AM unless on vacation BUT, I will say that easily the majority of my firearm buck kills were opening morning when deer are being moved about a bit more than most days by hunting pressure. That is fairly common for most I would guess and has more to do with hunting pressure than the fact that it was in the AM. 2 cents. I've taken a couple in the AM of the second day of firearm but not a single one in the evening during opening weekend.
I did MISS a nice one 4 years back in the evening during Dec muzzleloader season. LOL! Scratching my head I don't recall a single buck taken during ML season but many with a ML during firearm season. Like most, I'm normally done buck hunting then. I think that was the first time I've even had the opportunity to take one in ML season but it was in the very late evening. Last time these old eyes hunted with iron sights too! That was a nice one.
They all were only on two properties, one of which I can no longer hunt. The person I know that has also hunted this same woods has taken a few in the evening, his total buck harvest was around 90 percent AM (or VERY late AM) hunt results while I have known him. No idea before that.
His are bow kills run from Oct through Dec. He only bow hunts and has for years. His 3 (that I recall) evening bucks were very early Oct with approaching half of his bucks taken near noon and the rest earlier. His buck kill is approaching 60 if I am not mistaken. The lightest of those three evening bucks dressed out at 193lbs.
I will have to admit that experience has me "expecting" to see bucks in the AM until after gun season most of the time but there have been some evening sightings, just not taken. After firearm season most sightings are the reverse and last light being number 1 for bucks, in my case.
Just info. God Bless
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Post by fullrut on Apr 10, 2014 20:44:41 GMT -5
noon to 2 is in my opinion the best time to kill a big buck during the rut. I have killed several from 12 to 1220, Other than that evenings in my opinion.
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Post by Ahawkeye on Apr 11, 2014 5:24:35 GMT -5
I can hardly choose, I like both. many deer during both times. If I'm bow hunting it really doesn't matter if it's the first day of gun season morning by far but I'll hunt them all day if I can. Usually the wife has something she wants me home for so evening hunting is pretty tough for me right now, when I get my boys out maybe I can get them to stay all day when they get older.
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Post by schoolmaster on Apr 11, 2014 7:32:42 GMT -5
Prefer morning by far. More than 90% of my deer taken before noon.
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Post by Woody Williams on Apr 11, 2014 8:14:42 GMT -5
Being a lazy, and not a morning person I hunt more evenings than mornings. Except for the pre-rut and rut the evenings versus mornings works out like this:
Mornings - The later it gets the less enthused I get.
Evenings - The later it gets the more enthused I get.
During pre-rut and rut I'm enthused all the time on the stand..
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Post by tenring on Apr 11, 2014 11:48:52 GMT -5
Between 0900 and 1000 hrs. has been good for me over the years.
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Post by boonechaser on Apr 11, 2014 21:44:32 GMT -5
About 50 50 for me. Killed some good one's early and late. My 2 biggest were both between 2 and 3 in afternoon during rut.
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Post by duff on Apr 12, 2014 5:21:50 GMT -5
Morning for me. But that is when i hunt, maybe hunt evenings 25% of the time... law of averages. Can't kill em if I am not out there.
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Post by M4Madness on Apr 12, 2014 8:32:09 GMT -5
noon to 2 is in my opinion the best time to kill a big buck during the rut. I have killed several from 12 to 1220, Other than that evenings in my opinion. I seem to recall you killing two bucks between noon and 2:00 on the same day at Big Oaks. LOL!
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Post by GS1 on Apr 12, 2014 8:45:59 GMT -5
Three of my four biggest bucks were taken in the evening. Two of them at last light. One was taken the Friday after thanksgiving, on the first Monday of muzzleloader and the other was taken October 14th.
I have seen more buck activity in the early morning to mid-morning and taken more bucks before lunch than I have after. The last 5 years I have turned into more of a morning hunter for no other reason than I want to be home in the evenings with my kids.
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Post by drs on Apr 12, 2014 8:53:31 GMT -5
80% of the Deer I've harvested have been in the morning, usually before 10:30. However, I've harvested several "Shooters Bucks" which came out about 45 minutes before sundown. This is the 20% I've harvested, during late day hunting.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2014 9:29:18 GMT -5
One thing I dislike about evening hunts (especially bow hunts) is the prospect of blood trailing, tracking, dragging, and field dressing deer in the dark. Often, I am up against it time-wise on weekend hunts and killing late in the evening will either require me to miss church or work the next day if I have to come back. It's so much easier to get it all done in daylight
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