3-4 hours before daylight

[Sweet Shot 7]

How many of you out there get in the stand 3-4 hours before daylight. Someone told me to avoid bumping the big bucks uv got to beat them in there in the morning before they come into bed. Guess they like to bed up an hour or so before 1st light and then move again around 9 or 10 . The guy told me once he stared doing this he was seeing more bigger bucks!

[JJWI]

Mature bucks do bed earlier than other deer. A good and proven way to hunt those beds in the morning is by hunting at the correct moon phase. When they are in a morning feeding phase they often get to their beds just after day light. This subject has been covered quite a bit on this site. I believe if you search Moon Phase you will get a lot of info in the subject

[U.P. MAN]

Correct moon phase = more time to sleep.

[Southern Man]

I like to get in the stand at least an hour before daylight and have been there almost 2 on rare occasions, but not 3-4.

[JakeJD]

If I hunt the morning, I like to be settled and ready at least an hour before shooting light (1.5 hours before daylight).

[mossyoak]

Correct moon phase = more time to sleep.

Bingo x2

[Edcyclopedia]

I've been in stand on a few instances 2 hours prior to legal...

I hate it as I'm still sleepy and have a hard not nodding off.
Plus I'm fuzzy the rest of the day.

Not for me - I'm more of an afternoon bow hunter.

Different story if I'm carrying my firearm but still only go out an hour before legal.

[dan]

The trouble with getting there super early is that the buck will likely bed before you can shoot. Its hard to have a good shot on a bedded buck, and its likely not getting back up till evening, so your there for the long haul. I have found mature bucks to be very good at sensing danger at close range. The longer you are that close to a buck the more likely he is going to bust you.
Pick the right moon phase, or hunt a calm morning after an evening / night storm that keeps the buck in his bed longer the night before putting him on his routine later.
One thing you must consider when doing morning hunts is that bucks don't come back to there beds in the same manor they leave them.
In the morning they often like to approach beds with the wind to there back. The reason I believe they do this is to smell if a predator is tracking them. So don't automatically expect them to come down the beaten trail to the bed in the morning. They might, but I see a lot of the older bucks come in wind to back... Just the opposite of what a lot of guys preach.

[Stanley]

My honest opinion, if you are spending anytime sitting in a tree, in the dark you are wasting good energy that can be used during daylight hrs. I believe one of the biggest reasons guys are not successful in killing a big one; is hunter burn out. If you are getting up 3 or 4 hrs early to hunt the mornings you will burn out before you should. I know tons of guys that hunt hard starting opening day and have no energy or desire, come six weeks later. I think even the hard core bed hunters need to conserve some energy for the long haul. Putting a big one on the wall usually comes from long grinding attrition, not just a couple of hunts.

[dan]

My honest opinion, if you are spending anytime sitting in a tree, in the dark you are wasting good energy that can be used during daylight hrs. I believe one of the biggest reasons guys are not successful in killing a big one; is hunter burn out. If you are getting up 3 or 4 hrs early to hunt the mornings you will burn out before you should. I know tons of guys that hunt hard starting opening day and have no energy or desire, come six weeks later. I think even the hard core bed hunters need to conserve some energy for the long haul. Putting a big one on the wall usually comes from long grinding attrition, not just a couple of hunts.

Thats a very good point Stan... We are always talking tactics that seem to promote pushing ourselves to the extreme extreme... But any whitetail addict who has been around a while has experienced "bow hunter burnout" Some guys suffer thru it every year....

[blackwolf]

I used to get out there early years ago, but never really saw much until after 8am. I like to sleep so now I get in stand 1/2 hour after light and stay longer. My best hunting is 8-9am and 11am-1pm, and last half hour daylight. I would "burn out" getting up that early.

[Kodiakman]

Yeah if I had to get into the stand 4 hours before light.... I would fish.

[dan]

I do get the beds early... I like to get there close to an hour before light and let things settle. But, I only hit the mornings on the right days, so its not as often...
As far as not seeing bucks till later in the morning, there seems to be different movements at different times depending on the stage of the season.
Early season I don't feel the need to be on stand much more than an hour after daylight, so an hour before to an hour after is only 3 or 4 hours total depending on how far I need to walk.
As far as rut goes, I still think bucks bed around dawn, so hunting beds in the morning does work then, but most guys don't realize this based on the way they set up...
During rut, my hunts start on a bed in the morning if the moon phase or conditions are favorable for a late return... If there is no luck at the bed, I have plenty of time to move to a late morning to early afternoon rut funnel, ridge between bedding, or, adjacent to a doe bedding area, or other rut travel feature. After that movement I tend to like to get on the edge of a doe feeding area and locate a parallel trail that is located in about 50 to 75 yards from the food source paralleling it where bucks check for hot does by crossing all the doe trails entering the food source.