Morning / Night ?

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saddlesniper
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Morning / Night ?

Unread postby saddlesniper » Mon Aug 05, 2013 10:44 am

In marsh country it appears you hunt afternoons. Hill country mornings. Most videos and information that i have found say get in there 2 hours before light, then wait it out. When he gets up tag him. Feels like I'm starting over again!again!


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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby dan » Mon Aug 05, 2013 11:54 am

in my opinion the best time to hunt is in the evening outside of the rut regardless of where your hunting... Rut, mornings rock. But the rest of the season evenings are usually better cause mature bucks are often bedded before daylight and are pretty careful coming to bed.
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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby BigHunt » Mon Aug 05, 2013 12:06 pm

dan wrote:in my opinion the best time to hunt is in the evening outside of the rut regardless of where your hunting... Rut, mornings rock. But the rest of the season evenings are usually better cause mature bucks are often bedded before daylight and are pretty careful coming to bed.

100% agreed
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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby Swampbuck » Mon Aug 05, 2013 12:17 pm

dan wrote:in my opinion the best time to hunt is in the evening outside of the rut regardless of where your hunting... Rut, mornings rock. But the rest of the season evenings are usually better cause mature bucks are often bedded before daylight and are pretty careful coming to bed.



I've had a feeling this was the case, outside the rut every buck I have killed has been in the evening...And I hunt mornings much more often... Granted none of these were mature bucks nor have a killed enough to have a true sample size but this is GREAT information

Im going to be doing a lot more evening hunting this season
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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby gjs4 » Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:38 pm

I base it on observation (the ride and from work or driving at night) and the OH UF moon phases..in general i feel middays are better for mature bucks than mornings
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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby Crazinamatese » Mon Aug 05, 2013 2:20 pm

I have found the most activity in my area occurs around 10 in the morning. Days with an overcast sky, usually around daylight and 8 AM. Just some observations. Late september deer are usually moving good toward evening. My good friend hunts oak ridges when the oaks drop their mast and he sees deer all day long fedding on acorns.

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MN Legacy
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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby MN Legacy » Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:10 pm

Well most of the areas I hunt it's hard to get into your spots in the mornings because of how the property lies. I do tend to hunt mornings in late Oct and early Nov. I prefer evenings for most of the year.
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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby PK_ » Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:53 pm

2pm, Hot day, secluded water hole.

Hard to beat.

I enjoy mornings more because of the predawn anticipation. But I think evenings are much more in the hunters favor most of the year. Good breeze usually covering the noise of your approach and streaming your scent in a predictable fashion. For the most part you know where the deer are going to be... Mornings are usually very quiet and still in the swamp, hard to go unnoticed.

Thinking about it, I don't think I have even laid eyes on a mature buck during season in the morning outside of rut activity and forced movement...
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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby JoeRE » Tue Aug 06, 2013 1:16 am

My experiences are a bit different than most guys. Under the right conditions I much prefer mornings, pre rut. I think the key is wait until you have the right conditions...first good cold front, a good rain the night before, moon overhead or underfoot at sunup, a flurry of pre-rut activity, all these really help in my opinion (the best is a combination of these!). Full moon all night or hot weather or even just "average" conditions w/o any of those good factors I mentioned - I don't bother getting up early for a morning hunt. Being selective about what mornings I hunt results in having more encounters with big bucks in the AM than in the PM, before the rut, over the last few years.

During the rut I don't think I prefer one or the other....my thought would be it really depends on what type of location you are hunting. You can have action every minute of the day during the rut. Just give me some nice cool weather and some known buck travel corridors!
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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby Milk Weed Seed » Tue Aug 06, 2013 2:55 am

I like morning hunts better because I like seeing the sunrise, but usually not much action outside the rut. I used to hunt mornings in winter bow and came to the conclusion it's a waste of time and energy for the most part during this time of year. If you keep a log of your hunts, the results will show you the difference.
Not sure if thanksgiving is considered part of the rut still but I have had great success in the am around this time of year! I'd say mid Oct- Turkey day mornings can be stellar given the right conditions.

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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby Stanley » Tue Aug 06, 2013 5:33 am

I think everything depends on where you set up. Mornings are great time to catch a big buck still on its feet close to its bedding area/bed. That said in my experience mornings produce less sightings of most bucks with the bigger bucks being the exception. I think it all depends on the predators, man not included. wolfs, cats, coyotes, prey at night. So if you are hunting an area that is all stirred up with predators roaming, mornings could be worse.

Guys that set up on open fields could see more action in the morning in my opinion. If you are set up on does bedding during the rut, break of day could be worse than say an hr after sunrise. Does that are not in heat are looking for food. They travel from food sources to bedding in the morning. I still say the old boy at crack of dawn is a good bet during the rut. Most other buck activity will be later by 30-60 minutes.

I have mentioned more than once big buck hunting is a grind most years. Not too often you go out and bag the old boy opening morning (it does happen not often though) and are done for the year. It takes, time, dedication, effort, energy, stamina to hunt all season. If you are getting up at 3 in the morning to hunt every day all day you will suffer burn out more than likely. I am more dedicated than most and suffer from burn out doing this. If you are getting up early because you feel you have to, that's no fun. I find I can hunt more efficiently, hunting evenings early season hunt from 10:00 Am until dark during the rut. I can maintain better concentration and my success ratio improved immensely doing this routine. Pick a few mornings when the weather, moon, mood is right and hunt a morning or two. Keep it fun, don't make it a job.
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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby Jay » Wed Aug 07, 2013 1:21 pm

In hill country once the leaves are off it can be pretty tough to get to the right spot in the afternoon without being seen. Make sure you know what the deer can see.
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Re: Morning / Night ?

Unread postby Brad » Thu Aug 08, 2013 4:49 am

I hate morning hunts and I seldom hunt them. By mornings I mean setting up in the dark. I do hunt at gray light in the rut so its breaking light on the stand set up. I do not feel comfy setting up in the dark because you cannot see for sure where you need to be ( most of my rut spots are going in blind) and I find it super hard to access spots without bumping deer With the vast fields in my areas. I can take my time in the evening and I don't have to rush.

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