AM vs PM hunts in the Southeast on Public

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MidTnHunter64
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AM vs PM hunts in the Southeast on Public

Unread postby MidTnHunter64 » Mon Oct 14, 2019 10:46 pm

Curious to hear how AM hunts measure up to PM hunts here in TN. on public hunting ground. Been thinking about doing more PM hunts and was curious of the advantages over AM besides the obvious espcially on public ground.


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jwilkstn
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Re: AM vs PM hunts in the Southeast on Public

Unread postby jwilkstn » Tue Oct 15, 2019 2:03 am

Obviously, deer can be seen and killed both morning and evening.

What you'll hear from most guys here that are intentionally hunting bedding is that the evenings are your more likely time to kill a mature buck as he leaves his daytime bedding, while he'll typically be bedded before daylight outside of the rut.

Personally, I hunt every chance I can. I have enough public to hunt that I don't have to hit the same areas but once a season, so I do "Beast style" hunts in the afternoons most of the season in spots I'm confident hold buck bedding. I use morning sits for targeting does and for buck hunting in more general areas where maybe I know a buck lives, but have been unable to really figure out the preferred bedding. I don't worry about messing that stuff up.
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Re: AM vs PM hunts in the Southeast on Public

Unread postby MrT » Tue Oct 15, 2019 2:43 am

Just got done with a week long hunting trip here in NC. Spent my mornings still hunting/scouting with my bow. Saw only doe movement, and not much at that. Came across multiple bucks and everyone of them were already in their beds. Soft bumped a couple out of them and had shot oppurtunities, but I let them walk.

Evenings I mostly spent on the stand and doe movement was about the same. However, buck movement increased and is the only time I saw bucks on their feet. Also noticed some midday movement.
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Re: AM vs PM hunts in the Southeast on Public

Unread postby MidTnHunter64 » Tue Oct 15, 2019 3:26 am

MrT wrote:Just got done with a week long hunting trip here in NC. Spent my mornings still hunting/scouting with my bow. Saw only doe movement, and not much at that. Came across multiple bucks and everyone of them were already in their beds. Soft bumped a couple out of them and had shot oppurtunities, but I let them walk.

Evenings I mostly spent on the stand and doe movement was about the same. However, buck movement increased and is the only time I saw bucks on their feet. Also noticed some midday movement.


Sounds about like what I have seen. I am still scouting for some good buck sign but not finding much. If I had more time off to do it I would drive farther to try to find a better area.
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Re: AM vs PM hunts in the Southeast on Public

Unread postby ihookem » Mon Oct 21, 2019 12:22 pm

If it is warm, sunny and calm in the afternoon , I would rather hunt in the morning when its cool. I seldom see deer on days like to day until I drive down the road and have to slam on my brakes for them. Today was 61 sunny and calm. I went fishing and saw as many fish in the cooler and I saw deer, none. Nice to be out though.
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Re: AM vs PM hunts in the Southeast on Public

Unread postby Budgetbuck1 » Thu Oct 24, 2019 5:36 am

I hunt public in NC and Virginia mountains and have seen more bucks in the mornings than in the evenings. That goes for early season or the rut. I killed one in the mid 140's on 9/19 right at daylight and my brother shot one around 120" that same morning at around 8am. We were set up within sight of the buck beds and got in a few hours before daylight. My brother and I were together last week, filming, and got another shot at a 120's 10 point around lunch within sight of his bed. Didn't take the shot because of some short laurel bushes but we did get on him. Together, in the evenings, we have only seen one buck(chasing a doe) and have had 0 shots. I know most people prefer evenings but all of my best bucks were killed in the mornings. I say if you have time off of work get out there and hunt, morning or evening. If you are close to bedding you should have a chance either way.
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Re: AM vs PM hunts in the Southeast on Public

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Thu Oct 24, 2019 5:44 am

I have only hunted TN a few times. Here is what I will say I have found in every state i have hunted. Am hunts are better for mature bucks for several reasons.
1) More predictability in thermal activity than evening
2) Mature bucks will often bed down early, wait for does to bed, and then cross trial them
3) It is easier to sneak into a buck bedding area when he is not presently there (this requires getting into bedding 2 hours before daylight in some cases)
4) Deer pattern hunters and most hunters go in at daybreak or 2 hours before nightfall - deer know this and tend to be hyper-alert at these times. few hunters are pressuring deer 2 hours before daylight
5) Most of the time bucks are out feeding or chasing does prior to daylight
6) easier to predict what a buck has on his mind in AM - he is returning to his safety zone and most mature ones are going to play the wind when they do so - PM he could be wanting to check out a scrape, rub line, food source, doe bedding, water hole, etc... and they can move in any direction for any reason.
7) even if he beats you to bedding, if you will stay put and are positioned downwind, you can get a crack at him if he decides to get up browse, water, rub, etc... goes back about how difficult it is to sneak into most buck bedding core areas

finally - hunting both AM and PM doubles time spent in woods and increases odds one will walk by for whatever reasons - you cant kill them from bed.


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