Morning? Midday? Evening?
- Stanley
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
I have some thoughts on morning vs evening dealing with mature bucks during the rut. I think if you are hunting close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less bucks in the morning than evening. I know a lot of hunters that swear by morning hunting for seeing the old boy. During the rut there is more activity farther away from bedding than there is closer. I believe this is why some guys like mornings over evenings, "they hunt farther away from doe bedding areas than I do".
I have hunted a lot of both AM & PM lets face it setting up close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less deer all around. This said, I do believe the first 15 minutes after first light is a great time to kill a good buck. I think every minute after that your chances are not as good until 10:00 AM.
During the rut just about any time of day is good. Bucks are on their feet more than any other time of year during day light hrs.
Placing yourself in the best possible place will net you the most buck sightings whether AM or PM.
I have hunted a lot of both AM & PM lets face it setting up close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less deer all around. This said, I do believe the first 15 minutes after first light is a great time to kill a good buck. I think every minute after that your chances are not as good until 10:00 AM.
During the rut just about any time of day is good. Bucks are on their feet more than any other time of year during day light hrs.
Placing yourself in the best possible place will net you the most buck sightings whether AM or PM.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
- headgear
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
Stanley wrote:I have some thoughts on morning vs evening dealing with mature bucks during the rut. I think if you are hunting close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less bucks in the morning than evening.
I feel the same way Stan but for slightly different reasons. In the bigwoods we usually see some good mid-day movement. I believe the mags refer to it as the mid-day shuffle and that is kind of how I see it. In the morning all the deer are kind of heading back to bed after a wild night of wild rut activity. You might catch a buck with a hot doe but a lot of that is based on luck. Then mid-day the bucks get up and shuffle around a bit looking for a hot doe. If you can't intercept them during this shuffle then your odds are going to be better hitting those doe bedding areas in the evening. Go to the source!
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
Stanley wrote:I have some thoughts on morning vs evening dealing with mature bucks during the rut. I think if you are hunting close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less bucks in the morning than evening. I know a lot of hunters that swear by morning hunting for seeing the old boy. During the rut there is more activity farther away from bedding than there is closer. I believe this is why some guys like mornings over evenings, "they hunt farther away from doe bedding areas than I do".
I have hunted a lot of both AM & PM lets face it setting up close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less deer all around. This said, I do believe the first 15 minutes after first light is a great time to kill a good buck. I think every minute after that your chances are not as good until 10:00 AM.
During the rut just about any time of day is good. Bucks are on their feet more than any other time of year during day light hrs.
Placing yourself in the best possible place will net you the most buck sightings whether AM or PM.
Stanley,
Where do you think is the best for setting up in mornings durring rut. Close to buck bedding? Then move to doe bedding mid day to catch bucks searching? Then maybe parrell trails or buck beds again for the evening?
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
Most of my good ones were shot in the AMs... biggest was at 1:45PM on Nov 13th
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- Bigb
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
Evenings have alway been the best for me, but I'll admit I don't sit a lot from 11 to 1 but this year I plan on trying a lot more. My three biggest bucks have all been killed about an hour before dark.
I have always had good luck with sightings around 830A though. Not sure why but we have a couple stands that at 830A is when they really get going, before then not much. Almost like a light switch.
I have always had good luck with sightings around 830A though. Not sure why but we have a couple stands that at 830A is when they really get going, before then not much. Almost like a light switch.
- live2hunt
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
headgear wrote:Stanley wrote:I have some thoughts on morning vs evening dealing with mature bucks during the rut. I think if you are hunting close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less bucks in the morning than evening.
I feel the same way Stan but for slightly different reasons. In the bigwoods we usually see some good mid-day movement. I believe the mags refer to it as the mid-day shuffle and that is kind of how I see it. In the morning all the deer are kind of heading back to bed after a wild night of wild rut activity. You might catch a buck with a hot doe but a lot of that is based on luck. Then mid-day the bucks get up and shuffle around a bit looking for a hot doe. If you can't intercept them during this shuffle then your odds are going to be better hitting those doe bedding areas in the evening. Go to the source!
This shuffle is when I have seen some of the biggest deer. I believe it is because I mostly hunt the fringes of doe and buck bedding areas in very thick cover. They either lose their doe or stand up out of the bed to grab a snack. Once I get better at the beast style hunting I am sure my success will shift more towards the late evening. But as always I will continue to hunt any chance I get. I am just curious what others observe and there has been some great points and discussion
- Stanley
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
Sweet Shot 7 wrote:Stanley wrote:I have some thoughts on morning vs evening dealing with mature bucks during the rut. I think if you are hunting close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less bucks in the morning than evening. I know a lot of hunters that swear by morning hunting for seeing the old boy. During the rut there is more activity farther away from bedding than there is closer. I believe this is why some guys like mornings over evenings, "they hunt farther away from doe bedding areas than I do".
I have hunted a lot of both AM & PM lets face it setting up close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less deer all around. This said, I do believe the first 15 minutes after first light is a great time to kill a good buck. I think every minute after that your chances are not as good until 10:00 AM.
During the rut just about any time of day is good. Bucks are on their feet more than any other time of year during day light hrs.
Placing yourself in the best possible place will net you the most buck sightings whether AM or PM.
Stanley,
Where do you think is the best for setting up in mornings durring rut. Close to buck bedding? Then move to doe bedding mid day to catch bucks searching? Then maybe parrell trails or buck beds again for the evening?
During the rut bucks are in their beds less than any other time of the year. This means bucks are moving around looking for hot does. The only bucks that spend a lot of time in their beds are the way older bucks that don't participate in the breeding of does. If you can find where an old Monarch beds you can hunt him in that bed. Otherwise the buck beds for the most part are empty during the rut. A lot of good breeder bucks will be sequestered with does during the peak of the rut.
In my honest opinion even in the AM you have to hunt the land structures that you have available; in between 2 doe bedding areas is the best for sure. funnels, saddles, benches, corridors, parallel trails. This will give you the best chance at a good breeder buck. Another option is to sleep in the AM and go out at 10:00 and hunt all day. A good friend of mine told me close to 35 years ago this is what he always does. I kind of shrugged him off. I did try this a couple of times and found it to be very effective. I always thought I have to out there before light. Found out not necessarily so. One thing about sleeping in, it keeps you way fresher for a long grinding season. Big difference in thinking you have to go hunt rather than chomping at the bit to get out and hunt.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
- Stanley
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
headgear wrote:Stanley wrote:I have some thoughts on morning vs evening dealing with mature bucks during the rut. I think if you are hunting close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less bucks in the morning than evening.
I feel the same way Stan but for slightly different reasons. In the bigwoods we usually see some good mid-day movement. I believe the mags refer to it as the mid-day shuffle and that is kind of how I see it. In the morning all the deer are kind of heading back to bed after a wild night of wild rut activity. You might catch a buck with a hot doe but a lot of that is based on luck. Then mid-day the bucks get up and shuffle around a bit looking for a hot doe. If you can't intercept them during this shuffle then your odds are going to be better hitting those doe bedding areas in the evening. Go to the source!
That is interesting. This is the first time I have ever heard the term mid-day shuffle. I just don't read many magazines. I guess I need to get out of the house more.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
- live2hunt
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
Stanley wrote:headgear wrote:Stanley wrote:I have some thoughts on morning vs evening dealing with mature bucks during the rut. I think if you are hunting close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less bucks in the morning than evening.
I feel the same way Stan but for slightly different reasons. In the bigwoods we usually see some good mid-day movement. I believe the mags refer to it as the mid-day shuffle and that is kind of how I see it. In the morning all the deer are kind of heading back to bed after a wild night of wild rut activity. You might catch a buck with a hot doe but a lot of that is based on luck. Then mid-day the bucks get up and shuffle around a bit looking for a hot doe. If you can't intercept them during this shuffle then your odds are going to be better hitting those doe bedding areas in the evening. Go to the source!
That is interesting. This is the first time I have ever heard the term mid-day shuffle. I just don't read many magazines. I guess I need to get out of the house more.
I like this term kind of catchy. Another mid-day shuffle example that causes deer to move is a dramatic wind shift. I have watched the forcast for days where the wind will pull a 180. The deer get nervous when it changes and if you are in the right spot you will see them almost immediatly.
- Stanley
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
live2hunt wrote:Stanley wrote:headgear wrote:Stanley wrote:I have some thoughts on morning vs evening dealing with mature bucks during the rut. I think if you are hunting close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less bucks in the morning than evening.
I feel the same way Stan but for slightly different reasons. In the bigwoods we usually see some good mid-day movement. I believe the mags refer to it as the mid-day shuffle and that is kind of how I see it. In the morning all the deer are kind of heading back to bed after a wild night of wild rut activity. You might catch a buck with a hot doe but a lot of that is based on luck. Then mid-day the bucks get up and shuffle around a bit looking for a hot doe. If you can't intercept them during this shuffle then your odds are going to be better hitting those doe bedding areas in the evening. Go to the source!
That is interesting. This is the first time I have ever heard the term mid-day shuffle. I just don't read many magazines. I guess I need to get out of the house more.
I like this term kind of catchy. Another mid-day shuffle example that causes deer to move is a dramatic wind shift. I have watched the forcast for days where the wind will pull a 180. The deer get nervous when it changes and if you are in the right spot you will see them almost immediatly.
Great point.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
Stanley wrote:I have some thoughts on morning vs evening dealing with mature bucks during the rut. I think if you are hunting close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less bucks in the morning than evening. I know a lot of hunters that swear by morning hunting for seeing the old boy. During the rut there is more activity farther away from bedding than there is closer. I believe this is why some guys like mornings over evenings, "they hunt farther away from doe bedding areas than I do".
I have hunted a lot of both AM & PM lets face it setting up close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less deer all around. This said, I do believe the first 15 minutes after first light is a great time to kill a good buck. I think every minute after that your chances are not as good until 10:00 AM.
During the rut just about any time of day is good. Bucks are on their feet more than any other time of year during day light hrs.
Placing yourself in the best possible place will net you the most buck sightings whether AM or PM.
Nicely put, that mirrors my own findings.
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
live2hunt wrote:Stanley wrote:headgear wrote:Stanley wrote:I have some thoughts on morning vs evening dealing with mature bucks during the rut. I think if you are hunting close to doe bedding areas in the morning you will see less bucks in the morning than evening.
I feel the same way Stan but for slightly different reasons. In the bigwoods we usually see some good mid-day movement. I believe the mags refer to it as the mid-day shuffle and that is kind of how I see it. In the morning all the deer are kind of heading back to bed after a wild night of wild rut activity. You might catch a buck with a hot doe but a lot of that is based on luck. Then mid-day the bucks get up and shuffle around a bit looking for a hot doe. If you can't intercept them during this shuffle then your odds are going to be better hitting those doe bedding areas in the evening. Go to the source!
That is interesting. This is the first time I have ever heard the term mid-day shuffle. I just don't read many magazines. I guess I need to get out of the house more.
I like this term kind of catchy. Another mid-day shuffle example that causes deer to move is a dramatic wind shift. I have watched the forcast for days where the wind will pull a 180. The deer get nervous when it changes and if you are in the right spot you will see them almost immediatly.
Great point, I wonder if a switch in thermal drag could sometimes explain that 9:30- 10:00 AM flurry of action I sometimes see. I've never put it togeather that way but some days it seems like it can take until around that time for the thermal drag to switch.
They say millwrights can fix anything except a broken heart, but I've even got a tool that can do that!
- yungbuck
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
I hunted mainly mornings last year...that will never happen again
this year I have really only been seeing the bucks (including a nice ten point) coming out in the overcast evenings to feed before dark... young bachelor groups still assembled...I will be hunting evenings until the pre/rut when I will be putting if for all day sits and stalks
this year I have really only been seeing the bucks (including a nice ten point) coming out in the overcast evenings to feed before dark... young bachelor groups still assembled...I will be hunting evenings until the pre/rut when I will be putting if for all day sits and stalks
nothing but a simple minded god fearing public land bow hunter
- Badger
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
Defiantly evening for me but I've gotten a few mid day. I rarely ever morning hunt, they don't make coffee strong enough for that nonsense
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Re: Morning? Midday? Evening?
I can definitely understand how not hunting the AM applies to mature bucks because they tend to get back so early. How about AM hunting for does? Is there a time frame in the AM that tends to be pretty consistent for does returning back to bedding? I've only hunted once in the AM and I saw a fawn pass through but usually I avoid hunting the AM because I can never find good access to slip through bedding / food sources without potentially disturbing deer. Just curious how you guys feel about hunting in the AM if you were hunting for meat.
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