Morning or Evening

[gbrony]

I've watched a lot of Dan's hunts and videos and I know his primary focus is bedding for mature bucks. I know he hunts evenings by getting close to where a buck beds but does he hunt mornings by getting in super early and waiting for the buck to return to his bed? I'm not sure about his morning tactics.

[Whitetailaddict]

I believe he does get in early and usually on moon days when he feels the bucks will be late to their beds or around this time of year when they may be out later chasing the ladies but I'm not positive. Mornings should be productive soon if not already

[tgreeno]

Here is a great thread discussing this very topic. Also, if you do a search, you should find alot of information.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11663

I do not morning bed hunt. Just too much risk involved for a rookie like me!

[Jhand]

I'm not a huge fan of morning hunts unless it's this time of year. I don't hunt right over beds in the morning. I try to find a scrape close to bedding and hope to catch them hitting that before going into their bedding area. Also this time of year downwind of doe bedding areas can be great any time of the day.

[cw2gsp]

I just mentioned this on another thread. Maybe other New Englanders can chime in but in my experience mornings are every bit as good as evenings around here. That includes mature buck movement. Not sure if it’s because their feeding pattern is different because there is virtually no crop fields or what it is. I just know I need to get my but out of bed as much as possible!

[northeast beast]

I just mentioned this on another thread. Maybe other New Englanders can chime in but in my experience mornings are every bit as good as evenings around here. That includes mature buck movement. Not sure if it’s because their feeding pattern is different because there is virtually no crop fields or what it is. I just know I need to get my but out of bed as much as possible!

Are you talking hilly terrain? I have noticed deer getting back to bed a little later in the mornings in the hills then i do when i hunt the marshes or farm land.I hunt western NY

[headgear]

Morning are still tough in my neck of the woods, for every buck I see coming back to bed in daylight there are 10 that show up way to early to kill. Happened to me yesterday, get to the tree 1.5 hours before first light and in comes a buck making all kinds of noise passing by about 25 yards, then they eventually smell me and disappear. This has happened to me a lot but I won't give up, just might not hunt some of my better spots this way until I have a better handle on things.

[ThePreBanMan]

Yea mornings are good here in MA...

[fishlips]

Not a fan of mornings, but I know guys that do really well on morning hunts. It seems like it's situational though. I have found a few spots that set up well for the morning, but not nearly as many evening setups. Just hard to beat them back to their beds it seems like.

I'd say if you have a spot that seems like it's worth a try in the morning, try it and see what happens. It might not work, but you might have an encounter that will help you in the future.

[cw2gsp]

Are you talking hilly terrain? I have noticed deer getting back to bed a little later in the mornings in the hills then i do when i hunt the marshes or farm land.I hunt western NY[/quote]

As I mentioned there really isn't any farm land to speak of around here. A hay field here and there. Mostly wooded so when the deer feed they browse their way back to bed which gives you a better opportunity in the morning. I wouldn’t compare NY to NH,MA, or ME. Very different.


On a side note, I'm headed to some public ground in OHIO in TWO DAYS!!!!!

[Mathewshooter]

I hunt public land so mornings are usually better for me. Theres less human activity in the AM (hikers,campers, horseback riders) so I think the deer feel a little safer running around in the mornings. I still see deer in the afternoons and try to hunt both as much as possible but it seems I see more deer in the AM.

[mheichelbech]

Most of my evening sits result in a shot near dark. Therefore I only like hunting mornings for 3 reasons:

1) Easier to blood trail and find a deer I’ve shot and have a lot longer before it gets dark to search.

2) Easier to field dress a deer in daylight; easier drag out when you can see where your going.

3) I don’t think as many guys hunt evenings when it starts getting cold; after a cold morning they just don’t have the energy to go back out for an evening sit.

However, I do like morning sits (or all day) for the pre-rut and rut. If a hot doe or does are in the area, I have all day to possibly capitalize. Also it’s good to have all day in general since bucks are up and moving more in daylight.