Morning vs Evening during early season????

[OffTheBeatnPath]

Exactly what I am trying to accomplish is from the careless tactics and approach that has more times than naught proven to be wastes of time spent in the stand. Vs paying a bit more attention to the conditions, the resources and my approach in hopes of increasing encounters and potential opportunities of success.

I’ve definitely learned the hard way that being careless on the way in will just be a waste of time in the stand! I know it varies by different properties, but if I have a good deer in an area I’m going to figure out a way to hunt him in the mornings and afternoons if the conditions are right. I ain’t hunting strictly mornings or afternoons until October or November but that is just me.

 

[GregoryB.]

Call me crazy but I prefer to head to the stand when it’s 70 degrees instead of 90 plus I have no desire to track a deer in the dark so I mostly hunt mornings in the early season. Once the temps drop I hunt morning and evening. I am a meat hunter so I don’t worry about big Buck movement.

 

[humblehunter22]

Call me crazy but I prefer to head to the stand when it’s 70 degrees instead of 90 plus I have no desire to track a deer in the dark so I mostly hunt mornings in the early season. Once the temps drop I hunt morning and evening. I am a meat hunter so I don’t worry about big Buck movement.

I am right there with you but in the same sense if every cotton pickin time my tail end drags up out of the comfortable confines of my bed in perfectly cooled ac to haul it into the woods just to get pestered by the critters incessantly on the way in just to sit in complete radio silence and be lucky to as much as see ? a dagblern squirrel. Heck I'm willing to hold off on the subtleties and head in during the heat of the mid day to try and catch em on the move in the evenings instead. Again it's been my personal experience that morning's just have not been my cup of tea when it comes to seeing a single critter while in the tree. Hour before sunrise to a surplus of several hours before sunrise catching a cat nap waiting for it. Im fine with sweating if that means the hopes of increasing sightings in the tree vs on the ground headed in.

 

[WOODIE13]

It all depends, but typically have morning and evening stands that historically produce pretty regular.

One thing is for sure, can't kill them from the couch...unless you're shooting out your window in the AC.

 

[humblehunter22]

It all depends, but typically have morning and evening stands that historically produce pretty regular.

One thing is for sure, can't kill them from the couch...unless you're shooting out your window in the AC.

Very well said. More than likely will try out some areas of familiarity for the mornings early on but for places like the main area of focus I have in mind I am going to err on the side of caution and play it safe.

 

[bilgerat]

I enjoy morning hunts in the early season, too hot in the afternoons for this old man, I rake a 100-yard path from the camper to the box stand on My food plot so I can be stealthy

 

[humblehunter22]

I enjoy morning hunts in the early season, too hot in the afternoons for this old man, I rake a 100-yard path from the camper to the box stand on My food plot so I can be stealthy

Nothing wrong with that at all. Stick em 1st light drag em right back to camp in time for breakfast.

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

I have climbed trees on opening day in the evening, could hear the sweat dripping from my nose and hitting the leaves underneath me, and still killed doubles. As long as the wind is right, you have done your scouting homework and found them first feed trees…you just about have to shoot in self defense. They haven’t had a acorn in 9-10 months…..their coming. It’s not the most enjoyable hunt in the evening temperature wise, but a trick I learned along time ago helps.
We always carry a cooler with ice/ water in our trucks for cold drinks. This was before the therm a cell came along. A lot of us wore a ‘Shannon’s bug tamer” jacket to keep the skeeters at bay. It was that or pull your drawers up over your ears . It’s made with a net and has a layer of thin material much like a sheer curtain. We learn to throw the bug tamer in the cooler on the way to the hunt. When you get up in the tree, wipe down with a small hand towel and put the bug tamer on. When it starts the evaporation process, it pulls a lot of heat from your body and makes you feel much cooler. Same process as having a wool liner on a canteen. You dip it in a creek an as it evaporates, it cools the water. Now if you hunt a different part of the country where they are feed trees everywhere….you need different tactics,

 

[WOODIE13]

I'm usually dragging a grandkid or two with me, still see, miss and take deer with them and they do as well.

I hunt 95% of the time out of blinds

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

I'm usually dragging a grandkid or two with me, still see, miss and take deer with them and they do as well.

I hunt 95% of the time out of blinds

That’s the very best kind of hunting in my book.

 

[humblehunter22]

I have climbed trees on opening day in the evening, could hear the sweat dripping from my nose and hitting the leaves underneath me, and still killed doubles. As long as the wind is right, you have done your scouting homework and found them first feed trees…you just about have to shoot in self defense. They haven’t had a acorn in 9-10 months…..their coming. It’s not the most enjoyable hunt in the evening temperature wise, but a trick I learned along time ago helps.
We always carry a cooler with ice/ water in our trucks for cold drinks. This was before the therm a cell came along. A lot of us wore a ‘Shannon’s bug tamer” jacket to keep the skeeters at bay. It was that or pull your drawers up over your ears . It’s made with a net and has a layer of thin material much like a sheer curtain. We learn to throw the bug tamer in the cooler on the way to the hunt. When you get up in the tree, wipe down with a small hand towel and put the bug tamer on. When it starts the evaporation process, it pulls a lot of heat from your body and makes you feel much cooler. Same process as having a wool liner on a canteen. You dip it in a creek an as it evaporates, it cools the water. Now if you hunt a different part of the country where they are feed trees everywhere….you need different tactics,

Found an old bug tamer exactly like what you just mentioned and Lord knows I love that thing when hunting in swamps. Factor that in with a therma cell can sit for hours on end without as much as a single jab from the flying blood banks. It is rough for sure but as stated if you can push past the mental barrier that generally goes against the grain of logic there's no telling. Me personally I am to impatient to wait around for rifle season and cooler crisp temps to hit the ground running. Uncle Sam had me in just about every God awful environment known to man for better part of 8 years this is vacation in comparison to many a memory of times spent in the elements. 2 Different types of tactics for certain hunting the heat of early season vs the rutt.

 

[bfriendly]

Early season it’s always hotter in the daytime, so deer feed at night when it cools off. Deer do not spook as bad in the dark as they do in the daylight. You will frequently bust deer or run them off when getting to your stand before daylight. Those deer do not run way off for miles. They stand silent and hope to identify the source. In the mean time while your climbing, they are listening. When an animal hears something, it knows exactly where it came from…..not just a general direction. That’s how they bust you as soon as it’s light enough to see. The best thing you can do is get there a little earlier and climb up as quietly as possible, noise discipline is so important, you can even blow a couple light bleats before light, it’s may give them a all clear signal or relax them a little. The key to bow hunting is to scout twice as much as you hunt. When you find a good feed tree, you also can find a good tree that will provide the best cover when you climb.

Some of those guys you see just walking thru the woods during hunting hours are actually scouting during the coolest part of the day. Those same guys are often dragging a corpse that evening. Of coarse they should always practice courtesy and never interfere with other hunters.

If you hunting just big deer, wait and scout about 1-1 1/2 hours after daylight which will give them time to leave the feed trees and bed. Be back to hunt your hot sign 2 hours before dark but be very quiet and play the wind. Big deer are easier to kill in the evening unless you have his bed pinned down, and then he will hear you leave if you don’t connect with him. It’s a big chess match and playing the game is where the fun is at. If you can find that very first tree dropping acorns or perssimons, you just about have to shoot in self defense…….there coming, don’t matter how hot, how windy or anything else….their coming.

Boy this^^^ is some good stuff! Hillbilly, your use of the term “Feed tree” makes me wonder if you know Warren Womack? Also, are you and @humblehunter22 hunting out of a saddle? Carrying a climber? A mobile setup will let you find the sign and set up right then and there. I’m trying to learn this stuff and find feed trees myself. A lot of my public land places are overloaded with acorns of many varieties. That said, there are some special trees that should produce if I can get the timing down. I too am meat hunting and just want to see deer

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

I’ve just recently heard of Mr. Womack, but from what I have seen of him, Chris Spikes and Mr. Carter, we hunt a lot a like. I don’t hunt out of a saddle, I use a Summit. I am privileged to be able to hunt a whole lot more than most people. You just pick stuff up if your in the woods enough. When I climb a tree, there is a reason. I don’t do pot luck. I got tired of that when I first started out. When I climb down from a tree, if I haven’t killed, I will scout for a couple hours to up my odds of killing that evening. Scouting is always the key, and hunt where the deer tell you, Too many acorns can cause problems or require twice the scouting. A great year for a bow hunter is when there are few acorn trees producing……and you know where their at

 

[humblehunter22]

Boy this^^^ is some good stuff! Hillbilly, your use of the term “Feed tree” makes me wonder if you know Warren Womack? Also, are you and @humblehunter22 hunting out of a saddle? Carrying a climber? A mobile setup will let you find the sign and set up right then and there. I’m trying to learn this stuff and find feed trees myself. A lot of my public land places are overloaded with acorns of many varieties. That said, there are some special trees that should produce if I can get the timing down. I too am meat hunting and just want to see deer

Bfriendly exactly, I am in a lease but with life and everything going on I will be relying more on some much more conveniently located public to try and get some hunts in @ during the heat of the early season. That being said for reference the 1 piece of public is dominated in terms of huge stands of mature hardwoods so it is like hunting in a massive sea of reigning akerns when the trees do begin to drop, even early trees are many and plenty in numbers. So I have tried to shy away from the large stands of hardwoods and find those concealed pockets with select clusters of oaks mixed in with pines and other various hardwoods. This 1 area in particular is secluded off the beaten path, hard to reach, bordered by pine plantation on 1 side and on the other beaver swamp and creek bottom on the other. I am rolling with my trusty 80s model summit that my ole man passed down when I was a kid. Thing is beefy but in terms of comfort it sets up like a cadillac. Sightings when in the tree have been a challenge for me but my strategy in the past especially for my public land tactics have been to hit it hard out the gate in the mornings and set well into the mid afternoon hours and typically by then I get burnt out from the heat and usually have just forewent the evening hunts due to the heat. Moving forward I am anticipating changing my process up entirely and just easing into the woods altogether around lunchtime and hunt through the evening in hopes of increasing sightings and opportunities during the afternoon and evening hunts.

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

Trashy woods with only a handful of acorn trees is a bowhunters paradise if he play the wind right.

 

[bfriendly]

Trashy woods with only a handful of acorn trees is a bowhunters paradise if he play the wind right.

I have that area in my head…..I feel like I need to rescout an area I’ve been to 100 times! Like a climber, my saddle pretty much lets me setup on the fly, anywhere…..plenty of pole like trees too.

 

[PSEOutlaw07]

There may be some special occasions where you can hunt mornings in the early season, but for the most part, I'm only gonna be hunting evenings in the early season.

 

[cunnij]

I try to pick up a pattern with my camera a few weeks out from opening day - hunting in the heat is just normal for early season Georgia; I just deal with it - I prefer to hunt mornings early season just so I'm not tracking after dark if I can help it - but I agree with many previous posts, I see more activity in the PM

 

[humblehunter22]

I try to pick up a pattern with my camera a few weeks out from opening day - hunting in the heat is just normal for early season Georgia; I just deal with it - I prefer to hunt mornings early season just so I'm not tracking after dark if I can help it - but I agree with many previous posts, I see more activity in the PM

Exactly there isn't really escaping it is just a fact of the matter. And agreed typically I like to gauge what the activity is by what the cams tell me the last 2 months of summer if I am fortunate enough to spot the consistency's from what the cams tell me activity wise. This season mainly rolling into things blind, between life and work it has just prevented me from getting much accomplished. However I am confident in my knowledge of the areas I intend on hunting from past experiences and trips to the woods scouting. I know the deer are definitely there I just do not know their time tables on peak movement. Which is why I'd much rather sleep in on the mornings and forego making the unwise mistake of possibly doing way more harm than good and slip in the area to hunt the afternoon around lunchtime or so and just pack plenty of waters for the hot sit. Ease in while they are bedded up and wait for them to slip off to feed in the evenings.

 

[BowanaLee]

I haven't killed a big buck in the morning since, well, I can't remember killing one. I do hunt almost exclusively in the afternoons though. In the last 5 years, 9 big bucks fell in the afternoons. Some whoppers too.
Anytime you can go is a good time.