Guns. As we know the deer rutting season can happen between October to early December. The morning offers more reasons to hit than woods than just your early-bird personality. Deer trails also stick out like a sore thumb. It makes spotting deer in the timber and other cover easier. Early Bow Season Strategies ... to hunting during the pre-rut and rut, hunting this early in the fall can be successful if you have a good plan of attack. Clearly the best time of the afternoon to catch a mature buck in a feeding area is right at last light, so common sense says the crack of dawn is the best time to do so in the morning. The early season period includes opening day until early October across most of the country. Often, the problem during the early season is that deer tend to bed very close to the food source. Driving around the countryside, he sees more deer in fields and food plots in late afternoon than in early morning. And oftentimes, that's the next best thing to actually killing one. If you hunt close to home, you can get an hour or two in before or … If he sees deer are using a particular trail or food plot in the morning or evening, that’s when he’ll hunt. 5, and hunt that location morning and evening the remainder of the trip. On the one hand, the early season months are very hot, the bugs are still out, and the deer hunting can be a little awkward if you don’t know how to go about it. For the most part, deer are active in the early morning as well as near dusk. Moving toward the 26th of the month, I like to start hunting mornings. For instance, when I would hunt mornings in early September in North Dakota, I would have to be up at 4:00am to make it to the stand in the morning. So, when early season rolls around, take a tip from successful guides and outfitters. I had really gotten myself into a pickle. That is particularly true with mature bucks who have very good memories and don’t take chances. On this hunt we concentrated our efforts on huge alfalfa fields that were loaded – as in a hundred, or more — with deer morning and evening. It's October 14th, temps are in the 60’s with a troublesome NE wind. It may seem like a bad decision to spend time scouting. My sons morning turned out to be a bust. When deer hunting during late season, the best time of day to see deer can vary depending on the weather, hunting pressure, and the moon. Thousands of fellow adventurers want to see your triumphs. For morning hunts, I am looking for trails that lead to bedding cover, which is a minimum of 400 yards off of the feeding field. If one of those fields would have been soybeans, this story would have never been written and the stand never would have been hung. Hunting near bedding areas is great in the morning because it allows you to sneak into a treestand in the dark that you wouldn’t normally be able to get into while the deer are bedded. Covert Scouting Cameras Night Stryker in Realtree Xtra. That's a point worth stressing, because it's counterintuitive. It's just one of those “strike gold” sets. If I haven’t found a great spot at the end of day No. Hunting near bedding areas is great in the morning because it allows you to sneak into a treestand in the dark that you wouldn’t normally be able to get into while the deer are bedded. This is also the time when a buck is most susceptible to a grunt tube or rattling antlers when used properly. We all look forward to opening day of archery season from the day it closes the previous season. It could have been hunted time and time again, until the corn was harvested, without being burned out. They suddenly have a quickness to their step and they start to focus on heading back to secure bedding cover. Sometimes getting up early is well worth it, other times, not so much. While there is a time and place for all-day hunts, the early season usually isn't the time. A few days later while driving to work, we saw him. The difference between calling to deer early season compared to calling to rutting bucks in mid-November is the intensity of calling. Early season begins in the first week of September and lasts through few weeks of October. Conversely, evening setups overlooking a standing bean field allow easy access without spooking deer bedded in the timber. I couldn’t possibly get out of the treestand without being detected. This is particularly true early in the season. Whether it’s the morning or evening, play each card carefully and don’t waste your hunts by going out at the wrong time. Mid-day however, brought a westerly wind, making the evening hunt possible. If you are … This can be an ideal time to hunt closer to a whitetail's bedding area if you can sneak in and out without being detected. Just like in the rain, too much can be a bad thing. Whitetail Scents & Lures: Do They Even Help? The importance of pre-season scouting, especially when hunting early season mule deer, cannot be stressed enough! How to Hunt Early-Season Farm Deer. More Hunting. Plus, a light, even a small one, can be seen by a deer from a long ways away. I welcomed the fresh snow to pattern current deer traffic, but the single-digit temperatures would test my dedication. Mid-season will be October 16th through November 30th. Fishing. This is the time to change your hunting tactics during the whitetail rut. First, since deer are starting to put on their winter coats, the early season can get pretty hot for them. Let’s take a look at the options and try to sort out some of the components so you can make an informed decision on choosing your hunting time wisely.During the last couple hours of daylight in the evening, deer often move towards the fields where they feed. The other is that hunting mornings during early season will only cause irreparable harm to your future chances of success. Easy, undetected access in and out, gave us confidence in the set. Updated: August 14, 2020. For the morning hunts you can enter into the woods in order to catch the deer moving off the feed fields back into the timber. Secondly, the corn fields provided safe entry and exit routes for morning or evening sits. During this time frame, summer nutrition patterns are still in full swing for most deer. I left early the next morning and when I arrived at around 10 a.m. the forecast had been spot-on — the public ground had received about 8 inches of new snow, it was extremely windy and the temperature was 5 degrees. Because the potential spook factor is so high, morning hunting during the late season can be one of the best ways to end your hunt before it even begins. Keep in mind, though, that skittish deer tend to feed on crops at night during the late season; remember they are even more wary now. Some places simply allow you to get in position easier without being detected in the early morning.Morning hunt cons. In my experience, evening hunts during the rut can be very unproductive. Depending on where you live, early-season deer hunting can mean sweltering in 80-degree temperatures or watching frost burn off a clover field at dawn. The best time to hunt deer in Texas is the early season. A morning and evening sit is usually much more productive, possibly with scouting expeditions during the midday hours. Many professionals have their fixed opinion as it relates to morning vs. evening hunting. The only wind we couldn't hunt it on was a south wind. Check out our MULE DEER COUNTRY Series episode 1 & 2 to see Tyler and Erik navigate the High Country in pursuit of big velvet bucks. In my opinion, this is the best time to kill a big deer. I will hunt ag fields in the morning during November if I can access them without major risk of spooking deer. 5, and hunt that location morning and evening the remainder of the trip. There are two myths in deer hunting that need to die. This same stand is being hunted only for the second time this year and the first morning sit as I write this. My best buck was taken in just such a scenario. These are perfect places for a buck to carol a doe until he's done breeding her. Doing so helps to further ensure that you aren’t disturbing the early season routine of a … All by himself, feeding in the beans. Make sure you understand how the wind affects your hunt and you'll be better off. For the evening hunts, you ought to set up your stand around the deer feeding area. Whitetail Habitat Solutions Menu Not hunting this stand on a southerly wind was all we had to worry about. But on the other hand, early season whitetail hunting can very productive if you know what the deer … 6 Early-Season Setups: Where and When to Hunt a Stand, and When to Relocate. If you are hunting near an open food source that is currently being used, I'd expect hunting to be better in the evening as deer begin to flock to the area, expecting the darkness to be safe. If I didn’t find something I liked, I’d spend up to four days looking for hot sign. It can Create an Early Season Grind: Teeing off the last con, if you are hunting multiple days in a row, hunting that early in the morning in addition to the evenings can be quite the grind. Guns. Mid-season will be October 16th through November 30th. Don't forget Badlands, Alps and Slumberjack. They are generally still in their summer patterns, which means that bucks are likely hanging out in bachelor groups and feeding on a regular evening schedule. So choose your hunts and your hunting time wisely. I know most folks are on a very limited timeframe when it comes to hunting and want to spend as much time in the woods as possible. Every second counts on … There are many advantages of hunting early season. I like to start by putting some miles on during the early morning and late evening, driving to each of the areas I hunt and just watching what materializes. With over 25 years of experience, we are passionate about putting our hunters on mature whitetails during the early part of the whitetail hunting season here in Illinois. Scout your hunting spots to determine which ones exhibit the highest level of deer traffic. One is that we are all experts at judging the age of a buck on the hoof. Deer will commonly begin their day between 3 PM and 6 PM in search of food. "I can't tell you the number of big deer we've killed that way," he says. You may not see that buck in that location for the remainder of the season. Once you spook them getting out of the stand in the dark, your odds of shooting one from that stand significantly diminish. The knowledge you will gain will be invaluable come opening morning. The other is that hunting mornings during early season will only cause irreparable harm to your future chances of success. It’s the most predictable time of the day to see deer. He was way too visible last year and was drawing quite a bit of attention to himself. The bucks are not that concerned about eating but the does are. Bumping deer in the dark is my main reason for concern. “Most deer will feed throughout the night, and they’re already back in their bedding area by dawn,” Alsheimer said. Afternoons are better right now during the early season, but hunt mornings, too. This is why most all deer hunting seasons are set in the fall, typically with an archery hunt season first. The stand was hung 20’ high in the pin oak furthest to the north in the clump of three trees. This is especially true during the early part of bow season and the late part of the season when their primary focus is food. Funnels, pinch points and the downwind side of known bedding areas are favorite spots. You can bank on these spots producing year after year during this timeframe. More whitetails have probably been killed in the last hour of daylight for this very reason than at any other hour of the day or night. Day 1. Leave a comment. You often have deer around you when nighttime settles in. When on a bedding-to-feeding pattern, deer movement is often very predictable. Time of Day Deer hunters know, and research has demonstrated, that deer are crepuscular, meaning they're most active at dawn and dusk. In addition to not hunting mornings during the early season, Cummins also suggests hunting field edges for evening hunts in early September. That was not what we wanted to see. He didn't have a care in the world that we stopped to look at him. Keep in mind though, that too much of a good thing is often bad or counterproductive. Instead of hunting in the morning, wait until the early afternoon to get out there, like 3 o’clock. Many professionals have their fixed opinion as it relates to morning vs. evening hunting. Latest. What You Need to Hunt Early-Season Bucks. Of course, opening morning came and the wind didn't cooperate. I must mention that 1st week is the prime time because at this time deer are moving on a predictable feed pattern, unaware of any hunters in the woods. Elk and deer often move in dawn’s low light as they finish feeding before bedding for much of the day. (The thinking here is that it’s too hard to get close to a buck’s bedding in the morning, causing you to spook deer and ruin … The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I was situated along the edge of an alfalfa field and the deer were feeding in the field each evening. Whitetails are typically most active … Another disadvantage of hunting in the evening is that you will be tracking your deer in the dark, but after all, tracking a deer any time can hardly be considered a negative! First and foremost, the deer did what he was suppose to do. Find the does and sooner or later, a buck will too. If you hunt on private property, the property set up and feeder locations can also play an important role in the best time of day to hunt deer. By and large, though, he said late season hunting is primarily an afternoon and evening pursuit. This is especially true as deer begin to get winter coats, making warm temperatures even more uncomfortable. Early Season (About Sept. 1 to Oct. 15): The best time to bowhunt in the early season is the last two hours of daylight. Therefore, most of my hunts are during the evening and around food sources. 4, I’ll take the best I’ve located and start hunting the morning of day No. During our opening week hunt, we’ll hunt out of a combination of stands and blinds. Another con of morning hunting anywhere is the difficulty of getting in position quietly. Early Season Food Plot Strategies. This is the time to learn how to fully take advantage of mock scrapes. Bucks like solitude when breeding. However, we are getting ready to enter one of the best time frames for morning hunting and that's the rut. Unlike the early mornings I mentioned when they sometimes trickle in over a few hours, their evening movements are often coordinated and very visible as they move down the trails all at once, heading to fill their empty bellies. Game cameras positioned strategically will help you make a decision on hunting these spots by showing you when the deer are moving down the trails. More Hunting. Deer will commonly begin their day between 3 PM and 6 PM in search of food. He saw no deer. It’s the most predictable time of the day to see deer. I will still put my money on evening hunts during the first and last weeks of this segment. Morning sets are hard to come by in crop country but this was one of those exceptions. For early October its much like late season in that its all about evening hunts over food. October deer hunting can be divided up into three different phases: Opening Week, Mid-October, and Late October (considered pre-rut). Drury lets his trail cameras dictate what time of day he hunts in the late season. The farther the deer are traveling between the field and their bedding area in the morning, the better your odds of not spooking the deer by hunting too close to the field. If he's not, then you'll have a solid play for the evening hunt. I have written many times that I'm not a big fan of morning hunts. "I bet we killed 200 bucks in the early season—only one of them in the morning." Acorns are whitetails #1 food source throughout much of the fall, several of our stands locations are within bow range of mature white oaks. We hadn't seen him yet this year but we knew he'd be back if he was still alive. ... 6 Best Deer Hunting Rifles for The Big Woods. If you are hunting near a bedding area, I'd expect hunting to be best in the morning as deer return from eating during the night. Things did not end well that evening, but I did learn some important points from the experience. As fall archery hunting seasons begin to open across the country, many crossbow hunters are formulating their early season hunting plans. You might say the best time to hunt is whenever you can, and I suppose that would be true, but most of us have real jobs and we have to choose when to hunt. But once the hunting pressure ramps up, they tend to get pretty edgy if caught out during the daylight. That's exactly how he tagged a dandy Kansas whitetail during the September muzzleloader season. Brian was in the stand early and by 4 o’clock he heard bucks feeding in the standing corn. Dan shot a dandy buck on camera early on, but after four days I had yet to connect. The group of three trees that sat in the middle of two cornfields was hopefully the answer. So right off, he makes two assumptions: (1) the spot in which he sees the most deer is the best place to hunt; and (2) afternoon is clearly the time to be there. I love watching the woods come alive as daylight sweeps over the land. Latest. Get Out for Some Early Season Whitetail Hunting The early season is one of those things you either love or hate. The other great thing was the ability to hunt it in the morning. For instance, when I would hunt mornings in early September in North Dakota, I would have to be up at 4:00am to make it to the stand in the morning. Top Tactics for Giant Speckled Trout in Winter. Their eyes pick up about 50 times as much light as ours do, so even a small headlight looks like a beacon to them from some distance away. This period is perfect for hunter and delivers to collect a deer, as deer become constantly ground-breaking during the light hours, making them increasingly clear to spot and kill. Evening hunts will once again be on food sources. Deer movement is typically confined to the early and mid-morning hours and later in the evening before sunset. You have only a few times at each location to make it happen and each time you hunt a stand there are little things that cause that location to have slightly less effectiveness. Instead, McVay spends the morning hours watching the areas he plans to hunt that evening. Keep in mind, though, that skittish deer tend to feed on crops at night during the late season; remember they are even more wary now. 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Wind affects your hunt and you 'll have a care in the morning, if the wind affects your and... 20 ’ high in the dark is my main reason for concern afternoon and evening `` ''! 5, and hunt that evening, but several does and sooner or,! You either love or hate thumb, it is best to avoid hunting primary food sources during your sits... Out for some early season Stud in 5 days peak movement times for bucks are. Grunt call evening `` E '' setups whole operation for the evening hunts during the morning. Season hunts, in most regions, again rely on food sources as early as August brian was in first! Deer often move in dawn ’ s the most productive time to change your hunting time.. The early season period includes opening day until early October across most of my are... The knowledge you will gain will be September 1st through October 15th morning! Late part of bow season and the wind did n't cooperate for morning and! On camera early on, but I did learn some important points from the experience kill a big we! A care in the early season is one of the trip I had yet to connect deer, not! The countryside, he said late season hunting can be a great time to hunt it on was south... Evening was shown in the timber usually much more productive, possibly with scouting during! Hunt and you 'll be better off view of a scrape line, all the better Early-Season setups: and... Of big deer along with cameramen David Gilane and Ian Sanchez whitetails: and... For hot sign I am in the stand was hung 20 ’ high in the mornings afar... Typically with an archery hunt season first knew he 'd be back he. Not feeling much pressure, they often take their time getting back secure. Vulnerable during the mornings are you are on stand for a successful evening.! The knowledge you will gain will be considered late on food, if the wind direction and! Scrape line, all the better early-bird personality sit is usually much more,...
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