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Posted: 12/4/2015 7:23:03 PM EDT
[#1]
There are so many variables it's hard to tell. Wind, rain, clouds, barometric pressure, fronts, temperature, etc. etc. Throw in rut and moon phase also. I've hunted deer, raised deer, guided hunters for decades and hell if I know. I will say this, you can't get one unless your in the woods. So hunt as often as possible.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 7:29:15 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There are so many variables it's hard to tell. Wind, rain, clouds, barometric pressure, fronts, temperature, etc. etc. Throw in rut and moon phase also. I've hunted deer, raised deer, guided hunters for decades and hell if I know. I will say this, you can't get one unless your in the woods. So hunt as often as possible. That is the only answer that you will ever need. 
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Posted: 12/4/2015 7:49:11 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That is the only answer that you will ever need. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
There are so many variables it's hard to tell. Wind, rain, clouds, barometric pressure, fronts, temperature, etc. etc. Throw in rut and moon phase also. I've hunted deer, raised deer, guided hunters for decades and hell if I know. I will say this, you can't get one unless your in the woods. So hunt as often as possible. That is the only answer that you will ever need. I can accept that. Just means that as long as I'm out there, I'm doing it right 
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Posted: 12/4/2015 8:02:40 PM EDT
[#4]
I used to have better luck in the evening and my dad always had better luck in the morning.
The past 5 years or so I've definitely had better luck in the morning and my dad has been having better luck in the evening.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 8:45:05 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There are so many variables it's hard to tell. Wind, rain, clouds, barometric pressure, fronts, temperature, etc. etc. Throw in rut and moon phase also. I've hunted deer, raised deer, guided hunters for decades and hell if I know. I will say this, you can't get one unless your in the woods. So hunt as often as possible. Yep. I will say that I've killed my two biggest bucks in the evening but that doesn't mean a whole lot. |
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Posted: 12/5/2015 11:39:57 AM EDT
[#6]
It seems like I've killed the majority of my bucks during the rut between 9 and 10:30 AM. I did kill a 150 inch 8 pointer a few years back at 3:30 in the afternoon. In regards to outside of the rut, most all have came during the last half hour of legal shooting light.
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Posted: 12/6/2015 1:21:25 AM EDT
[#7]
I prefer hunting afternoons, 1 I dont like waking up early, and two I feel that it is easier to scare deer moving into your stand during the dark of early morning then around noon. Plus if ou move to your stand around noon/early afternoon then the deer should be bedded down. I have seen deer in the morning but I have seen more in the evening, but thats just me and it probably depends on whereyou are hunting and the feeding/bedding areas in relation to your stand
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Posted: 12/6/2015 2:21:19 AM EDT
[#8]
After many years of dedicated scientific experimentation, I've concluded that the only way to be successful when hunting deer is to be where they are, when they decide to be there.
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Posted: 12/6/2015 9:06:44 AM EDT
[#9]
I've taken 10 deer or so over the years I have hunted.I've gotten equally in the am best time was 7:30 and the afternoon 330-5pm.
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Posted: 12/6/2015 9:42:20 AM EDT
[#10]
If I am looking for a wall hanger I hunt in a stand in the morning. If I want a good sized doe I hunt fields in the evening.
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Posted: 12/6/2015 11:47:48 AM EDT
[#11]
Where I live in Maryland, there's no rhyme or reason to where they'll be.
I've seen some nice bucks in the morning walking to the garage to go to work, and in the evening when I pull in after work. Does are around every time of the day and night. They seem to be more relaxed after sunset though. |
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Posted: 12/10/2015 12:11:53 AM EDT
[#12]
I have kept extensive notes on our lease for the last 5 years. We can look at the weather, time of year, and what crops are up and tell you where most of the deer will be and when.
In short, it mostly depends on where the food sources are and what the weather is doing to determine where the deer area at a particular time of the day. If a doe is up and moving, it is eating. If it is around the rut, the does are still eating except for the 24 hours they are searching for a buck, and the bucks are crossing all the trails around the food sources, or with a doe. So we are still hunting the trails around the food. In short, hunt all day.  Of our 6 largest deer, 2 in the AM, 2 in the PM, and two from 12-2 PM. From our notes though, we see more shooter bucks in the AM, but the biggest of big have been in the evening.
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Posted: 12/10/2015 12:29:34 AM EDT
[#13]
Every deer I've ever shot has been in the evening except one.
The big ass bucks come out just as it gets too dark to see. 
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Posted: 12/10/2015 12:09:19 PM EDT
[#14]
Alot of it depends on where they are bedding and where they are feeding. And human pressure. Two biggest have been in evening but I've seen some real monsters mornings as well.
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Posted: 12/10/2015 7:27:58 PM EDT
[#15]
Best way to figure this out (or try to) is to put up a game camera where you plan to hunt and see if you can pick up on patterns. Unfortunately for me the game camera sees the most movement at 4 in the morning and then randomly through the day without any apparent pattern.
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Posted: 12/10/2015 10:40:46 PM EDT
[#16]
I have killed all my bow kills in the am, and most of my gun kills am or mid-day.
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Posted: 12/10/2015 11:45:16 PM EDT
[#17]
Dusk
I have a difficult time waking up at 5am after partying until 2am |
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Posted: 12/10/2015 11:57:11 PM EDT
[#18]
What I like about dawn hunts is that if you have to follow a blood trail you can see it a lot better than if you shoot at dusk. At times, usually during rut or bad weather, I have seen bucks in the open mid-day.
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Posted: 12/11/2015 1:56:20 AM EDT
[#19]
As this first response said, it depends on a lot however I believe the biggest things are moon phase, weather and location. Some of my areas are better in the AM and some are better in the evening.
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Posted: 12/11/2015 11:08:16 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There are so many variables it's hard to tell. Wind, rain, clouds, barometric pressure, fronts, temperature, etc. etc. Throw in rut and moon phase also. I've hunted deer, raised deer, guided hunters for decades and hell if I know. I will say this, you can't get one unless your in the woods. So hunt as often as possible. Plus, where I hunt, most of our deer are shot in the woods in the mornings and out in the fields in the afternoon, Not all mind you but just as a general observation. |
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Posted: 12/11/2015 11:14:22 AM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There are so many variables it's hard to tell. Wind, rain, clouds, barometric pressure, fronts, temperature, etc. etc. Throw in rut and moon phase also. I've hunted deer, raised deer, guided hunters for decades and hell if I know. I will say this, you can't get one unless your in the woods. So hunt as often as possible. Plus, where I hunt, most of our deer are shot in the woods in the mornings and out in the fields in the afternoon, Not all mind you but just as a general observation. |
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Posted: 12/11/2015 6:55:54 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I prefer hunting afternoons, 1 I dont like waking up early, and two I feel that it is easier to scare deer moving into your stand during the dark of early morning then around noon. Plus if ou move to your stand around noon/early afternoon then the deer should be bedded down. I have seen deer in the morning but I have seen more in the evening, but thats just me and it probably depends on whereyou are hunting and the feeding/bedding areas in relation to your stand This is pretty much my experience as well. The places I hunt (mostly suburban settings, some country) have scads of deer present in the morning but hell if I can get into place without tripping over the whole herd. Try to sneak around grandma's house and the fuckers are wheezing and gasping, snorting and stomping. I'm pretty sure I can hear laughter as well. In the afternoon, however, different story. I can look around, sneak into place and wait. That said, the above is purely just my preference. I have PlotWatcher Pro time lapse cameras and I pretty much document the deer movement every day. Some weeks it's mornings, some weeks it's evenings, some weeks it's both, some weeks it's nada. The ONLY thing that I have found to be consistent, at least where I am, is that after mid Jan the deer sightings fall off the cliff. Dunno where the hell they go, like they're on vacation or something, but if I usually have 6 out of 7 days a week with deer on the camera that will fall off to 1-2. |
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Posted: 12/16/2015 3:29:25 PM EDT
[#23]
Though I have spent considerable more time hunting in the morning, I've probably killed twice as many in the evening.
For me, they just seem to move better right before dark. The biggest buck I've ever shot came out at high noon. |
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Posted: 12/16/2015 4:11:17 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
This is pretty much my experience as well. The places I hunt (mostly suburban settings, some country) have scads of deer present in the morning but hell if I can get into place without tripping over the whole herd. Try to sneak around grandma's house and the fuckers are wheezing and gasping, snorting and stomping. I'm pretty sure I can hear laughter as well. In the afternoon, however, different story. I can look around, sneak into place and wait. That said, the above is purely just my preference. I have PlotWatcher Pro time lapse cameras and I pretty much document the deer movement every day. Some weeks it's mornings, some weeks it's evenings, some weeks it's both, some weeks it's nada. The ONLY thing that I have found to be consistent, at least where I am, is that after mid Jan the deer sightings fall off the cliff. Dunno where the hell they go, like they're on vacation or something, but if I usually have 6 out of 7 days a week with deer on the camera that will fall off to 1-2. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I prefer hunting afternoons, 1 I dont like waking up early, and two I feel that it is easier to scare deer moving into your stand during the dark of early morning then around noon. Plus if ou move to your stand around noon/early afternoon then the deer should be bedded down. I have seen deer in the morning but I have seen more in the evening, but thats just me and it probably depends on whereyou are hunting and the feeding/bedding areas in relation to your stand This is pretty much my experience as well. The places I hunt (mostly suburban settings, some country) have scads of deer present in the morning but hell if I can get into place without tripping over the whole herd. Try to sneak around grandma's house and the fuckers are wheezing and gasping, snorting and stomping. I'm pretty sure I can hear laughter as well. In the afternoon, however, different story. I can look around, sneak into place and wait. That said, the above is purely just my preference. I have PlotWatcher Pro time lapse cameras and I pretty much document the deer movement every day. Some weeks it's mornings, some weeks it's evenings, some weeks it's both, some weeks it's nada. The ONLY thing that I have found to be consistent, at least where I am, is that after mid Jan the deer sightings fall off the cliff. Dunno where the hell they go, like they're on vacation or something, but if I usually have 6 out of 7 days a week with deer on the camera that will fall off to 1-2. Where in VA do you hunt? I hunt in Loudoun County, and this was exactly my observation last year. The late firearms antlerless season was nothing but days of sitting out in the cold not seeing a thing. |
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Posted: 12/16/2015 6:10:08 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Where in VA do you hunt? I hunt in Loudoun County, and this was exactly my observation last year. The late firearms antlerless season was nothing but days of sitting out in the cold not seeing a thing. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: I prefer hunting afternoons, 1 I dont like waking up early, and two I feel that it is easier to scare deer moving into your stand during the dark of early morning then around noon. Plus if ou move to your stand around noon/early afternoon then the deer should be bedded down. I have seen deer in the morning but I have seen more in the evening, but thats just me and it probably depends on whereyou are hunting and the feeding/bedding areas in relation to your stand This is pretty much my experience as well. The places I hunt (mostly suburban settings, some country) have scads of deer present in the morning but hell if I can get into place without tripping over the whole herd. Try to sneak around grandma's house and the fuckers are wheezing and gasping, snorting and stomping. I'm pretty sure I can hear laughter as well. In the afternoon, however, different story. I can look around, sneak into place and wait. That said, the above is purely just my preference. I have PlotWatcher Pro time lapse cameras and I pretty much document the deer movement every day. Some weeks it's mornings, some weeks it's evenings, some weeks it's both, some weeks it's nada. The ONLY thing that I have found to be consistent, at least where I am, is that after mid Jan the deer sightings fall off the cliff. Dunno where the hell they go, like they're on vacation or something, but if I usually have 6 out of 7 days a week with deer on the camera that will fall off to 1-2. Where in VA do you hunt? I hunt in Loudoun County, and this was exactly my observation last year. The late firearms antlerless season was nothing but days of sitting out in the cold not seeing a thing. Vienna (archery) and Berryville (firearm). I always keep the cameras out until the season ends and for the past 5 years or so it's always the same (and I wouldn't know what happened before that). After about the second week in Jan they just disappear. And I was even considering asking someone I know with 10 acres in Lovettsville if I could hunt the late firearms season there. Sounds like maybe not... -Stooxie |
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Posted: 12/16/2015 6:22:42 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Vienna (archery) and Berryville (firearm). I always keep the cameras out until the season ends and for the past 5 years or so it's always the same (and I wouldn't know what happened before that). After about the second week in Jan they just disappear. And I was even considering asking someone I know with 10 acres in Lovettsville if I could hunt the late firearms season there. Sounds like maybe not... -Stooxie Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I prefer hunting afternoons, 1 I dont like waking up early, and two I feel that it is easier to scare deer moving into your stand during the dark of early morning then around noon. Plus if ou move to your stand around noon/early afternoon then the deer should be bedded down. I have seen deer in the morning but I have seen more in the evening, but thats just me and it probably depends on whereyou are hunting and the feeding/bedding areas in relation to your stand This is pretty much my experience as well. The places I hunt (mostly suburban settings, some country) have scads of deer present in the morning but hell if I can get into place without tripping over the whole herd. Try to sneak around grandma's house and the fuckers are wheezing and gasping, snorting and stomping. I'm pretty sure I can hear laughter as well. In the afternoon, however, different story. I can look around, sneak into place and wait. That said, the above is purely just my preference. I have PlotWatcher Pro time lapse cameras and I pretty much document the deer movement every day. Some weeks it's mornings, some weeks it's evenings, some weeks it's both, some weeks it's nada. The ONLY thing that I have found to be consistent, at least where I am, is that after mid Jan the deer sightings fall off the cliff. Dunno where the hell they go, like they're on vacation or something, but if I usually have 6 out of 7 days a week with deer on the camera that will fall off to 1-2. Where in VA do you hunt? I hunt in Loudoun County, and this was exactly my observation last year. The late firearms antlerless season was nothing but days of sitting out in the cold not seeing a thing. Vienna (archery) and Berryville (firearm). I always keep the cameras out until the season ends and for the past 5 years or so it's always the same (and I wouldn't know what happened before that). After about the second week in Jan they just disappear. And I was even considering asking someone I know with 10 acres in Lovettsville if I could hunt the late firearms season there. Sounds like maybe not... -Stooxie Well, very similar to me then. I hunt Fairfax County archery and then with firearms in Lovettsville at a family friend's farm. Last year was the first year I had permission to hunt, and I didn't start until after the first of the year. I spent a fair number of days on the farm during the late season, and saw some deer sign, but no deer. This year has been a different story. I started hunting first day of ML, and I shot one deer during ML and now up to 2 more deer during firearm. So deer are absolutely on that farm, I just have no idea where they go in late winter. I'll keep trying during the late season, but I'm going to keep expectations low. |
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Posted: 12/18/2015 8:18:59 PM EDT
[#27]
Some areas are better in the morning, and some evening. That being said, I have seen more bucks at noon than any other time. I don't go in the woods until after daybreak and hunt til 1. I usually don't start seeing deer until 9. I have killed three 130" bucks between 9 and 12.
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Posted: 1/17/2016 2:22:33 AM EDT
[#28]
I find that some of my areas are better in the am and some are better in the pm.
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Posted: 1/17/2016 2:29:42 AM EDT
[#29]
They always seem to show up right when I'm starting to doze off in my stand.
This past year they were moving all day, but it was my first year hunting, and it's on land that nobody's been on in 7-8 years |
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Posted: 1/17/2016 4:39:44 AM EDT
[#30]
I find that in general, dawn movement is better, particularly because the deer don't spook as easily.
This is of course provided that you are able to be in your stand/blind at least 45 minutes prior to sunrise. All other things considered, it completely depends on many other factors, wind, weather, and most importantly location. For instance if a group of deer are using a certain path every night to Come into a field right before dark, as long as the wind is in your favor, I'd take a stand right next to that path over just about any other setup. |
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Posted: 1/22/2016 2:42:54 PM EDT
[#31]
I probably shot more deer at dusk, but probably hunted more at that time.
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Posted: 2/7/2016 11:04:39 AM EDT
[#32]
Location, location, location. It depends on that mostly where I hunt, cause the deer have their own patterns. I got stands that produce in the AM and others that produce in the PM. Most important thing for me is having a scope w/ illuminated reticle for PM- they love to come out at last legal light.
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Posted: 2/10/2016 7:40:44 AM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I prefer hunting afternoons, 1 I dont like waking up early, and two I feel that it is easier to scare deer moving into your stand during the dark of early morning then around noon. Plus if ou move to your stand around noon/early afternoon then the deer should be bedded down. I have seen deer in the morning but I have seen more in the evening, but thats just me and it probably depends on whereyou are hunting and the feeding/bedding areas in relation to your stand I don't walk in until after daylight because I like to sleep in, don't want to sit in the stand in the dark, and don't want to jump a deer without having a chance to shoot it. I've made kills on the way in. Why don't you go in at 8? I often don't start seeing deer until 830 or 9 and it gives it time to settle down. They move at lunchtime often until early afternoon. No point in sitting in the dark. |
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Posted: 2/10/2016 7:46:09 AM EDT
[#34]
Quoted:
Have you had the same success during the dusk deer movement as the dawn deer movement? While I'm asking, how about the "noon stroll"? That's not an easy question to answer. Sometime some places are better in the morning and some better in the evening. You have to figure out how the deer are using your property. As a general rule, I don't hunt food plots or open fields in the mornings. They are better evening spots. I hunt the woods or thick brush in the mornings until noon or 1. Also, don't do the same thing everytime. Deer will pattern you. Can't say how many times I hung a stand in a great spot and not seen many deer. I was over hunting it and the deer made new trails around me. I now use climbers only and move from tree to tree. I don't spend too much time in the same area without giving it a rest. They can't pattern me. Often, the first time I hunt a new spot is the best. |
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Posted: 3/5/2016 7:43:49 AM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
After many years of dedicated scientific experimentation, I've concluded that the only way to be successful when hunting deer is to be where they are, when they decide to be there. |
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Posted: 3/11/2016 4:47:56 PM EDT
[#36]
I've shot 35 or so deer in my lifetime. 50 % of them have been in the early part of the gun season on a morning hunt. 25% during the evening hunt, 20% on pushes/drives and 5% around noon when I decided to stay out during lunch or fell asleep during the morning hunt and woke up only to have deer within spitting distance
. My best buck I shot at noon. My 2nd best buck I was inside cooking osso bucco while the other guys went out on a drive. This sneaky bastard buck doubled back through the drive, ran across a road and was sneaking through the backyard into the creek bottom when I saw him through a window so I shot him from the porch. 
Of the 200 or so deer shot by friends that I was with during hunting seasons I'd say the majority have been morning hunts. Dawn to 11 am or so. We have a spot thats about as "guaranteed" to produce a deer on opening day or the next day as can be and it's shot at 7:30 am or 9:30 am. Never at any other time and we've been keeping track of that spot for years. It's uncanny that it happens just about every year at exactly those times. It is our "camp meat" and has been for years. As others have said, I might not know alot, but I know you cant shoot a deer from the sofa, so the more time in the woods the better. Tell you what though - I can shoot a deer while doing the dishes and getting a really good dinner ready for friends.....
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Posted: 4/12/2016 9:39:02 PM EDT
[#37]
based off of pretty much everything the first person posted, my experience as a whole has been as follows:
in central texas I've killed 100% of my deer in the morning, but i do mostly morning hunts there.... in west texas around del rio, we've seen and killed most of our deer just before sundown. out there we hunt all day and while we have killed deer in the mornings, we see more movement in the evenings. my personal preference is to sit and watch in the mornings and do my shooting in the evening.... but i won't pass on a deer very often..... edit: on my new lease here in east texas i have deer coming to one of my feeders almost exclusively in the evening.... but I'm sure they are on someone else camera in the mornings
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Posted: 4/12/2016 10:24:58 PM EDT
[#38]
depends on the day.....
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Posted: 6/9/2016 4:42:12 PM EDT
[#39]
Most of the deer I shot at between 8AM and 9:30. (north woods, WI and MN).
Mid afternoon around 2pm has been good also. |
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Posted: 6/9/2016 5:02:16 PM EDT
[#40]
Equally good. Too many variables to limit it to dusk/dawn.
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