Just curious when you boys start hitting the woods in the AM? Generally evening hunts are much better in the early season, so I was wondering when you start up some morning sits.
I get out when I can. That usually means Saturday mornings. With my family, it's harder to hunt mornings. I do wish I was able to get more evening sits in. I enjoy them a lot.
On saturdays I usually hunt 6am to noon then ill go back out at 3 till dark. Then two nights a week after work ill sit from 5pm until dark.
Oct 20ish I personally think morning hunts do more harm than good in the early season unless you have a special place you can get in without bumping deer. I dont have one of those.
I only hunted opening morning because every condition was right...I try to wait till later on in the season to do many of them though...then I do a lot of all day sits as well. As for actual timing depends on the stand....the stand I hunted Wednesday I was up the tree nearly 2 hours before legal light...but that was because I was so amped I couldn't sleep so got ready. Usually if hunting bedding area stand type setting it's 1 hour before shooting time I like to be setting and ready. If transition area I like to be ready to go 30 mins prior.
I usually get into stand 30-45 minutes before first light (not sunrise but first light). Tomorrow will be my first time in the stand for the year and I'll be hunting most of the day.
I have hunted morning and evening in SC last two weekends. bumped deer each time in the morning even tho I was careful. should have stayed home I guess. Evenings are much easier right now.
This time of year I hit my stand in the morning by 6 at least then in the afternoon I normally am in da tree by 4. That all changes as the days get shorter.
I go in at about an hour before first light I love watching the woods wake up. I have a good spot that I don't jump the deer before I get to my stand. I have a few does come in at different times of the day. I have been watching them for a while. I havent done any evening hunts to much over time. I work saturdays and leave sunday night for the family. I hunt sunday until about 3pm. It sucks but nice in its own way.
I use to hunt mornings more before the kiddos came along and before my in-laws place became so hard to hunt in the mornings. Anymore it is an evening place. During the rut it is also pretty good if I get in there mid-morning and stay till dark. There is usually some pretty good chases going on during that time.
The stand I hunt in the morning would be very difficult to kill anything from in the evening. I would not spoke them going in, while hunting in the evening, however it would be dark before they reach me. They seem to walk by the stand going to bed as the sun is coming up.
Hunted this morning but it was a couple hundred yards right behind my house and I can walk straight down the road and the stand is 5 ft off the road.
Depends on the stand site. Getting too and from your stand without bumping deer is the ultimate goal. I've had mixed success with seeing deer during morning and afternoons sits. I like my stands set up on the edge of a bedding area so I can intercept deer coming or going during all times of the day. I also avoid walking through any crop fields when its dark.