Last year I had entertained the thought of doing an all day hunt. I never did one for one reason or another. I have been thinking about opening day since closing day last season. I think my wife is getting tired of hearing about it by now. Thats normal for a bow hunter though right? Anyways, I am thinking about and will probably do an all day hunt on opening day this year. I have what I believe will be a great stand already set up. So the location is picked out. It will probably be pretty warm on opening day here as it usually is in NC. Should I take my Tinks Vanish with me to respray every so often? I have no idea what to pack for lunch, snacks and drinks and since I have never hunted for more than a six hour sit, I am sure there are more things that I wouldn't think about preparing for than things I would think about. Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated and is this a good idea for opening day or should I wait until rut is in full swing?
depending on how crazy you are about scent control depends on what you pack for lunch. i have read other posts about this topic in the past. some guys stick with water and apples since they are natural smelling, others will pack just about anything you can think of. if i were going to do an all day i would pack plenty of stuff to snack on. jerky, trail mix, granola bars, etc etc. im really not concerned if the deer smell my food, they live in populated areas, and smell humans, and human food all the time. i would also pack something to pass the time, book, game boy, or whatever you like. sitting all day is extremely boring, unless you have deer moving all day.
I'd wait til Nov. I bring two bottles of water, phone, maybe a book, a few packs of crackers, granola bars and most importantly... a full can of snuff
I hope when i do an all day hunt, I will not have to sit all day. I am hoping I harvest one and go home. lol which makes me ask another question. Say its 9:00am and you shoot one. Do you stay in the stand and wait to see if you have another one come in or retrieve the one you shot, gut it, clean it and ice it then go back out as soon as you can??
I sit all day sometimes, but not usually until late October on. When I do, I take jerky, trailmix, 2 bottles of soda, my phone (to play games on), and I always have a bible in my pack. And I never go in the woods with some toilet paper, just in case. I lost a good t-shirt one time due to that lol. I have killed deer early in October in the mid afternoon though so an all day sit early can be productive. I have a family and I prefer to use my hunting time for the higher probability times. Last year during rifle season, I killed a deer before 7. I took him home and quartered it and got it in the cooler. It was my last day of rifle season and I had another tag so I went back out about 2. By 2:15 I had another doe on the ground. Although I usually feel that one deer is enough for a day and I'll stay at home after getting one. Good luck this year.
I have done morning and afternoon hunts on the same day more than one time. I usually come out around 10:30am or so then back in about 3:30pm sometimes before. I am verry lucky though. I live on my land and hunt it. I may just do that on opening day then go for an all day hunt around Halloween. I hope you all have a great season this year. I have a great feeling about this one for us all!!!
Water but put it in a reusable container. Plastic bottle tend to be load and crunchy. Apples, granola,peanut butter sandwich, try to bring more of a natural smelling things to eat. Make sure to unwrap everything from the packaging that it comes in and put it in a plastic sandwich resealable bag. Things tend to be real noisy.
I personally don't start sitting all day until the rut. I pack water, apples, peanut butter sandwhich and some beef jerky.
I do not start doing all day sits until the last week of October. If I am going to be sitting in a stand all day, it is going to be a stand that is very close to a known bedding area. My all day hunts are set up alot differently than my opening day hunts. When I do hunt all day I like to bring water, apples, PB&J, and granola bars. I also like to put everything in plastic bags.
I think a lot of guys here are right. I'd wait until later in the season when the rut starts picking up. Early season, at least here in PA can be brutally warm and deer are still on a mostly summer pattern, meaning moving to eat early in the morning or late evening when it cools down. You typically don't get a lot of deer on their feet during the middle of the day. It can happen, but your odds are pretty low. As for tips. When you do plan an all day sit, make sure comfort is at the top of the list. Make sure you take or use your most comfortable stand, make sure you have the right clothing or pack extra in case its cold. Also make sure you have plenty of fluids and food. Also, mindset. This is overlooked but probably the most import IMO. Do an all day sit in a stand that you're not confident in and you'll either get down early or fall asleep. Pick a stand that your confident will produce deer all day long. Areas that you know deer frequent throughout a day are best. Don't try an all day sit next to a field or a trail leading to or from a field. I typically do all day sits from Halloween on and have plenty of experience doing it.
I don't even hunt mornings until Oct 20. Too risky walking in and bumping deer. A trail camera would tell you what hours you need to be there
My experience is that deer don't move much mid-day when it is real hot. They may get up near their bedding ground and get some browse but that is about it. I would save yourself and your hunting spots for later in the season and hunt mornings and evenings. Don't burn yourself out too early.
I agree with Pat, the last thing you want to do is get over anxious and start bumping deer then that spot will have a curse on it the rest of the season! Be patient, I took my largest whitetail on the illinois opener last season, but I didn't get in the stand until about 3:45 in the afternoon and shot him at 6:45.
I would agree with most on here that sitting all day early in the season has a lower probability of being successful than near the almighty rut. Where I hunt in WI between the 15th-30th of October is when my all day hunts occur. Here in northern IL I hold out until the 8th-15th of November. It is amazing that 2.5 hours of driving distance can make that big of a difference, but it does for me. As for food, I think everyone has hit it on the button! You need protein so the peanut butter, nuts, trail mix, jerky, etc is great for keeping the body energized. Apples are a great idea, but I must have an allergy or something these days 'cause I nearly throw-up after I eat one now. Water, Gatorade or Powerade type products work really well also. I have a hunting partner who ALWAYS drinks coffee in the AM while on stand and ironically he has never harvested a deer during that time. I don't know if it is coinicidence, the smell of the coffee, perspiration from the caffeine or if he just gets jittery in the stand. Finally, as someone else stated, comfort. If you are using a climbing tree stand make sure you legs are in a comfortable position once you are set in the tree 'cause you most likely will NOT be standing all day!! Most of my (older) hang-on and ladder stands I have replaced the seating material with a more comfortable cushioning. For example, memory foam material. I have a friend who cleans apartments after people move out, are kicked out or pass away. I have collected a few memory foam (Temperpedic style) pillows from him that I have cut up and sewed into the seats. You can sit in these stands all day without your arse killing you! Good luck!
I'll likely start sitting all day the weekend of Oct. 22nd. I usually only can hunt all day on Saturdays and a few select days outside of that so I usually get 4 to 6 all day sits in per season. Comfort is king and boredom is a killer. Most important, get your head right about it. Meaning if you go in hoping to be done early, you will talk yourself into getting out early. Those late Oct/early November days can change from slow to fast in a minute and you can't capitalize on that if you are on the couch because you hoped he'd be walking past by 10am. Take non noisy food and drink, a hand held game, and a comfortable stand set up.
Yeah the coffee thing is a no go here. I took coffee out a few times not even thinking about it. Every time were known deer travel areas for early morning. I didn't see anythong. Not even a squirrel. I do have to say though it was the most enjoyable cups of coffee I have ever drank. 25-30 degrees, in a tree stand, bundled in camo and watching the sun peak through the trees and warm your face. Haven't enjoyed a cup as much since.
Bring a small shovel or gardening trowel with you too! I'm not above hanging over the edge of the stand and dropping bombs but I'd rather get down and bury it, especially if I think the stand is going to be productive. I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard a lot of guys use cling wrap instead of zip-loc bags because they find them to be quieter.
I hunt areas with low deer numbers so all day sits can be tough when i only see a few deer or maybe even no deer. My key besides everything other people have mentioned is the mental aspect. I make up my mind that I'm going to stay all day. No exceptions. Then I'm prepared to stay and it is the key for all day sits for me. I have done many all day sits over the years. It's not for everyone. I don't do all day sits early or late season because the deer are in a bed and feed pattern. My all day sits are during the rut or during rifle season on escape routes.
I really appreciate everyones help on this subject and all the others I have asked about also. Being the only hunter in my group of friends and the only hunter that wants to be well educated in my family, you guys help me tremendlessly. Thanks evryone.
