I don't watch the videos but I hunted small property and did not want to burn out the plot. I just waited and hunted the highest probability of success for the property I was hunting, that time was not morning. Granted I did not wait at go out at 10 am either I have about a 3 hour window that I can sit.
If you have one property to hunt and it's small I get not wanting to pressure it. But, that should apply to all pressure when the time isn't right, not just early season mornings. My rant is more about this idea that early season mornings are a terrible idea and terrible time to hunt that is universally applied to all situations just because that's the "cool" thing to say. I have spots where I don't hunt early season mornings for the same reasons as you guys. However, that doesn't stop me from going somewhere else or throwing a hail mary in a spot that I've never been to before. I'm going to make it a point to be in the woods if and when I can.
As you should with limited hunting time. I never meant my post to be cool.. Its the way I hunt the ground I have access to. Yeah I could hunt mornings, but there is also this thing called waffle A$$ burn out from setting to many stands in October and not being in top form when the rut arrives
Well Said and LMAO! Apple picking! ha... I remember that crap when I was married...glad I don't do that anymore! but yeh, I hunt the mornings every year from beginning of the season to the end. I have few precious days. And to be honest, it really isn't about killing a huge buck, or even a deer as much as it is just getting away from stressful life. I single dad with custody and full time job is hard for me, so when I can go, I go. to hell with the right wind, the right food source, etc...if it costs me deer then so be it. I have killed plenty. I just thought I would yalls opinion these early season morning hunts. But I think Justin put that into a clear pic for me!
Bruh....everything I post here is for the sole purpose of being cool. I saddle hunt to be cool, I wear Scent Lok because Justin does and he is fly....etc... But seriously, I believe everyone's scenario/situation is different just like the piece of ground that is being hunted. Some spots are better suited for morning hunts and some are better suited for afternoon hunts. When I hunt mornings in the early season, I am in the stand at least an hour before legal shooting light, most times earlier. I almost always bump deer on my way in. I've tried going in at grey light and it is the same thing, bumping deer. Perhaps I could be doing the same thing on afternoon hunts for all I know. One of the reasons why I also switched to afternoons is because it is an hour drive to get to where I hunt, and at least a 45-minute walk to the area I hunt. That makes for my famous LFTS 0230 ROLL CALL post!! After doing that for a few weeks, it gets extremely draining and fatigue/burn out sets in. In the past by the time the season ended for me on november 19th, I was happy it was over. Last year, getting a good nights sleep and hunting afternoons, led me to be fully energized when the rut came, more deer sightings than ever before, and I was not burnt out on the 19th of November. Like I said, every scenario/situation is different just like every piece of land is different. Do whatever works for you.
Working 2nd shift for 20yrs and counting it will always be mornings for me. I may burn out spots occasionally but I’m not waiting for the weekends to hunt and I’ve only killed a handful of deer in the evenings. Probably 90% of my deer were in the AM but that’s when I’m in the woods. Hunt when you have the time.
Not to mention, depending on where you hunt, is there a prettier time to sit in the woods than a morning when the leaves are changing? Might not see big deer, but that doesn’t make it an unsuccessful hunt in my opinion. Also buys you some alone time to come up with an excuse to get out of going to these apple orchards everyone keeps raving about. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
My post might have been misleading. The reason for my burnout was not due to the amount of hunting I did. I typically was able to hunt Saturdays, and one or two mornings during the week. The burnout was from the lack of sleep from having to get up at 0230 and very few deer sightings due to hunting in an area with a very low deer population. I've had several seasons without seeing a deer, and several seasons with only seeing one or two deer all season. Those conditions wear on a hunter and its hard to force yourself out of bed at 0230. Last season was my most productive season seeing 11 deer total for the year.
That I would not be able to do. and I do understand the burnout in that deal..geez man, that sucks. I mean couldn't do that. God Bless you man.
Its a rough go for sure, but its how I grew up hunting. Every deer sighting is special, every kill is even more special!
Bruh....I really don't use scentlok. I saddle hunt, play the wind, play the thermals and use milkweed.
I remember as a kid in VA it was not that bad, but it wasn't as easy as it can be now.. the DWR has done a good job of getting our herd up over 1 million. and I hunt in one the most dense deer populated regions in the state. Now even within that region seeing deer can be difficult because of the layout and the thick cutover and swamps. But they are there and my county averages about 3500 kills a season. I think VA total statewide is usually around 200K kills a year.
I’ve had some really good encounters by bedding mid October in the AM, if you consider that early. I usually only get a few hunts in during the first week and they are after I get off work, so they’re in the evening. I think this is where a thermal imaging device would come in handy. Scan the area as you walk in early. If you come across deer back out and go to plan B. B meaning back to bed lol.
I couldn't do that either. After long enough, I'd get tired of hoping to see a deer that never seems to materialize. Don't get me wrong, I've had days where I sat dark to dark, during the rut, and didn't see a single deer. That's more the exception than the rule, but it happens. I don't see anywhere near the amount of deer I used to see in my hunting area, but there's enough to make me keep coming back!
I think the whole early morning thing may be as much a product of geography as anything else. Down south, the first two hours of daylight are the coolest part of the day. Early morning movement can be quite good if you know where to get between food and bedding and get there really early.
Morning hunting in NC, in the early season, sucks and I never do it. You end up blowing deer out and they don't return until evening.
