I just negotiated my schedule for August through January. I usually try to work 12-9 but things didn't pan out, so I got stuck working Tuesday-Saturday 5am-2pm. I have spent that last four years primarily hunting mornings and the same set of woods. This year I will be hunting new spots, hunting the late day most of October and November and changing everything I have come to know over the last four years. I am planning on more mobile hunting and not using permanent stands so the afternoon might be a blessing. Anyone else making major changes and what are your favorite times to hunt????
I do think you have a better chance at shooting a big buck in the AM. I think this because the bucks have been doing their thing all night with little disturbance. They seem to be more relaxed in the mornings. I have shot about 50/50 morning to evening hunts, but I have hunted twice as much in the PM. I have also shot 4 buck in-between 12:00 and 3:00 pm.
Since Mike and I primarily hunt together I felt pretty comfortable choosing option #4. :D When it comes to personal preference, it depends on the time of year and the particular spot I'm hunting. One of my spots is a small woodlot surrounded by food. Nearly impossible to sneak in close enough to be undetected in the afternoons without spooking deer once the crops are out. Therefore I prefer morning hunts where I can use the wind and terrain to my advantage to sneak into the bedding areas early before the deer come back in the woods. This pretty much holds true for this particular spot all year. Other spots are very condusive to evening hunts as they are near good food or water sources adjacent to thick bedding cover. So long as you can sneak close enough to bedding cover to get a shot at a wary buck stagin on his way out to search for ladies, you should have a good shot. This is especially true in October when the bucks aren't leaving their beds until very close to dark, and usually returning before light.
During the early season I only hunt evenings. From late Oct through late Nov I like my chances any time of the day.
I'm a morning hunt guy. I've seen and scored on more bucks in the morning that any other time of day.
I hunted mainly mornings this past season which was dictated by family and work obligations. This year I am looking into some all day sits for a portion of the season.
I like hunting mornings, but due to work, the overwhelming time spent in the woods has been evenings for me. Recently work schedule has taken away most evenings now too, so when I do get out, I try to stay as much of the day as I can.
It all depends on what area, time of season and the deer movement. So I guess the deer tell me whens the best time to hunt. I have had my best luck in the AM.
I get in the woods whenever my schedule allows as often as it allows. Typically its more evening hunts but I prefer mornings. There's nothing like listening to the woods wake up as the sun starts creeping up.
I enjoy the morning sits the most, though not by much, but if given the choice FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON such as you have, I would choose evenings without question. I think that this is mostly due to hunting food and food travel routes. If I had only the cabin (mountain/woods hunting) to hunt I would heavily favor the morning over the evening.
It's kind of a catch 22 though. In the areas I hunt, I feel as though my chances of seeing much activity goes down as the morning progresses but my chances go UP as an evening hunt progresses. To combat this, I hunt hard and often.
Afternoons for the most part. Terrain on my property dictates where and when I can move in to a set, and most are not morning-friendly. I have one stand location where I have a GREAT morning access to get in before deer head through back to the bedding areas, but I don't hunt it much more than once or twice every two weeks to keep from over hunting. My property has great evening setups, and like Jeff said, once the late season hits, all bets are off on keeping to those particular locations. My BEST setup I found last year during the rut, was most productive during the evenings, a bit sketchy getting out of due to it being so close to a food source, but it was DEAD during the early season. I'm more aggressive later in the season than the early season anyways, so I let that factor in my decisions on where/when to hunt as well.
