When it comes to bowhunting bucks, do you like mornings or evenings as your better oppurtunity? To me it seems as the vast majority will always claim evenings over mornings, and I always questioned this? Not that evenings is the wrong choice, but do many like evenings for the simple reason, that's when they do the majority of their hunting, where they are limited on morning hunts due to work? Another reason for evenings, maybe the majority of their stand locations are located at prime food sources, corn, beans, etc? As for me, I always thought evenings have a slight edge early in the season when bucks are on feeding patterns, but overall, if I had to choose between the two, I like mornings much better than evenings. To me it just seems mornings produce more sightings accumatively for the whole season? And over the years 80% of my kills have come in the morning. What's your choice, and why?
Not enough time in the field, nor have I traveled to enough various hunting lands. My record as it stands is 2 bucks in the AM, 1 in the pm, and 0 last year. I would think location is a huge part in this...
I would normally agree with buckeye but this year has been the opposite for my land. Mornings have been dead here this year, afternoons lots of movement but it was really warm here this year and I think most of the chasing was overnight. I ran a quick count of bucks taken the last 5 years and 60% were taken on morning hunts. All but 1 of those bucks were taken in November.
Don't over look hunting during the middle of the day. Lots of big bucks are killed during the middle of the day. My last 2 bucks have been killed at noon and 2 pm. The mornings and evenings are great times to hunt but I think too many hunters only hunt the first 2hrs and the last 2hrs of daylight and miss a lot of movement in the timber during the middle of the day.
In my areas I've had much better success or more in the mornings. I kill very few deer in the evening as a rule.
True, atleast for some? Can't tell you how many all day sits I have done this year and over the years with very little to almost non-existant mid day movemovent. In all honesty, I was actually thinking of giving up all day sits, this year after all the unproductive wasted time after 11:00am? I guess it varies from area to area, as with pressure and the amount of mature bucks around? Is this a more mature buck trait, aswhere Iowa definitely has more mature bucks, than PA? My theory as with better overall morning hunts here in PA, is based on pressure. I can basically go anywhere I want in the morning and never see another vehicle or hunter. Although go out in the evening and it's another story, a lot of vehicles around and many run ins with others while on stand. On one particular evening hunt, actually had two bowhunters walk by to steup in the same area, as I was already set. Over the years I question, if the deer pick up on this heavy evening activity and I believe they do? I feel with the pressure around here mainly concentrated in the evenings, deer pick up on this and adjust somewhat to much more night time activity, and some activity into the mornings, and avoid the evenings more. Just my opinion around here, and to give you an example, if I was to stop hunting everyday this year at 11:00am, vs. hunting many all days and/or evenings, my toatl deer sightings might have dropped of by 10%. 90% of the deer I see taking in concideration for all day hunts, or morning and evening combined come in the mornings before 11:00.
Pretty much what Scott says. I love the evenings in the early season, but the mornings are better for me in November.
I was always pretty much an evening guy due to work. The few morning sits I got were always on weekends when the woods had plenty more hunters. This year due to, no-work, but the wife working afternoons I had more morning sits. Non pressured mornings were quite the breath of fresh air. Early season sightings were up and Buck movement on through late morning made for some interesting sits!
I probably see the most deer in the evenings no matter the month. I prefer evenings over all. Mid-day hunts starting the end of Oct through most of November. Shot my buck yesterday at 130PM.
Same here. Generally my mornings are awesome, but this year, the mornings have been so-so but my afternoons have been better by FAR.
