Where I hunt on private land getting in the stand 1/2 hour before sunrise doesn't seem to be fruitful in late sept. Getting in the stand 1 or 2 hours before sunset has been fruitful. I hunt on a small mountain in CT covered in oak trees. Hard for me to figure but are they in back yards and fields during the night then retreat to the woods in the day maybe I'm to deep in the woods in the morning ? Should I stay closer to roads with houses and open spaces ? I have never been able to locate definite bedding areas on this property. On the farm I hunt it's pretty obvious where they bed cause I practically step on them .
i hunt on long island an urban spot where the yards back up to the woods. there is a very distinct trail that runs parallel to all the yards and is about 1/4 mile long i hunt the transition of when they leave the yards and come to a bedding area i only found this bed because i went to the starting point the backyards you should try the same see what you find
I find early in the season that they bed much closer to the preferred feeding areas, until the hunting pressure starts mounting. You may be in too deep if the preferred feeding sources are hundreds of yards from your stand. You might need to close the distance. More than likely you are not seeing those deer when you get on stand 30 minutes before dark because you are knocking them out of that feeding area because they are already there 30 minutes before dark. You need to beat them there if you plan on hunting right over the food. If you are hunting at their "last" feeding stop before they bed, you need to get in that 1 to 2 hours before sun-up so you don't knock them out of those oak trees as they move into bed. Just my take.
