Author Topic: Best Time of Day? (Read 899 times)

erickrschaefer · « **on:** October 07, 2003, 01:03:10 PM »

Allright what is everyone's opinion on the best time to hunt. I personally have only shot one buck past 1p.m and that was an early season bowhunt. My favorite time is from sunrise until about noon. I do stay in the woods all day but most of my sucess has come during those hours for both gun and bow. What do you guys think?

rickyp · « **Reply #1 on:** October 07, 2003, 03:43:42 PM »

I got most of my deer in the evening I normaly come to the field's edge wheni it's too dark to see in the woods and sit under a tree about 10 feet in.

01magnatec · « **Reply #2 on:** October 07, 2003, 03:58:12 PM »

I have shot deer in the morning and afternoon.
Only one in the morning but school was usually taking the place of me hunting in the morning. Now i work in the morning so i am losing there also.
If it was up to me though i'd choose morning over afternoon.

7x57 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 07, 2003, 05:03:06 PM »

I've had best success within two hours of dawn or dusk. Whitetails in the morning, mulies,elk,bears in the evening.

huntsman · « **Reply #4 on:** October 08, 2003, 02:37:33 AM »

I personally believe that every hour you do not spend in the woods reduces your chance of seeing game. The solunar tables and all of that stuff have never proved out to my sighting of game. There are just too many variables. For instance, just because deer are bedded at 12 noon doesn't mean that humans or cows or coyotes or a low-flying airplane or you name it can't rouse deer from their beds at any time. Plus deer rarely stay bedded for more than a couple of hours at a time from my personal experience. They may not move much before they bed again, but they do get up and "stretch" possibly wandering within range in the process.

The three best bucks I have killed were shot at 11:30 am, 10:40 am, and 2:15 pm, the latter being a 155 B&C gross. I have seen plenty of deer moving from 10 am to 3 pm, when most other hunters are not in the woods. Hunt every hour you can be in the woods, and be especially alert for big bucks during the midday hours. I usually only break for an hour or so either early or late around midday, depending on local conditions. Just my 2-penny honest opinion.

Dave in WV · « **Reply #5 on:** October 08, 2003, 03:12:25 AM »

I believe it dependes on hunting pressure, hunter activity to keep them moving, the rut , and weather. I've got deer at different times during the day. If the rut is not in and there is little hunter activity to get them moving early morning or just before dark is prime movement time where I hunt. A gentle soaking rain brings them out early.

SingleShotShorty · « **Reply #6 on:** October 08, 2003, 06:56:18 AM »

This may sound strange to some but I think that possibly the best time of day for deer movement is from around 11:00 AM to around 2:00 PM I have sure taken allot of deer during this time. It just seems that Whitetail really like to move during the middle of the day or maybe they just know that most hunters are not in the woods during this time and they have us patterned. Go figure, only god and the deer knows and they are not telling.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 08, 2003, 07:55:04 AM »

6AM to 10AM and 2PM to 0 dark thirty. I have not done well between 10AM and 2PM.

freddogs · « **Reply #8 on:** October 08, 2003, 10:51:26 AM »

Some spots are good in the evening, some in the morning, and some all day. I think that every hour you spend out in the woods hunting increases your chances. I've shot deer just about any time of day. More in the AM than PM.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #9 on:** October 08, 2003, 12:52:29 PM »

Well after reading all the posts, I would say sun rise to sun set.

High Brass · « **Reply #10 on:** October 09, 2003, 02:39:25 AM »

Like most folks mentioned it just depends. Here in eastern NC, I have seen very few deer in the morning and have never killed one during that time, all were in the evening. Now, that doesn't mean mornings are futile, just my experience. There are times here when the deer do in fact move in the middle of the day. Its just that when its 80 plus degrees, High Brass has a hard time getting motivated to hunt :x . In WV, I've shot deer from the first few minutes of daylight to the the last few minutes of daylight and all hours in between. Hunting pressure, seasonal temps, the rut, and food availability all come into play. So, in short I'd say that it varies year to year based on those conditions. The way I figured out how to kill deer here in eastern NC is to hunt hard and hunt often no matter what time of day.