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Post by HighCotton on Sept 28, 2014 6:55:19 GMT -5
As I'm spending some time helping my buddy learn the ropes as a new deer hunter, I find that many things I've taken for granted through the years are news to him! It's actually refreshing and sometimes makes me rethink my routines. Lately, the discussion has revolved around the reasoning of when and how we access the tree stands. What are your routines?
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Post by shouldernuke on Sept 28, 2014 7:10:02 GMT -5
Actually I have found that If I get there around 15-30 mins prior to first shooting light I am fine and it has not effect the results as far as I can tell at all . I been doing it that way a long time . I used to get there 1-1.5 hours before the hunt and honestly it was a youth or just passed down from hunter to hunter myth thing about how to deer hunt or it was just excitement of the hunt was all . FYI I have developed my hunting mornings pattern on my property now to only starting around the Halloween and then through the first 3 weeks of Nov. Then the hunt switches back to strictly evening as it was before Halloween .My mature buck hunting success sky rocketed when I started hunting this way about 25 - 30 years ago and it changed everything in the woods for me ...Good luck this year . Biological Deer fact many hunters do not know or just forget is this -- Deer see at night in the dark almost as well as we see in daylight "why the deers eyes/pupil's are so large and reflect light back at us at night" .Thier vision is set up to see any movement and recognize it at long distances .So we are not hiding from the deer by moving in to hunt in the dark we are just hiding from ourselves or other hunters is LMAO....  Two of the best morning hunts I have ever had and took very large mature bucks on in Nov. I wlked to my stand 30 min after first shooting light and killed them both withing about 30 -45 mins after climbing up and setting down .Neither were on a doe they were simply walking through the area.. |
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Post by Russ Koon on Sept 28, 2014 7:25:07 GMT -5
Depends on the stand. I started out by going early and being in place and ready to shoot hlaf an hour before first light, but noticed after a while in one of my favorite stands that I had a nice view of tthe first light creeping across the sky, and some birds and squirrels, bu NO deer. Then, about the time I was ready to call the day a washout and head for home, around 9:30 or 10, one would come along.
Finally figured out that the trail I had set up on was the trail back to the bedding area from the water source, and went past a real good white oak that produced well. When they went by me, they were fed, watered, and ready for a nap, and weren't in a big hurry to get there.
It was so consistent that after a couple years, I pretty much moseyed in to that stand at 8:30 or so, and stayed until about noon.
Generally speaking, though, I wanted to be up the tree and ready to shoot well before first light. I worked nights most of my career,and early morning sits didn't come easy, but watching the woods come alive after you've been sitting long enough for the critters to have forgotten about you is worth the lack of sleep.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2014 8:49:45 GMT -5
I try to be settled into my stand 15-20 minutes before legal shooting time. Any earlier than that and I think it's counterproductive. I have sciatic nerve issues and sitting still for long stretches is difficult. I like to be fresh when shooting time arrives.
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Post by GS1 on Sept 28, 2014 9:02:26 GMT -5
Just as an old beagle can tell a hot trail from a cold one, I'd assume a mature deer can also. I try not to cross travel paths, but during the rut, nobody knows for sure where that is. I try to be closer to 1 hour early than 30 minutes.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2014 9:29:53 GMT -5
I've never killed a mature buck at first light either. Also never killed a big buck in the evening. All my big bucks have been killed between 9:30 and noon.
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Post by trapperdave on Sept 28, 2014 12:59:09 GMT -5
Actually I have found that If I get there around 15-30 mins prior to first shooting light I am fine and it has not effect the results as far as I can tell at all . I been doing it that way a long time . I used to get there 1-1.5 hours before the hunt and honestly it was a youth or just passed down from hunter to hunter myth thing about how to deer hunt or it was just excitement of the hunt was all . FYI I have developed my hunting mornings pattern on my property now to only starting around the Halloween and then through the first 3 weeks of Nov. Then the hunt switches back to strictly evening as it was before Halloween .My mature buck hunting success sky rocketed when I started hunting this way about 25 - 30 years ago and it changed everything in the woods for me ...Good luck this year . Biological Deer fact many hunters do not know or just forget is this -- Deer see at night in the dark almost as well as we see in daylight "why the deers eyes/pupil's are so large and reflect light back at us at night" .Thier vision is set up to see any movement and recognize it at long distances .So we are not hiding from the deer by moving in to hunt in the dark we are just hiding from ourselves or other hunters is LMAO.... Two of the best morning hunts I have ever had and took very large mature bucks on in Nov. I wlked to my stand 30 min after first shooting light and killed them both withing about 30 -45 mins after climbing up and setting down .Neither were on a doe they were simply walking through the area.. while true they still see us in the dark, they are much more tolerant. And if you use red light, held in front of you pointed at them, they can not see you. (varmint hunters trick ) |
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Post by 36fan on Sept 28, 2014 13:23:17 GMT -5
I try to get in the stand 15 minutes or so before legal shooting time. The biggest buck I've killed was probably 1-1.5 hrs after first light, and he came walking in the same way I did.
Last year I had to let a real nice buck walk just after first light because I already had my buck for the year. During the rut, they can appear at any time.
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Post by tenring on Sept 28, 2014 13:26:15 GMT -5
At same spot for a number of years, 15 minutes before first light, don't really lock on until 8:15 as I have patterned the spot over a number of years. No movement before then.
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Post by duff on Sept 28, 2014 14:50:57 GMT -5
Used to be an hour for me too but as things.changed I started to slip to half hour but in some cases it is really better to be there right at shooting time. So I have to say whenever I get there. Still prefer half hour to get settled in and watch the woods wake up. Lo e the crunching leaves without being able to see what it is but really hate busting them out at the same time.
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Post by steve46511 on Sept 28, 2014 15:09:25 GMT -5
It's usually light before I get to where I'm going to "stand" simply because I don't know EXACTLY were I'm going to sit except for maybe opening day of firearm season and even that changes sometimes about a half hour after sitting there and realizing a errant draft is hooking around something and creating a flow carrying my scent where I don't THINK I want it OR I just get bored with that spot and other deer movement from days earlier just had me "change my mind" in mid stream.  I've usually got 3-5 "spots" in my head in the section I'm heading to chosen due to wind direction but WHICH I sit my stool up at isn't decided till I am actually in the area, slowly easing in checking drafts, other hunters and any other changes that may have occurred since last visit. One of the reasons I love sitting on the ground and just carry a stool to sit where I wish. I'm not "locked" into any spot at any time, even for that morning or evening. The two oldest deer I've taken were shot 40-100 yards away from where I started the morning out less than an hour previously. Something was to my disliking like the above wind direction and I just folded up and moved. I shot both less than 15 minutes later, one with handgun one with muzzleloader, both no more than 30 yards off. I hunted a stand several days last year and even though it was "just" a spike for 2013, the buck I shot was 30 yards BEHIND that stand, while I was sitting on my stool leaning against a tree. I'd rather be lucky than good.  Adequate light to walk where ever I wish is more mandatory these past two years too. My "wheels" don't function 100 percent and I take care to not trip. Even slight falls create days of increased pain. I go to extremes to no longer do that and NEED to see where I'm stepping next. Since retired I often hunt weekdays and always hunt alone. Going down and unable to get up, my ONLY option would be "911". Rather not do THAT either. lol! So for me? "Whenever I get there" works just fine and I give thanks for EACH time I am able to go.......and get back out too!! God Bless |
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Post by shouldernuke on Sept 28, 2014 15:35:32 GMT -5
Actually I have found that If I get there around 15-30 mins prior to first shooting light I am fine and it has not effect the results as far as I can tell at all . I been doing it that way a long time . I used to get there 1-1.5 hours before the hunt and honestly it was a youth or just passed down from hunter to hunter myth thing about how to deer hunt or it was just excitement of the hunt was all . FYI I have developed my hunting mornings pattern on my property now to only starting around the Halloween and then through the first 3 weeks of Nov. Then the hunt switches back to strictly evening as it was before Halloween .My mature buck hunting success sky rocketed when I started hunting this way about 25 - 30 years ago and it changed everything in the woods for me ...Good luck this year . Biological Deer fact many hunters do not know or just forget is this -- Deer see at night in the dark almost as well as we see in daylight "why the deers eyes/pupil's are so large and reflect light back at us at night" .Thier vision is set up to see any movement and recognize it at long distances .So we are not hiding from the deer by moving in to hunt in the dark we are just hiding from ourselves or other hunters is LMAO.... Two of the best morning hunts I have ever had and took very large mature bucks on in Nov. I wlked to my stand 30 min after first shooting light and killed them both withing about 30 -45 mins after climbing up and setting down .Neither were on a doe they were simply walking through the area.. while true they still see us in the dark, they are much more tolerant. And if you use red light, held in front of you pointed at them, they can not see you. (varmint hunters trick ) Actually they are no more tolerant of you at night than they are at day . While you shine them they simply freeze while you blind them but at some point you have to take the lights out of their eyes to head to the stand and its game over .Humans on foot mean trouble for deer light or dark out side .This is just something you have convinced yourself of IMHO.If it make you feel more confidant when heading into the woods more power to you . |
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Post by dbd870 on Sept 28, 2014 16:22:57 GMT -5
15-20 min for me as well.
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Post by trapperdave on Sept 28, 2014 16:42:49 GMT -5
while true they still see us in the dark, they are much more tolerant. And if you use red light, held in front of you pointed at them, they can not see you. (varmint hunters trick ) Actually they are no more tolerant of you at night than they are at day . While you shine them they simply freeze while you blind them but at some point you have to take the lights out of their eyes to head to the stand and its game over .Humans on foot mean trouble for deer light or dark out side .This is just something you have convinced yourself of IMHO.If it make you feel more confidant when heading into the woods more power to you . Im merely going by decades of coonhunting and deer hunting experience. In the dark you can walk within 20 yds of a deer, climb a tree and shoot it thirty minutes later when its light out a red light doesnt freeze or spook them like a white light. And they can not see beyond the source of the light. If they smell you the gig is up regardless. You also cant go crashing thru the woods like a bull in a china shop. |
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Post by beermaker on Sept 28, 2014 18:43:16 GMT -5
I prefer to be settled in about 30 minutes before shooting light. To me that means that I am sitting, safety line secure, weapon ready, and whatever layer of clothing that is warranted is in place. In other words, just was I want to be 30 minutes after legal shooting light. I have found that 30 minutes is the right amount of time to cool off a bit, let the woods calm from all of the missteps and mistakes that I have made, and get a chew in.
I have friends that, when we camp, head to the stand WAY earlier than I do. They collectively shoot absolutely no more deer than I do. |
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Post by firstwd on Sept 28, 2014 23:32:35 GMT -5
Last year it was 8:30 simply because I didn't get off work until 8am.
I camp at State Park hunts and leave before we are supposed to because I take my boat across the lake to our spot. It's really nice to be settled up in my climber watching headlights into the parking area and flashlights out and listen to the deer come my way as everybody picks their spot.
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Post by drs on Sept 29, 2014 4:11:11 GMT -5
I try to be settled into my stand 15-20 minutes before legal shooting time. Any earlier than that and I think it's counterproductive. I have sciatic nerve issues and sitting still for long stretches is difficult. I like to be fresh when shooting time arrives. This is way I get settled in my stand, about 15-20 minutes before legal shooting time. Going in earlier is counterproductive, as one only makes too much noise and spreads their scent around; besides I only have to walk a short distance to one of my stands. If I am going to harvest a Deer it will normally be between the hours of 8:00 to 10:30 am. |
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Post by ridgerunner on Sept 29, 2014 5:12:51 GMT -5
Actually I have found that If I get there around 15-30 mins prior to first shooting light I am fine and it has not effect the results as far as I can tell at all . I been doing it that way a long time . I used to get there 1-1.5 hours before the hunt and honestly it was a youth or just passed down from hunter to hunter myth thing about how to deer hunt or it was just excitement of the hunt was all . FYI I have developed my hunting mornings pattern on my property now to only starting around the Halloween and then through the first 3 weeks of Nov. Then the hunt switches back to strictly evening as it was before Halloween .My mature buck hunting success sky rocketed when I started hunting this way about 25 - 30 years ago and it changed everything in the woods for me ...Good luck this year . Biological Deer fact many hunters do not know or just forget is this -- Deer see at night in the dark almost as well as we see in daylight "why the deers eyes/pupil's are so large and reflect light back at us at night" .Thier vision is set up to see any movement and recognize it at long distances .So we are not hiding from the deer by moving in to hunt in the dark we are just hiding from ourselves or other hunters is LMAO.... Two of the best morning hunts I have ever had and took very large mature bucks on in Nov. I wlked to my stand 30 min after first shooting light and killed them both withing about 30 -45 mins after climbing up and setting down .Neither were on a doe they were simply walking through the area.. That's cool whatever works for you, but I think you're missing the point on getting to a stand early. When and if I hunt in the mornings I like to be an hour early for many reasons, none of them being using the darkness to sneak in so a deer can't see me...that's ridiculous. Can't say I've ever heard a hunter getting to a stand early so deer can't see them. I had a buddy that used that excuse of waiting until 30 minutes after first light, but later he admitted he was scared of the dark. After he seen me knock down a few 140-155 in deer at first light in November, he bought a flashlight and overcame his fear of walking in woods at darkness. I can tell you this much,I know countless hunters have also killed trophy bucks at first light. I don't always hunt the mornings, but when i do I'm in stand 1hr. before first light, so when hunters who wait until 30 minutes after first light walk in on adjoining properties the push a big buck right to me. |
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Post by parson on Sept 29, 2014 6:45:04 GMT -5
I've changed about 1 hour per decade. In my 30s I had to be in place 90 minutes or so prior to dawn. At 66 I get there eventually. If I'm going with a 20-30 year old, I try to strike a compromise.
O, time has made a change in me!!
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Post by bowhunterjohn on Sept 29, 2014 7:14:02 GMT -5
It all depends on that area and when I get the deer on camera.. NO later then 30 minutes prior.. IT takes 15 minutes to quietly set up my camera stuff and get ready, I like to have some quiet time then.
If my game cam shows activity early then I go earlier, if it shows activity later in the morning then I go in later
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