Do you prefer morning or evening? Please give reason way?
If morning, do you get into your stand/blind well before sunrise or just light enough to see.
I like evenings, but, feel i'm missing out on some great hunts.I have a certain morning routine that i enjoy sitting with the wife and dogs on the back deck enjoying coffee.
I also hate running out light when having to track a deer if you lose the trail or a less then lung or heart shot especially during bow. In my woods, no sense in going back to look for it next morning. The coyotes will have it stripped.
So, which do you prefer?
Thanks, Sarge

During the rut, I think mornings are great. Outside of the rut, I think you bump too many deer on the way in during morning stands.

I've always seen more activity in the mornings and in the stand and settled in well before first light. But that said I much prefer for comfort reasons to hunt the evenings. But I also agree on losing the light and rarely push a sit until to dark to see.

During the rut period I like sitting out there till 9:30. It’s surprising how many bucks you’ll see at that 9 am period and you better pay attention and not sleeping because there moving quick. After the rut I really only hunt evenings because it works with my work schedule and the deer pattern kinda shifts that way

I've run 8 to 12 cameras since the first of the year . More pics of the mature bucks during daylight in the morning. Probably at least 2 to 1. Much more difficult to get into stands without bumping deer in the morning though because the deer are everywhere. When hunting mature bucks I hate bumping deer.

Yup, mornings I sit longer as the activity I see is either those that are moving as I'm walking in, those that I bump, or it's on up in the morning well after sun up.

Bumping deer, do think its better going in when its dark, so, they dont really know what you are. Or using your flashlight to push them when getting to your stand.
Right know with the leaves dropping. Its next to impossible to be quiet.
I kiiled a small buck last night, but, right a dark,(still legal time) a larger buck came out. Usually wait until dark dark to get out of my stand or make a sqeuakee sound to get them out of the 1 acre food plot i hunt over.
Just feel i need a change up. Any deer is good on this property. Owner wants them thinned out pretty aggressively.

That's my feeling as well on getting to the tree way early. Give those that get bumped time to settle down and let things get back to some sort of normal. Which may be why you see more movement on up in the morning.

I have shot deer from the first minute to the last minute of legal light and every hour in between

there are good morning places and good afternoon places some that are both.

I have a spot off a little logging road good mostly only in the morning , they come in and bed down in the orchard at night and they cross this trail to get out in the morning

we sued to do a lot of drives , we do a lot fewer now , mostly because of properties changing ownership.

if I am going in in the morning I want to make as little noise as possible a solid 30 minutes before first light nothing but a small red LED head lamp for light brush leaves off the trail as much as possible.

deer don't seem to get to disturbed by things moving slowly in the woods at night with little or no light unless you just about step on them

better make sure to put them down quick if near last light , tracking can be an issue , last year was the first time I ever had to let one go over night , it was only 60 yards from the last place I jumped it and it was probably dead by the time I had the location entered in the GPS but I was going to push it to a different property if I pushed it any more and I couldn't shoot any more. it was cold enough to be fine.

I don't like gutting deer in the dark but there are worse things.

It's all about feed for me. The deer In my area feed at around 5:00 In the afternoon and that's when I'm In my stand.
But wind direction Is the biggest factor In deer hunting. Or I should say deer killing.

I have never been in a good spot before. But I'll tell you tomorrow because I'm going in Youth Season

Warrior, you spoke of deer bullets. I shoot federal fusions, 150gr in .308. Last night shot was slight quartering away. Bullet entered behind left shoulder and came out his neck. Had his head down feeding.
I reload the fusions, bought lifetime supply back when i could find them. If i needed more umph. I go to my trusty Nosler Partitions.
I have never recovered a fusion bullet yet. But, then again, my shots are no more 120 yards.

Wind, its got to be right. Or no hunting.

I hunt near bedding areas in the morning and near feed in the evening. I do a lot of calling and would say it's just about a wash as to the time of day deer respond to it. Called a bunch both morning and evening.

Either is good if that's when you can hunt. Guy I hunt with used to get in the stand 1-2 hrs before daylight LOlI asked why. Said same reasons as mentioned. After 5 years of me staying inthe truck and him walking in BUT me back at the truck tagged out he changed. He always had stories of deer coming thru but he couldn't see to shoot. I asked him did it do you any good to be there 2 hrs too early. ?
BUT I never get into a stand in the morning unless it's starting to get light. MOST of the time I still hunt my way in. Hunted this morning and slowly walked in . walked up on a nice 8 pt but too early in the season and 60 yards is too far for me with a cross bow.
Old timer here didn't go to stand until 9-10 am and he killed agiant every year. My biggest was killed at 11. am second biggest was 10.30

I’m the oddball. I go any chance I get. Prefer mornings down here mainly because it’s much cooler. I don’t have a set time I’ll sit, it’s MY time. I like to be in the stand at the latest 30 minutes before legal shooting light, most of the time it’s an hour. I hunt everything the same, turkeys, ducks, and deer. I want to be in and climbed up, set up, etc way before sunrise. If you’re not up and ready before the quail start talking then you’re late cause they start REAL early.

I might sit until 10 or until noon. All depends on which stand I’m in. All stand locations are based on forecasted winds. Even with the clothes and Fatal Obsession I still hunt the wind.
I’m lucky I guess, a bad morning is maybe a dozen deer within bow range with about two dozen seen. Best morning so far was 13 bucks and 9 does/fawns inside of 40yds. One of the bucks should’ve died or at least had an arrow shot at him, but I’m after one particular deer.

I’ll hunt evenings as long as I have a stand location or spot picked out for the wind…as long as it ain’t too humid or hot, especially now.

After the rut or Thanksgiving we’ll get our does thinned out.

Every stand, situation, area, and local deer are different. Every situation, stand and hunting situation has its positives and its negatives, a good hunter recognizes each and takes advantage of the positives of each situation and setup and tries to minimize the negatives. If u can bump less deer going in with a little daylight to see wait a little later to go in. If ur in little more open area were deer can see a ways or if u really need to be in the stand before deer move through the area go in in the dark. Generally I try to get to stand 30 minutes before shooting light in the morning. Hunting right over a concentrated feeding area is tough to get in or out of depending on morning or evening without bumping deer. I Generally start out hunting the travel ares between feeding areas and bedding areas and as season goes on and I get more desperate ill start hunting closer to each. But a lot depends on ur goal. One or two does or young bucks about anything works. Mature bucks the more careful u are the better ur chances.

Both have their advantages. I’ve always preferred evenings as you bump fewer deer. But as stated you may run out of trailing light. At least with a bow. With a gun in over 50 years I’ve not yet had one I didn’t easily find when shot at the edge of dark.
I do now have a spot I hunt in the morning as I can slip in with almost no chance of bumping deer. Killed 2 doe there already in the morning there this year.
In the evening with bow my biggest fear is being busted by deer as I exit blind. Once I’m some distance away I’m not overly concerned with spooking deer.

I’d rather spook a deer in the dark than in the light. I don’t use lights going in or out. I don’t climb down until I can’t see or hear deer anymore even it means sitting until we’ll after dark. I’ve gotten stealthy enough with a climber that I can climb down and sneak out with deer less than 100yds away. I can do the same going up a tree. All routes and pre planned based in the wind even it means walking an extra few hundred yards.

With that said, just like for trapping, this is a working area. Deer are used to tractors and my truck. Deer are used to human scent to an extent. There’s not a spot I can climb out here on 2500ac and not have deer walk within bow range.

I've had some stands that were a 1/4 mile of the road that I'd walk 3/4 of a mile across the section to in order not to alert the deer. Those stands we darn good because the deer felt comfortable thinking they knew whether there was a hunter there or not.