AM or PM for Opening 3 Days?

[fdunford]

I'm curious to get opinions on which time you's think is more productive? I have a 1/2 vac day and need to figure out which way to go? I am thinking that for the opening few days, that the afternoon is the way to go, but would like to hear others.

[wecker20]

It all depends on location and weather conditions. I've always seen more deer during the evenings but all but one buck I've taken w/ a bow have been in the a.m. later in the season.

[ArrowHawk]

I seem to see more deer early afternoon for some reason. I will be out all day the first three days though.

[kingfishcam]

Yesterday morning while walking to hardwoods for squirrels, I seen 8 doe and 4 bucks between 8:45am and 11am. All deer were headed somewhere, I did not jump any of them from beds!

[mich buckmaster]

Personally I would take the AM time and get real close to any food source!!

I have killed as many deer in the AM as I have in the PM.

[wecker20]

I like to set up 2-300 yds from the food source on a main trail leading to their bedding areas in the a.m. Gotta have a route to get in from behind so you catch them undisturbed coming from the food source.

[NorthJeff]

The majority of my best bucks have been killed in the a.m., but in late Oct. Nov when I catch them spending an extra amount of time cruising at night and take them just as they are slipping back into their bedding areas.

Early season morning hunts are tough because if you bust the deer on the way in or getting into your stand you very likely just messed your evening hunt up as well. My best early season morning hunts are close to bedding areas and have very good access and wind directions that allow for not only a safe sit with my downwind, but an access and departure route that does not typically spook game. For example, I can think of an oak bench with a CRP field on the west that mature bucks tend to hang up on during their travels to their bedding areas east about 300 yards away on a steep and brushy draw. The bucks and other deer will be out in the CRP field, or on that oak bench in the morning and when that stand site is entered you bust deer just about every time. But, you can hunt those deer by getting closer to their bedding area in a funnel that has an open 2 acre weed field on one side, and a steep draw on the other. You can get into that stand early without spooking game because they are a few hundred yards away, sit with great downwind blockers in the cliff or open field, and depart without spooking game because the deer are bedded away from the field and on the steep sides. On the otherhand, that stand site within the oak bench is a hot spot with a SE or NE,N,NW wind in the evening because of the adjacent open cow pasture along the south side, and a steep terrain feature to the north, while at the same time the mature bucks are bedded 300 yards away.

I'm looking forward to either of those stands, and will just let the wind tell me if I can hunt either of them...or maybe another spot that is just as good. Both are great for opening day, but one is more morning, and one is more evening...If I had to bet I'd go with the perfect wind, cool temps on an evening hunt on the oak bench...but I've killed 150 gross bucks in both, so I'll be real happy with either! :)

Really just depends on your stand site, wind, and time of year....just choose the right spot, with the right stand, the right time of day, with the right wind and your all set....go into a stand during the wrong wind or time of day, and you might hurt that stand for the rest of the season.

[mich buckmaster]

The first three days the deer should still be on their summer patterns. The deer should still be working through the corn in daylight hours for a few days. I have killed two of my biggest bucks coming out of the corn in the AM on opening day!!!!

[NorthJeff]

That's something different too....corn! Corn is cover and deer don't mind being out in it during daylight hours...a bean field, alfalfa field, or even an oak flat though could be a different story.

Never had that experience with the corn like that in early season in the morning....but makes a ton of sense, that's a great point!

[Joe Archer]

If I had to choose one or the other I would probably go in the afternoon. Big racks aren't even a question for me at this time of the year. I know I will not even have a chance at nice buck until some time in November. October is a good time to take one for the freezer, and generally "if I see them in the morning, I will see them again in the evening". <----<<<

[mich buckmaster]

That's something different too....corn! Corn is cover and deer don't mind being out in it during daylight hours...a bean field, alfalfa field, or even an oak flat though could be a different story.

Never had that experience with the corn like that in early season in the morning....but makes a ton of sense, that's a great point!

Its amazing to see how much corn is moving in a huge field. I will glass the corn for hours just to find a deer tearing up some corn. Then all of a sudden you see the corn moving and coming your way.

Last year on opening day of bow season I saw 3 shooters and 2 scrap bucks and shot one of the shooters ALL coming out of a standing corn field.

As for a bean field, alfalfa, or oaks, I agree with Jeff!!!!!!!

[john warren]

first couple days i hit them in the morning. but i do tend to stay in the woods as long as theres light.

[StumpJumper]

If I had to choose one or the other I would probably go in the afternoon. Big racks aren't even a question for me at this time of the year. I know I will not even have a chance at nice buck until some time in November. October is a good time to take one for the freezer, and generally "if I see them in the morning, I will see them again in the evening". <----<<<


Why is that?

If I haven't seen a nice rack by the time november gets here I'll be finding a better spot.

[Joe Archer]

Why is that?

If I haven't seen a nice rack by the time november gets here I'll be finding a better spot.


I hunt in a very high pressure area and by October the mature bucks are already nocturnal. The only people who take them earlier up there are the poachers! I have been hunting the same area since 1982 and I have only ONCE seen a breeding age buck in legal hunting hours before the last few days of October. So for me it is a decision to take a 1.5 year old buck, a doe, or take nothing at all. It all depends on the population of the deer in my area as to what I take for the freezer. <----<<<