Morning Stand Strategies

[student]

I have the unfortunate situation of having very little time to scout the location I will be bow hunting this fall. In the past, I rarely see deer in the morning, even when driving the roads surrounding the property. The property consists of swamp, CRP, alfalfa, hardwoods and softwoods, and some pasture and is about 500 acres in size. This is located in central Minnesota has healthy deer numbers. Because I am not seeing deer in the mornings, I imagine they are on their way to bedding areas if not already bedded down. Anybody have any suggestions where to set up a stand in relation to bedding areas and food.

I suppose I should set up a game camera to determine what times deer are using certain trails?

[DonBo]

First off, get away from the field edges. They could be bedding in the swamps, CRP or near anywhere in the woods where they might be a thicket.

I do a lot of in-season scouting myself. Sit somewhere (again, away from the field edges) where you have good visability in several direction, of coarse ALWAYS play the wind. Move around a bit with visability in mind and after just a few stands you may have a pretty good idea of the areas you need to concentrate. Trailcams will definetly shorten the learning curve.

The only real issue now is finding stand locations that you can easily access without spooking any deer in the area.

Good luck!

[Scoot]

The only real issue now is finding stand locations that you can easily access without spooking any deer in the area.

Excellent advice from Don.

Where I grew up hunting, it was almost impossible to hunt areas that didn't result in spooking deer away from where you wanted to hunt them. The only way to do it, in most cases, was to hoof it a very long ways through woods in the dark to get to an area to sit. I had miserable success seeing deer in the AM to the point where I firmly believed that bowhunting in the morning was simply a waste of time.

However, many of the places I now hunt have the very best hunting in the AM. Like Don said, get away from the field edge. Also, get to the places you want to hunt under the cloak of darkness and do so without spooking deer that may be in a field. If you have to walk a long ways to do it, then walk. Take your best guesses as to where they're feeding and where they're heading to, then set up a stand in between these places. If you can, shade towards the bedding area with your stand. However it's generally a bad idea to place your stand right in the middle of their bedding area, IMO.

Cameras can be a huge help. However, like Don said, time in a tree can be a combo of hunting and scouting. ...and some in-season scouting trips have resulted in some dang nice bucks being shot...

[paceman]

Without seeing your property I would start by focusing on the Alfalfa as the food source. I would then search for the thickest cover within about 400 yards and find trails from the field to the cover. Hang a stand off the field at least 200 yards so they come by you in the light. Walk in as quietly as possible under the cover of darkness. That spot could work both morning or evening with the corresponding winds.

[northspear]

there is a spot that i always like to go but i always would jump deer in the AM. I would have to walk across a small one acre feild. all the deer would be laying on the edge. so this year im going in extra early and not walking across. plus im putting out a trail cam to try and pattern the deer. Trail cam is a big big help in knowing travel time, whats in the area, and you dont have to disturb the deer. and if you have a couple cameras that helps out even more if you have 500 acres to work with.

[student]

Thanks for great suggestions.

When thinking back on past setups, I often setup on field edges because it was easy. I will definitely have to change how I hunt the AM.

Our whole group has the mentality that hunting in the morning is pointless, probably because we all have field edge setups that work great at night.

This year I have limited time ot hunt this property, so I am going on a three day hunt. In order to make maximize my time, I will need to hunt AM and PM. From the sounds of it, I will need to ease into a travel corridor on day one to assess the situation and fine tune my position from there.

[NWBuck]

My experience has been that some places are morning stand locations, some evening, and some both. I have many places that are evening stand locations and the worst thing I could do is hunt them in the morning. Not saying this is the case in your location, but my point is that scouting the area may indicate that they are just not in that area during morning hunts.

[Archerysniper]

There are many places that can only only be hunted in the evening and what you are describing is one that I would only hunt in the evening. Thick beading area with hardly any fringe areas are hard to morning hunt. Most of the time if you try o head in for a morning sit you are blowing all the deer pout of the field and into the bed before you even get into the stand.

[Bear55]

Outside of the rut I don't bother with morning hunts unless I want to thwack a doe. Every now and then a buck might be on his feet but most the time they are bedding down long before first light and it is hard to pointless to try and hunt them.

[DonBo]

Outside of the rut I don't bother with morning hunts unless I want to thwack a doe. Every now and then a buck might be on his feet but most the time they are bedding down long before first light and it is hard to pointless to try and hunt them.

I couldn't dissagree more. I have kept a journal of my hunts for over 20 years. I have shot way more deer, per number of stands, in the morning than in the evenings. Also, most of my bigger bucks have come from morning hunts. Anyone who has less than desireable results from hunting mornings needs to find a better morning spot.

[Bear55]

Donbo I agree with you, shot plenty of big deer in the mornings myself. Notice I said outside the rut. I don't generally start hunting in the mornings until late Oct rolls around - maybe in that 20th to 25th ara. Once Nov arrives I prefer mornings and mid-day more than evenings but I generally hunt all day.

[HunterLee]

If there is a oak ridge of any sorts i would hunt that in the morning. They are good transition areas if they lead to a bedding area.

[HNTNBUX]

I would second any ridge leading to or from the swamp or CRP. I avoid field edges almost all the time and focus on terrain features to funnel the deer. I try to set up where they travel through not their destinations. I think this has a lower impact and reduces the number of deer that know I am there.

[archerystud]

I definitely avoid some stands for morning stand just because I don't have a good approach route to them. I may hunt them in the morning closer to the rut but not before then.

[NWBuck]

Yep...I agree totally with avoiding morning sits in key areas early in the season. Once the appropriate time of season arrives, I'll take a morning sit to an afternoon sit any day, but early in the season, it is a great way to run off a good buck.

[Meat-Run]

I'm with Bear55 I think he's hunting my land in Crow Wing county... I used to hunt mornings and "educated" every deer in the area going in. I think it all depends on the woods you hunt not all property and deer patterns are the same but for the most part I'm hunting evenings exclusively for where I hunt and see more bucks closer to the middle of October.

mr

[Bear55]

I'm with Bear55 I think he's hunting my land in Crow Wing county... I used to hunt mornings and "educated" every deer in the area going in. I think it all depends on the woods you hunt not all property and deer patterns are the same but for the most part I'm hunting evenings exclusively for where I hunt and see more bucks closer to the middle of October.

mr

Yep I bounce around Crow Wing and Cass county public land, if I am not educating the deer other people are so I have learned when to stay away and when to dive into an area.

One thing I have done with some success in early season hunting is waiting until first light arrives and then slowly sneak in and setup. The deer are not pressured this time of year and are often moving later in the mornings so the best hunting can be from 8 to 10am. When I used to go in opening morning in the dark I would constantly blow deer out. This is pretty much for does or young bucks, the larger buck will be bedded down.