How early?

[Boar]

Boy so many opinions, looks like if it aint broke for each individual, dont fix it. Good luck guys!!

[deerminator]

I like to get there about 15 minutes before first light and I usually have my wife or a hunting buddy drop me off so I don't bump anything. It all depends on your setup and like many here mentioned, going in too early in my situation give me a 50/50 shot of bumping deer. When I cant get dropped off, I try to ride my mountain bike in to avoid clod hopping through the countryside and spooking everything around.

I should note that I can ride my bike down a well beaten path and have done it in the dark many times so its not totally insane.

[BLACKJACK]

I like to be at my stand one hour before sunrise, it gives me the chance to get settled in, put on my heavy clothes, safety harness, etc.  Love to watch the day get brighter, is that a deer, watch the sunrise!!!!  Twice this year bowhunting I had chances to shoot at first light.

[NoWiser]

I got settled up in my tree at 5:15 on Saturday morning and had 3 deer under me at 5:30, still over an hour before shooting.  They wandered off and it was quiet until 11:30 a.m. when two bucks followed a doe and two fawns past me.  I shot the second buck right at 11:30, continuing my streak of deer right around that noon hour!  Our group got one deer right after shooting light and 3 within an hour of noon.  Most sightings were 10:00-1:00.  Fun day in the woods!  It looks like the population is coming back in a big way in the Leech Lake area.

[JIvers]

I like to be climbing in to my stand an hour to an hour and a half before calendar sunrise, i.e. just when it starts to get light out. Years ago I tried going out on stand earlier, but all that did was cost me sleep and make me cold. Later and you increase the risk of bumping the deer you are hunting.

[bigbucks]

I'm usually less than 15 mins before shooting light.  I would prefer to be 15-30 mins before, but no matter how early I get up it seems to take me forever to get where I'm going in the am.  I used to bump deer getting to my stand in am, but the patterns have just changed & I really don't now walking to my opening morning gun stand.  Over the years I've shot very few deer before 8am & most are later, at least during gun season.

[nofishfisherman]

This year I was at my tree by 5:30 and situated in in my climbing stand by 5:45.  Although even with being early and beating everyone to the spot I still had people set up with 40 yards of me.  They took a different route into the woods and were blocked by a hill so I couldn't see them and they couldnt see me until they were actually up in their trees.  Turned out to be a dad with his 2 boys.  The guy had solo hunted the area in the past but always well to the west so I was surprised to see them in that spot.  We both made the best of it opening day and his two boys took a shot at a doe but missed.  At the end of the day I packed up my stand with plans to relocate Sunday morning further to the south.  In theory I was there first but I wasn't going to ask a guy with 2 boys to move.

Edited November 20, 2015 by nofishfisherman