Morning vs. Evening

[bigsandynorth1]

When have you had the best luck shooting deer, evening or morning, or perhaps around lunch time? It seems where I hunt if it is clear night witht he moon, they tend to feed at nightime and they are bedded down before it gets light enough to shoot. I prefer cloudy nights which encourages them to feed during the day. What are your thoughts??

[Quackaddict9]

I shot my biggest buck to date last year ten minutes before shooting hours ended. I think I have seen more deer in morning hunts vs evening hunts but if hunting field I've seen deer in the morning and evenings.

I think I prefer morning hunts, I feel more confident that they will move around more.

[docc8]

I have shot a ten pointer and an eleven pointer both between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. Most of the big bucks I have seen have been in the morning.

[SORNO]

Every single deer I have shot since I was 14 years old has happened before 10am. I still sit out there all day long, I still wonder why.

[wh1stler]

I used to be a big believer that afternoon hunting was kind of a waste. But in the last few years I have started seeing and shooting more deer in the afternoons though. Just like Quackaddict9 said, I shot my personal best (a 14 pointer) a few minutes before the end of shooting time.

Even if I don't see anything in the afternoon it's ok though. After all, it is great to be out in the woods for each and every minute.

Wh1stler

[Wobbler]

I like the span 10-2. Shot 4 of my last 5 bucks during that time when others are eating. I don't know if it counts for morning or afternoon. I call it Brunch hunting time.

[minnesotahunter]

all the deer that i have harvested have come in the evening. i find going out in the morning all you do is spook deer off of their food source. its a personal preferance though

[Brade04]

I don't think it matters. Just the luck of the draw to where you are and what time your there. Just my thoughts

[zdmiller]

They are moving morning and evening, during the rut they move even more. If you're spookin them off of a food source, then back up from the food source. If you are kickin them our of bed then back off their bedding areas a bit. I have found evenings to be just as productive as mornings and the other way around too. It depends on location and outside factors such as weather etc.

[hhguide]

I prefer late morning time. After they are done feeding and making there way back to the beding area chasing does. BUt I sit all day and overall I have shot deer at all times of the day.

[Neighbor_guy]

I have more success with the bow durring the afternoon/eavning. That is not to say I have not shot deer in the am, just that my pm hunts are much more productive as far as seeing and shooting deer.

With firearms it is different. Most of my kills have been between 9 and 2. Some have come earlyer and some later, but midday seems to be best. I call it the "second push" after everyone has had their opening morning and they are now off to get a late breakfast or an early lunch.

[Bear55]

I always see more deer in the morning, my two biggest bucks were shot at 10:30 and half hour before dark. Whenever possible I like to sit all day.

[CodyDawg]

Morning for sure for me. 7:30-10 is when most of my bucks are shot.

[Johnny_Namakan]

Doesn't really matter when you're a master-grunter like myself! I just call them in when I'm ready for some action. HA!!! No, but seriously, I have done well at all times over the years. My last two bucks where both in the afternoon. The reason I know this is because I ran out of daylight tracking both those deer and had to recover them the next morning. I do that a lot though. Only one deer in my 19 years of hunting have I not recovered, but I have put on many miles tracking. Each year I say enough is enough and if I don't have a perfect kill shot I'm not pulling the trigger. But when you see that mess of horns walking out of range knowing you'll probably never get a chance at this guy again, how do you not let one fly? I've struggled with this question my whole life .

[Jim Almquist]

I shoot most of my deer between 8:30 and 10:00 and then again 1/2 hour before sunset. The past 3 years you could darn near set your watch for 9:00 cause I have shot 3 deer within 5 min.of 9:00.

[BigWadeS]

My best success has been around 9am and then most successful time is afternoon 3:30 - shooting hours end

[Kyle]

I wish I could say evening because it would be way more convenient, but the morning is better for me. I think it is because alot of deer dont come out until long after the curtain of dark falls. At least in the morning you have a chance of getting there before they do.

[iceman16]

i have shot all of my deer except for one before 10AM. the one that wasnt shot in that time was at 1:30 while we all came in for lunch i was told it wasnt goin to be ready tell 2 so i went and sat in a ground blind 200 yards away from the shack. it was -33 that morning and was around-25 when i shot that 9 pointer. good think the blind had a wood stove in it.

iceman

[buck 037]

I have always wanted to keep a log over the years on times and conditions when iv`e shot deer, never have though time thing. i would say it has been fairly even.Have taken many during mid day stalking also. Big thing is just have patience and persistence.

[TrophyEyes]

I am a big fan of the morning before I have to leave. I tend to settle way to easy that last day.

[skee0025]

I'd have to say it depends on the land I'm hunting. One piece of land is a morning spot and the other an evening spot. Unless there is an unusual amount of pressure, huting the "off" times for these sites tends to be a waste.

[fish4cats]

Sure seems to me that they intentionally push the deer season back just so its on that full moon phase. Deer movement is at a minimum during the day during full moon it seems to me.

[bottom-bouncer]

I will probably get this backwards but I will try.. I just read an article on a study of this very topic. dont know were it is though? what they said was deer move shorter distances in the morning than they do in the evening but that they take longer in the morning than they do in the evening to get to were they are going. if that makes any sense..

[analyzer]

I've been hunting SE Minnesota for about 6 years. It's mostly corn and pasture with small patches of woods. I think some of the woods is bedding, and another that I hunt is a transitional piece.

The first couple years there was more activity in the morning, and now the last couple years there have been more sightings in the evening.

I'm sure it's tied into wind, moon phases, barometric pressure, etc. But I haven't kept a journal to narrow it down.

The deer we have shot, have all been evenings, but partially because we waited until the last night to fill our tags. It's varied quite a bit. I have only seen two bucks between 9am and 3 pm. But then at least 75% of the time, I'm not in the field between 11 and 230.

I am reading a book that suggests deer feed 5 times a day, and one of those times included a heavy feeding between 10-11 am., but this one they tend to stay near their bedding areas, so generally aren't seen walking about.

[minnesotahunter]

i second the feeding between 10-11. on one peice of property we hunt, every single day we click between 40-50 pics off of a food plot between 10-12.