Morning or evening hunts?

[BLACKJACK]

Just curious, if you had your pick and time wasn't a factor, what do you prefer, morning or evening hunts?

Myself, I'd have to picking mornings. Its hard getting out of bed sometimes, but watching the woods come alive, speculating whether that clump is a deer or a bush, watching all the small birds, listening to the pheasants cackle, watching the ducks, seeing the sunrise, all make for a grand experience.

[The Grebe]

Evening hunts....Unlike the morning hunts, when the deer are already out and about, I felt I would be better able to get into position without being detected, since the deer were in their hidey holes, waiting for the evening movement.

By the time they got up and got going, I was already settled in and waiting.

The woods comes alive in the evening also, as different kinds of wildlife that you usually don't see in the mornings, starts to move. Raccoons, both kinds of foxes, skunks, coyotes, all kinds of stuff.

Aside from not liking to get up at 3 a.m. to be in position by sunrise, I always felt that no matter how sneaky I was, I could never get past the senses of the deer that were already moving about and I would put them on the alert.

The slightest sound is amplified in the dead still of the predawn morning and deer don't have those big ears for nothing!

[Mayfly]

Wow that is tough.

I love mornings.

I love evenings, things just keep getting better.

I don't think anything can beat that first hour of light.

[bigbucks]

Mornings, I love them both, & it's a lot easier to get setup for an evening hunt, but mornings have been more productive by percentage for me by far. One thing I like about mornings is that if you can figure out how to cross open fields without actually bumping deer, they aren't watching you walk across a field like they can be in the evening. They can see better than us in the dark, but I don't think they see you halfway across a field, the noise doesn't seem to spook them all that much.

It's great to track a deer you shot in the improving light instead of using lights in the disappearing light too. I always have a lot more confidence if there's not a great blood trail, but it's a morning hunt.

[Ole1855]

Morning when rifle hunting, evenings with a bow.

Ole

[BLACKJACK]

bigbucks, you make a good point about there being better tracking light in the daylight.

Thinking back, I've actually had more success in the evening hunts, don't know why, maybe because I make it out more in the evenings.

Was watching the sunset last night thinking that in a few weeks I'll be watching if from my deer stand!!!!

[treeclimber]

If you are just hunting deer I would say evenings are by far the best time, but, if you are hunting trophy bucks the mornings are by far the best time. All the trophy bucks I have shot have been in the morning. But here is an exception, when the bucks are on the move during the heat of the rut then I would say mid morning to mid day is the best.

[bmc]

I love hunting mornings, but don't do it enough. My success has been all on evening hunts. During the rut, the last week of October and first week of November, just be in the woods. PERIOD The bucks are fired up and running does non stop. I'm finally starting to realize this the last year or two. Now all I need to do is get my duck hunting fix early and hit the woods during this two week period HARD!!!

Brian