Mornings or evenings

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sbhockey

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I go back and fourth about the pro's and con's of each all the time. Just wanted to hear some others thoughts.

Mornings - Pro. Tracking, recovery, and field dressing done in the daylight
Mornings - Con. Walking in, in the dark. No light means possibly bumping deer, and making more noise stepping on sticks and leaves. Red light you can see a bit more of what your stepping on, but still could bump deer. White light, you can see the ground, but again, possibility of bumping deer.

Evenings - Pro. Can get into the stand nice and quite, as well as still hunt your way in.
Evenings - Con. Tracking, recovery, and field dressing most likely done in the dark with a head light.

There is also the option of hunting afternoon, which I do a fair amount of. I tend to lean to evening hunts. Whats everyone's opinion.
 
I personally like mornings the best. I really really like mornings better in early bow when it's still warm out.

But have had lots of success in the evening especially in Muzzy/gun season.
 
I say this while doing 98% of my hunting in the mornings...

True, you could bump deer in the pre-dawn darkness but the deer you bump would probably have moved on through the area prior to shooting light unless maybe they were bedded down where you went in. It for sure is cooler in the mornings and I love to see deer stand sunrises and I don't doubt you'll see more deer then but... I think most of the time the bigger, older bucks bed down earlier than the rest of the herd. They may even stay bedded down longer during the day as well so in the afternoons you'll probably see everything except them hitting feeding areas before dark. If they're going to come in during daylight the last 15 minutes before dark seem to be the magic time to see them enter a feeding area. It's hot going in and waiting on them and if you kill anything you'll probably be working in the dark but I do think you stand a better chance at the better bucks in the afternoons. This pertains to early archery only.
 
It is nice to watch a sunrise from the stand and usually seems like it is easier to see through a peep in the mornings versus the evenings. I also drive up to 2.5hr to hunt, so driving before sunrise doesn't seem like I waste as much daylight getting to and from. I also find it easier to start the day off at the coldest part of the day and warm up as the sun comes up. However, looking at my past kill logs, the vast majority of my bigger deer have been killed on evening hunts. It is nice shooting a deer on a cold evening and packing it out under a star lit sky and getting to replay the hunt on the hike back.
 
Went out yesterday evening and checked a bunch of lush green soybean fields and the only deer I saw was a doe that I bumped off the bed from a fence row.


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I will always love mornings. I love watching the woods wake up. I love the cold or at least cooler temps. I have taken some nice deer in the afternoon but have always had more luck in the mornings.
 
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I like them both especially if it is cold. I find that I am more apt to let a doe walk the last 30-45 minutes of daylight in the evening waiting on a buck.
 
this week temps make morning hunts more comfortable for me. 58 degrees tomorrow morning. 84 tomorrow evening. gotta go with the morning this month.
 
In the early season, it's evenings without a doubt for me. They're so predictable on food sources in the early season evenings, I'd be fine not hunting mornings at all. I've had great success over the last 4 years with this tactic.
 
I like evenings during early season for bucks. Saw 2 of our 4 year old on our plots before 5:30 yesterday afternoon. Would rather shoot one in the morning though.
 
I usually see a lot more deer in the evenings till November rolls around. I would rather hunt mornings, but evenings have always been better for me.
 
Mornings are my favorite- watching the woods wake up and the cool of the day. And I hate messing with deer in the dark. But it is hard to deny the last 45 minutes of daylight is magic
 
I'm lazy. Evening hunts for me. Truth is I don't think I have ever killed an evening deer though. Probably ought to change my pattern.
 
During the fist couple of weeks of bow season i killed my better bucks in the evenings.Then it seems like it changes to mornings for me.
 
Good points about the cooler morning weather. Also, since I'm hunting public land, it's nice to get there early and hopefully be the first truck at the parking spot. Don't really get that opportunity in the evenings. This Saturday will be my first morning out, hoping for a birthday buck.
 
Late mornings are always better for me especially when the weather cools down a bit. 9:00-10:30 is when I see more deer transitioning back to their daytime bedding areas. I also see more mature bucks during this time as well.
 

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