Time

[justins]

What is the best time to go deer hunting

[Ravin R10 man]

Every time you can...lol..you just dont know..had a huge 8 pt in my stand at 2 pm one day..another day I left my stand at 8:45 am...guess who showed up at 9 am??

Early am later pm..al day during the rut

Edited September 10, 2012 by Mathews XT Man

[Slash]

that depends on what time of year you're hunting and where you're hunting. It's usually a good idea to check your rules & regs book too. Otherwise, early morning and late evening are when I see deer on their feet the most.

[Dawg]

Any time but night time.

[wtnhunt]

Best time to see the best activity here would be early to mid November. The pre rut leading into the rut will.

[92xj]

7:35am on opening morning 9 days ago.

[dbHunterNY]

Every time you can...lol

what he said

[Slash]

7:35am on opening morning 9 days ago.

Hahaha!

[daviswr]

Time

Sunrise till sunset

[Rhino]

1st...welcome aboard!

As you can see many of us feel like there really is no bad time to deer hunt. There are many ways each of us enjoy deer hunting and taking it all in while we're hunting. Seeing lots of deer, especially at close range is a bonus. Without a doubt seeing a lot of deer sure makes the time spent on stand pass quickly and I'll admit there are times when deer weren't moving my time on stand passed slowly.

I'm guessing you're question is more along the line of when is the best time to see deer moving. That depends on many things like, time of day, what time of year it is relative to the rut, and the weather.

As a general rule of thumb deer have a temperature comfort range when they'll move better. Above or below that comfort range, deer movement falls off. What that temperature range is depends on where you hunt. You'll have to figure out what it is for your neck of the woods. It's different here in MS compared to where I've hunted in the Midwest. Again...that's just a general rule. It really can happen any time! Another weather factor that can affect deer movemnet is cold fronts. I've heard and read about deer movement picking up right before a front. I've found it's better right after one. Rainy days are bad for hunters but if it's not raining hard deer will sure move while it's raining. The only issue with rain is tracking wounded deer...well and staying dry & comfortable. Windy days...well some hunters say wind surpresses deer movement. I believe that's a yes and no answer to that statement. Here in MS it's typically calm in the morning & the afternoon. During windy days here in MS as a general rule deer movement is slower...sometimes non-existant. In some places I've hunted in the Midwest deer movement seemed to be slower or even dead on calm days. My best guess is the norm for those particular places was for there to be some type of wind blowing. That was especially the case where I hunted in KS. One of the wildest extremely windy days I've ever spent in the woods was in Iowa. By 10:00 a.m. I had to move to a stand I hung in a bottom by a creek because it was too dangerous to stay in a treestand on high ground. Granted that day of hunting was during some peak rutting activity but I lost count how many deer & buck chases I saw that day. They were going NUTS all day long! I saw more deer during that very windy day than any other day during that 8 day hunt. It remains one of the most memorable hunts I've ever had! If the norm in your neck of the woods is for the wind to blow...hunt.

As for time of day, as a general rule mornings & afternoons. During the peak period of rutting activity, any time of the day. During the early season you're more apt to have more deer sightings in the afternoon compared to the morning. At that time of the season deer are more on a feeding pattern and some, especially mature bucks tend to return to bed before the crack of dawn. Again...it can happen anytime though. During the 15 days or so around peak rutting activity it's a good idea to hunt all day if you can stand it. If you can't stay in one stand all day...get down & slip to another stand. If it takes getting in more than 2 stands, do it but try to stay in the woods. Too many deer hunters get in a pattern of hunting a few hours in the morning & afternoon regardless of what time of the year it is relative to the rut. BIG MISTAKE!!! At some point during the rut you will notice a sudden drop in deer sightings even though you believe the weather is perfect. When this happens chances are you just experienced what's referred to as lockdown. That's when bucks are locked down with the does they are breeding. Many disagree how long this takes. From my experience it's about 2.5 to 3 days, give or take a day. During that period most of the deer I see are young deer. It's hard to stay in the stand all day when it seems like you're just seeing fawns/young does, nubbin bucks, & 1.5 year old bucks but when they come out of lockdown, action can be fast and furious just like it was before lockdown. When the rut winds down deer, especially bucks are going to be recovering from the rigors of the rut & probably back on a feeding pattern again. However, if you have a 2nd estrus period, action can once again get fast and furious. It won't be as pronounced or predictable as the primary rut though. Again...yep...one more time...it REALLY CAN HAPPEN ANY TIME!

In closing, if you're a hunter that experiences burnout, do whatever you can not to get burnt out until after your primary rut is over. Your best odds of seeing a mature buck are greatly increased during the rut so be mentally prepared to hunt all day as much as you can then.