Where to hunt?....in the morning and evening...
07-07-2007, 10:03 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Denton, Texas
Posts: 1,335
Where to hunt?....in the morning and evening...
Evening Stands
If you are hunting whitetails late in the afternoon, when the deer are just leaving their core areas in heavy cover, you can set up along travel lanes leading from the core areas to daytime food sources. Small openings in the woods, mast sites, and swamp or creek edges in heavy cover, are all good places to set up. If you are hunting just before sundown, the transition zones of tall grass, heavy brush, swamps and gullies are good place to set up. Trails leading to staging areas, downwind of open food sources, are excellent hunting sites at sundown, especially for bucks.
If you are hunting at or just after sundown, and the deer are feeding in the open, your stand should be along trails leading to the fields. Bucks move later than does and often come into the transition zones after sundown, preferring to stay in cover until sundown (when they feel secure). If you don't see bucks in open feeding areas you should move farther into the woods along the buck travel routes. Since the deer generally move late in the afternoon, you have plenty of time to get to transition zones, staging areas and food sources before the deer arrive.
Morning Stands
In the early morning, when the deer are still feeding in the open, you should not hunt from stands nearthe food sources, unless you are sure there are no deer near your stand, or you are sure you can approach you stand undetected. Because of the darkness you probably won't know if there are deer in the area until it's too late, and if you spook a deer it will alert all the other deer in the area. In the morning you can hunt transition zones and heavy cover (where deer travel on their way from feeding areas), or you can hunt the trails leading to the core areas. You should be at your stand before the deer arrive, and ambush them as they go back to their core areas.
Prior to the breeding phase bucks usually return to cover well before daylight. This is a good time to hunt the early morning along rub routes leading to the buck's bedrooms; getting there before the bucks do. Once the rut begins the bucks may return to their core areas later than normal in the morning, because they are either chasing or looking for does. Early in the morning you may catch bucks along their rub routes near transition zones leading back to their core areas. If the bucks are not in their core areas, you can hunt the core areas from first light until noon; I've seen bucks drag themselves back to their core areas at 11:00 in the morning. If you've previously observed or patterned a buck you will know when and where the best setup is.
If you are hunting whitetails late in the afternoon, when the deer are just leaving their core areas in heavy cover, you can set up along travel lanes leading from the core areas to daytime food sources. Small openings in the woods, mast sites, and swamp or creek edges in heavy cover, are all good places to set up. If you are hunting just before sundown, the transition zones of tall grass, heavy brush, swamps and gullies are good place to set up. Trails leading to staging areas, downwind of open food sources, are excellent hunting sites at sundown, especially for bucks.
If you are hunting at or just after sundown, and the deer are feeding in the open, your stand should be along trails leading to the fields. Bucks move later than does and often come into the transition zones after sundown, preferring to stay in cover until sundown (when they feel secure). If you don't see bucks in open feeding areas you should move farther into the woods along the buck travel routes. Since the deer generally move late in the afternoon, you have plenty of time to get to transition zones, staging areas and food sources before the deer arrive.
Morning Stands
In the early morning, when the deer are still feeding in the open, you should not hunt from stands nearthe food sources, unless you are sure there are no deer near your stand, or you are sure you can approach you stand undetected. Because of the darkness you probably won't know if there are deer in the area until it's too late, and if you spook a deer it will alert all the other deer in the area. In the morning you can hunt transition zones and heavy cover (where deer travel on their way from feeding areas), or you can hunt the trails leading to the core areas. You should be at your stand before the deer arrive, and ambush them as they go back to their core areas.
Prior to the breeding phase bucks usually return to cover well before daylight. This is a good time to hunt the early morning along rub routes leading to the buck's bedrooms; getting there before the bucks do. Once the rut begins the bucks may return to their core areas later than normal in the morning, because they are either chasing or looking for does. Early in the morning you may catch bucks along their rub routes near transition zones leading back to their core areas. If the bucks are not in their core areas, you can hunt the core areas from first light until noon; I've seen bucks drag themselves back to their core areas at 11:00 in the morning. If you've previously observed or patterned a buck you will know when and where the best setup is.
07-07-2007, 10:12 PM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Denton, Texas
Posts: 1,335
RE: Where to hunt?....in the morning and evening...
ORIGINAL: Cougars09
Texas you are a google junkie I can tell
All kidding aside, good info!
Texas you are a google junkie I can tell
All kidding aside, good info!
