Bowbuck

How long before daylight do you get to your stand? Are the times different with a Bow as opposed to a rifle? I like to shoot for 30 - 45 minuets before daylight, but it doesn' t always work out, sometimes it takes longer getting ready, and I get to the stand a lot later than I had planed.

Martin Cougar

I typically like to be in my tree w/ 30-45 minutes to spare.

Jason N

I like to be up and settled in no later than 30 minutes to go to light....it doesn' t always work that way, but that' s my goal. 45 minutes is better, but much more than that and the wait is almost unbearable. Funny, I can sit all day in my stand but can' t hardly survive 45 minutes till the sun comes up -- just anxious I guess!

Pluto

Are ya' ll talking 30-45 min before legal shooting time or sun rise? Here legal shooting time is 30 minutes before sun rise.

PABowhntr

Opening day of bow season I am actually in my stand a good 2.5 to 3 hours before daylight. No kidding

Not that I really need to be there that early. That whole thing happened for a couple reasons and from a long time ago. The area that I hunt is heavily pressured and a few years back I found a " hotspot" in terms of sign, food source, location, etc... So, in order to " get the spot" I went in around 3:45 am and set up my stand.

I never did have anyone use that spot, to my knowledge, up until last year but it taught me a few things about sitting in the woods, in the dark, for an extended period of time. You really do get a feel for your surroundings. Heck, there have been a couple times since then that I could actually tell when the deer were coming simply because the insects stopped making noise. Really neat stuff.

Anyway, sorry for getting off track. On average I probably get into my stand between 45 minutes to an hour before daylight. I usually take my time to get up the tree and then get settled in.

silentassassin

I normally try to get there 5 minutes before shooting time. I rarely see deer early in the morning. Most of the deer I see on morning hunts are from 7:15-9:30. So I take advantage of the extra hour of sleep

Bowbuck

Yeah, I was talking about getting to the stand before legal shooting time.

ducksndeer

I usually get in my stand 45 minutes to an hour before shooting time.

cardeer

I hunt suburban areas. Not unusal for me to camp out in someones back yard all night. You can see some wild stuff, before light, but normally 4 am

wimp

No earlier than I have to. Usually I' m ready to go with only about 10 minutes until shooting light. I' m careful and quiet and have had deer under me, just minutes after I climbed the tree.