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AM hunt, how early do you arrive...

This should be an interesting topic. This is for stand hunting only (ground blinds included). How early before shooting light do you get settled into your stand on an AM hunt? And why?

I always settle in about 30 to 45 min before sunrise, but you can never be in the stand to ealry. It just allows everything to settle down.

There's no right response...especially not knowing whats going on in your area. I have places I waste no time getting into early and others I would never go into before first light. Rothhaar would tell you that scaring deer on the way to a stand is one of the single biggest mistakes guys make ad I believe that. If your not sure when to go then you need to try and learn a bit more about general movement in the areas you hunt. My comments pertain to mature deer...you could kill 6 & 18 month olds no matter what you do most likely........

I like to be settled in and ready 1/2 hour before legal shooting light, so usually one hour before sunrise. Best advice I ever got on the subject was from Gene Wensel...."better to be an hour early than a minute late".

The one thing people always say is get there an hour before shooting light....I agree to an extent BUT if you are hunting where it is really, really cold. AKA Canada...I try and get there to arrive at my stand at first light....I don't want to be in the stand any longer than I have too especially if it is really, really cold....Yes, I have all the proper gear to be as warm and as comfortable as possible BUT if I can help it I like to go in as late as I can IF I am hunting in extreme conditions.....I love the responses from people who hunt in Texas and say...."be in the stand 2 hours before light" Well, come to Canada and tell me if you like to sit in the pitch dark, freezing your butt off for 2 hours before you can even see anything....

I leave camp in what I call half light. Its still to dark to take a shot but you can see a little without a light. Works for me.

Usually 15 minutes before shooting light if it is really cold. 30 minutes before shooting if not.

Some stands I wait until I can see (especially during the rut) before I slip into them.

Usually 30-60 minutes before shooting light but occassionally I'll wait til after it gets light out so I don't scare deer off a field.

SJJ said it best. It depends on how when and where you are hunting. Get there before daylight and you end up running every thing off just walking in. They will hear and see you long before you see them if you see them at all. Ever hunt an area with all kinds of deer sign but never see a deer? Chance are pretty good that they nailed you the first time you hunted it. This is why most bow hunters hunt funnels. early morning and deer are usually feeding so it is no big deal. As you get older you eventually get tired of running into trees and tripping over things so go later. Time of the years is important as well. In the early part of rut the big guys are usually home and asleep when the sun comes up. As the rut goes on they stay up later and later. The chance of seeing one in mid afternoon are just as good as seeing them at first light. Things change fast in the fall. Here in Kansas deer will be feeding on corn one day only to have it combined the next. A field one day will be nothing but dirt and a few days later will be winter wheat.

I have found the best way to select a time to be out is to watch from afar for a couple of days, figure out what, when and where the deer are at and hunt accordingly.

Ron, I certainly agree with you. I used to get in stand a full hour before daylight. In October (in KS), I was consistantly bumping deer on the way in. Your big bucks were either bedded down long before I entered the woods or just getting to where they wanted to be for the morning. In November, I would be fine. As time goes on, I find that heading to stand at the first hint of the sky getting lighter is the best time for "collision avoidance". I can still use my flashlight to see my trail markers, but once in stand I don't have long to wait before legal shooting light. This has helped me jump less deer, stay in stand longer during legal shooting light, and I don't get as cold when the temps plumet. What's not to love about that!

KSArcher~~~

What broke me from using a flash light going to my stand was what I saw one morning. I had got to my stand very early and had managed to get into it undetected. There was a partial moon and once my eyes got adjusted I could see deer all around me. Some time later I saw an other hunter drive up slam his car door and start walking my way with his flash light. It was quite a site watching the little beam of light snake it's way down my way. Deer saw it too and cleared out. The guy probably had no idea on what had just happen.

I had a bigun' under me this morning at 6:30 and he was gone a shooting light. I like to be in 30 mins early. I don't think there is one good answer for every stand.

For me it depends on whether I'm hunting from a tree stand or a ground blind. I can climb into the stand quietly enough to move in around 15-20 minutes before daylight and feel I didn't spook anything. Groundblinds I tend to try getting in about 45 minutes due to noise of zipping and unzipping blind entrance.

It all depends on where you're hunting and how long it takes the deer to make it to your stand area. I would rather start moving in the woods about 1/2 hr. before legal shooting light. By the time I get to my stand it's becoming light enough for me to see as I finish hooking up my harness and pulling up my bow.

I didn't look at the watch this morning, but it was still very dark when I climbed into a brush blind this morning. I broke a few more small limbs out of the way once in and while waiting for the sun to come up. I sat there watching the birds and squirrels moving about for about an hour after legal light before any deer showed up. They were headed to bedding areas until about 9:30 or so.

I try and get in and set up at least 1/2 hour before sunrise.

It all depends on how late you stay out the night before lol...seriously though there are a number of variables to consider...Temperature/weather conditions as mentioned above, where you are set up in relation to the bedding/feeding area, also another factor to consider is big woods vs back yard deer...and it has been my experience that most deer that are spooked in the dark don't spook nearly as bad as if they were spooked in the daylight...add all that up and it comes down to personal preference...Bucbuster have you shot any P&Y spikes this year??

Depending on weather conditions...at least 1 hour or so before shooting time. I like to let thigs settle down as I prepare for the sit...Cant stand those who rush(esp. on state land) in right at shooting lite spooking every thing as they go in. I'd rather already be up in the tree waiting and ready...Jeff

I watch the sunrise tables and plan to arrive at my stand site 60 minutes before sunrise. That's 1/2 hour before legal shooting time. IMO there's nothing to be gained by getting there any earlier.

well assuming you are hunting a bedding area....imagine how long it would take you to stroll from the feeding area to your stand (assuming of course your stand is on the trail between the two) plan on 30 min to an hour more than that. If it is cold they will stroll slower if it is hot they will probably beat you there.

Since I don't hunt the same tree that often, I go in right at light where I can pick a tree to climb. I've spooked deer in the dark just as well in day light. Mike

rothaar writes in his book about advantages to going in at first light! i've had pretty good luck the last few years going in time to be set up at legal hunting time. would i have done better going in an hour earlier? i have no idea!

My buddy and I were hunting in IL a few years back and staying in his 32ft pull behind. I'm sleeping and wake up to the sound of my buddy making himself some coffee. I get up and immediately start to get dressed. (outside) I'm standing there waiting for him to get ready and he asks if I'm ready to go to my stand. "Sure" I say and I get into the truck. He gets in and says that he's gonna go in later. It's a 45 minute walk to my stand from where we park the truck. I get into my stand and get all settled. After what seems a considerable time and no daylight apparent I get my watch out of the pack. Illuminating the watch with my flashlight I get quite a surprise. 4:05AM I must have gotten up around 2:30! My "buddy" Rob got quite a laugh about that. The year before we had a similar experience. We all get into bed (seperate LOL)and fall asleep immediately. The alarm sounds off and we all get up and get dressed. A couple of the guys are complaining about being tired. We stagger to the truck and get in. When Jim turns on the ignition the clock proudly displays....12:30AM!!!! It didn't take us long to get back in bed. There are a lot of variables but 45min before shooting time us what I strive for.

-atleast and hour before sunruse

I am like a lot of other people who responded- I shoot for 1 hour before sunrise, which is 30 min before shooting. I hunt from ladder stands on my own place, and I have trails cleared to them, so I can get to all of them without light.

I rarely see deer before about 30-45 minutes AFTER legal shooting time. As a matter of fact, the last four deer I have killed were all shot between 8:00 and 8:15, from three different tree stands, ranging from early October to early December.

It seems to me that deer "start their day" after it is good and light. Do other people see/hear much deer movement sitting in the stand waiting for light?

Depending on where the season is at and location it might might swing between 1/2 to an hour before shooting light.

SnapDragon, As always it's a pleasure to get invited to hunt your world renowned sacred hunting grounds...I wanted to make it clear to the rest of the guys and gals that I go after the biggest buck an area has to offer and I hunt the same whether I am hunting in Kansas or when hunting your prime spots. I'm sure you are still bummed that I killed one of your magnum bucks. By shooting the P&Y spike I hope I didn't affect the pecking order or gene pool too much!!

45 minutes to an hour before first light. When you move through the woods things like frogs shut up. It takes a while for the normal sounds of an undisturbed area to get back to normal. It also allows animals to forget what they thought they saw before it's time to get up and start feeding.

Get up in the morning and start feeding? Sorry Steelyeyes, but you've got the order a bit backwards unless the deer you hunt are much different than any deer I've ever hunted. Deer get out of bed in the evenings to go feed at night, what you see in the morning are heading to bedding areas from feed fields.

I try to get into my stand an hour before first light. Many times I have had to wait until it was light enough to see my sight pin to shoot deer that were feeding on acorns all around me. If I wait until closer to daylight, I bump more deer. I guess it is what ever experiences you have had is what determines the time you go to your stand. I have killed dozens of deer when it was just barely light in the morning. I also use a light since I have been a night time fox caller for many years and have walked right up on many deer when using a light to scan for foxes. I personally don't think a light bothers deer a bit but I do keep it pointed at the ground. I have also taken flash pictures of deer no more than 14 yards away and they didn't even flinch. The auto wind on the older 35MM cameras gets their attention sometimes.

I like to give myself enough time to be settled, and not alot more, about 45 min before sunrise.

It's just as easy to get picked off before light as it is after, and you're less likely to know that deer were even there.

The most important thing is to get in without spooking deer on the way.

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