LOL. I am i member at a club it is a club that have gun shoot's. that is where i hunt most of the time.

In the dark by a long shot...I get snuck into some good cover and wait if I think there are deer around on my way in... I take it slow and easy and listen every 5 yards or so...

As a general rule....I'd tell you to get in there as early as you can stand to. I know I bump WAY less deer if I go in really early. I also know that it varies for each herd/location. If you're hunting close to a bedding area.....they could not be coming "home" until later in the morning.

I don't think there's anything negative about going in early......REALLY early. It's all in how early you can stand to get up and get out there.

Definitely be in your stand at least a half hour before first light. Use flashlight and point straight to the ground.

In IL, bowhunting time starts 1/2 hour before sunrise, bu tyou can be in as early as you want, provided that you do not have an arrow nocked on the string.

For a morning hunt, you can't get in too early. I try to get finished setting up and sitting quiet about 1/2 hour before shooting time opens. That's a whole hour before sunrise, but I've found that I see the most morning deer just as shooting time opens or just after.

By getting in this early, it doesn't matter so much if I jump one on the way in, because I still have time for the woods to forget I'm there after I'm all set up. Things have all settled down and the critters are doing their normal thing again by the time I can shoot.

Also, if you hunt public land, you can take advantage of the lazy idiots who come in after shooting time opens and disturb the deer from their regular early beds or travel routes. Going deep and getting there early can pay off when you have other hunters to mess things up for you.

I went in right at first light last Sunday morning, shot a doe about an hour later. One day last year i overslept, it had been light for at least 45 minutes. I hurried up and snuck in there very quietly, seen 4 bucks that morning. One of the better mornings i had. Normally, i try to get in there just before light, but getting in there right at light or a little after has never ruined any hunts for me either.

I'm usually try and be in a hour or two before shooting light.