Bucks and midday hunting
 

I bowhunted 1 day last year during the 11-2 time slot. I shot a doe at 11.30 and the truth is I was almost shocked when she came in.My question is do the bucks move out of there bedding areas this time of day? I do not use trail cams and I have a spot
that is about 300 yards from a bedding area and can get into with out being noticed. Do I have a decent chance at a buck
this time of the day or do you think it is a waste of time?

It is not a waste of time IMO. I have shot several bucks over the years during this time frame. I do find it best to be set up away from fields and sticking mainly in the wooded areas. I have noticed that bucks or any deer will move around during mid day. I think they just need to strech and get a little browsing in or something. But if you are talking about during the rut then they will be moving at almost any time of day or night threw out the rut..

It depends on where you are.

No 1 - You need to be where a buck is or frequents.
No 2 - This place will have to be a place he feels secure.

So...if you have a No. 1....don't overhunt it. Pick your day. Otherwise, you'll sabotage No. 2, yourself.

I think I did just that last year. Right place.....wrong time.

I know for a fact theres a big 9 and a 10 in this area, my son put
out his trail cam on dec 23-29 and these 2 bucks came in at 8:30 and 11:30 at night. The land owner [ renter] took up bow hunting last year, his stand is 80 yards from my stand and my son has seen going to his stand on a complete wrong wind. He had the bucks noct. The stand is in a white oak patch and that is why I'm wonndering if they might come out in the afternoon
because I'm sure he will do the same thing this year. I don"t want to say anything to him and **** him off.

Big diff. between where bucks might bed/travel.....Dec. of last year v. now. I wouldn't go in without knowing they were there....NOW (when I was actually going in to hunt them). Too random. Remember, they're not spotted very often. They're not moving far when they do move. If you don't have a darned good idea of where they're bedding, you're likely on a wild goose chase.

There's a reason I don't hunt mid-day very often....lol.

If you go....good luck.

ask yourself this, how many bucks have i shot at camp or my couch? if the answer is none, you've just answered your question. you can't shoot them if your not in the woods. deer walk whenever they feel like it or are spooked...which can happen anytime of the day. last year i shot a nice public land 7 point at about 12:15 p.m. he was chasing 2 doe's.

Camo....

"During the rut", all bets are off. I wouldn't care about his bedding area, then. I'd be hunting between doe bedding areas.

Perhaps up here it is because of our large woods or something.. We have seen deer come out in the fields at noontime on more than one occassion.. During hunting season I find it good hunting in around the hardwoods during midday as well as early in the morning or evening.. even more so if there is a small stream or a water source near the hardwoods.. Less hunters in the woods during that time of day as well perhaps make them feel safer?

this particular incident took place approximately 1 month after our "rut" took place. the point to my story was you can't kill them unless your in the tree.

i hunted in that area of time and had pretty good luck. people getting out of there stands at noon would jump up deer my way.

And you can't kill them EVER if you bugger up a spot by going to the wrong spot at the wrong time.

Why was a buck chasing a doe....if it was after your rut?

Bucks do chase does before and after the actual rut.

I've seen bucks chasing does the first of October, yet the rut isn't until the first week of November.

I've also seen bucks chasing does in December. Got my buck in rifle season last year chasing a doe well after the rut.


Yes, hunting during the afternoon can be successful. You bagging that doe is proof.

As someone mentioned, you know you won't get anything sitting home on the couch.

I've bagged a few bucks in the afternoon. As the days draw closer to the rut, bucks move more and more searching out the local does, making rubs and scrapes and even feeding on the falling acorns.

While a buck's attention toward food is turning more towards a hot doe in the coming days, does will still be seeking out the falling acorns at that means a buck could be there to check them out too.

Find a dropping white oak and spend an entire day there. You'll be surprised at the time of day deer will show up.

Far as I'm concerned....this (the pre-rut) IS part of the rut. It's not lockdown.....but nevertheless it's a part of the rut (we could be arguing semantics).

Regardless....this is my favorite part to hunt.

Pre-rut, post-rut, second-rut, third-rut.......so why would you question Camocop seeing a buck chasing does after the rut?

Could have been a fawn coming in heat or a doe not bred in the first rut.

You act like you know all about the rut, why would you question this common occurance?

I'll ask you the same thing I asked him (although you're getting on my nerves with your incessant whining and questioning:nonono2:).....

If it was "after the rut" (as he claims) ....why was the buck chasing the does?

I've already said....if it's during the rut...all bets are off. ANY time on stand is good. Outside the rut...I think you can do as much (or more) damage to your season as good.

If he's chasing does...it is NOT "after the rut". Otherwise....he wouldn't be chasing.

Here you go with more bad advice.

I've killed deer way before the rut in the late morning/early afternoon many times.

Deer do not stay planted in their bed 10AM til 6PM.

They get up and wander and get a quick bite to eat. I'm not sure how much time you have spent in a treestand from morning til dark, but I've done it several times. Especially when hunting near dropping white oaks.

Deer will visit all day long.


Even that tame doe and other deer would visit my backyard feeder at all hours of the day.

Deer will feed heavily before a storm front comes through. I know you knew that.

I strongly suggest you spend some more time in the woods other than you evening hunts.

Do you read these threads.....or do you just see my name and want to argue?

Go read the OP's question, again. He's talking about bucks. Now read my initial responses. If you have a specific point to counter...let me know. If not....stop whining. You're embarassing yourself.

I believe that I did post about bucks.

When I said about deer visiting a dropping white oak, I meant that some of those deer are bucks too. I'm sorry you didn't understand that.

Of coarse with you vast experience bowhunting, you probably think that only does and fawns will visit a dropping white oak midmorning.

Who's embarrassing themselves?

Everyone knows deer (bucks too) move at various hours to get up and feed a little then bed back down.

Only you would advise someone not to hunt late morning/ early afternoon.

Cause you don't hunt then no one else should either, huh?

WW....I can't see your posts (you're on my ignore list). It's been fun. Good luck this fall.

Wahhhh!

I'll take my ball and go home! LOL!

Bucks can move at anytime of the day. As long as you are in an area where deer move through, your chances of seeing a buck are good in the morning, midday, evening. If does are moving thru there, thats another good sign because when the rut kicks in, the bucks are sure to follow does right past you if they continue to run thru your area.

deer get up to "browse" every 3-4 hours. deer aren't like people where they eat alot at one time and go 6-8 hours between feeding. deer are browsers and tend to browse every 3-4 hours. the buck i shot "chasing a doe" was not right on her with his nose up her butt. 2 does run through this swamp i was sitting in. approximately 5 minutes after the doe's left my sight, the buck came through the same area. he was lifting his head and sniffing the wind. i'm assuming he was following the doe's scent trail.

as far as the "rut" goes, this is not a cast in stone specific time. like mentioned by WW, not all doe's get bred during this "magical" time. the one's that don't get bred will come back into season approximately one month later and continue to do so until she is bred. i have seen spotted fawns in all seasons, not saying this is common but it does happen. so back to my story, i don't know if one of those doe's were in season or not. maybe the buck was just following them because of the safety factor (prior deer in an area detecting no danger), or maybe just maybe this was the common travel route for these deer on their way to browse.

We actively get cam pics of bucks moving at all times of day. Rut or not. Two years ago I left my stand around 10-1030 then returned in the evening. When we pulled the cameras at the end of the weekend I had a 13 pt eating 15 yds from my stand for almost an hour between noon and 1 o'clock.

I bet you were kicking yourself when you saw that pic. :s6:

Come to think of it, I got many trail cam pics of bucks during the hours of 10AM and 3PM.

So much for the theory that they won't move then as others claim.

WW, don't let it get under your skin. GMMAT has been chasing deer for a total of 5 years now. Without a doubt, he knows all!!!!!

Some of my best hunting (Oct-Jan) has been done while hunting the T's. I love hunting mid-day after it has rained hard thru the night and early morning. Same goes for snow storms. Not every day is built to hunt mid-day, but those special days can prove to be very special if you are smart enough to be in your stand when they come along.

I remember watching an old video by Roger Raglin and he specifically stated that mid-day on public land it a big time to be in the woods because others are moving to their trucks for lunch and in that time, they are pushing deer around whether they know it or not. He goes on to say that you should pack a lunch in your backpack so that you can be in the woods longer while others are leaving. I hunt all day from sun up to sun down, it has to be pretty crappy weather to get me out of my stand.

KB...Whatever your issue with me (personally) is....the above quoted (from you) is ALL I've been saying in this thread.

Nor is every spot (built or even desirable to hunt mid-day). ALL I said was....you can bugger up an otherwise good spot by hunting it when you shouldn't. There's no epiphany in that statement. It should be common knowledge.

I have no personal problem with you, heck I don't even know you. I just call an ace an ace and a duece a duece:biggrin:

Even when we're saying the SAME THING?....lol:biggrin:

What I'm being chastised for....I didn't say (i.e. don't hunt mid day). I never said that. What I did say was.....pick your times AND spots wisely (in and outside the rut). It's a proven tactic. Conceded.

When I said this...

What I meant was (and poked fun at myself in the process).....I RARELY have a buck pinned down (his bedding area) outside the rut, well enough to know the optimal spot to be in to kill him. I've likely buggered up some otherwise great spots by going in at the wrong time or not exactly the right spot.

Rut? All bets are off. Get between doe areas and you're golden.

It don't matter If It's all day sits, evening sits, morning sits- If you shouldn't be there you shouldn't be there for whatever reasons. That's just common sense.

As for midday hunting, I really like sitting by water. Bucks or any deer for that matter really do like getting up and just getting a drink and lay back down.

Steve....

I'm really thinking this thing a little deeper. Again....outside the rut (and based on my comments on page 1), you're gonna need to snuggle up close to where a buck's bedding. In order to do this....you have to know where that is.

If you don't....you stand a very good chance of walking through that spot on your way to somewhere you think it is. Thus buggering up the area. Nobody wants to do that.....so staying out (if you're not sure) would be "A" solid tactic. If you know....YES! I admitted to probably buggering up spots searching for these gems. If I ever get one pinned down....I'll surely use this. Right time....right place.

I'm not disagreeing with the tactic, at all.

I like the water thing, too. I have multiple streams (even a river) running through all of my properties. I can't for the life of me pin a bruiser down enough to know exactly where he might be watering, mid-day. So....I choose not to chance things. I use the rut as my ace in the hole, though. If I don't bugger the spot up.....chances are he'll be there when his little head overrides his big one.....and I'll have my chance, then.

In short....(and again), this tactic WILL WORK! You'd just better have all your ducks in a row to use them (outside the rut).

I think we're in agreement.

Does? Heck I'm of the opinion they're a little (OK....a lot) more UNcautious. I think they (based on what I see, here) get up every 3 hours or so. I see them at all times of the day.