i never thought that deer were afraid of a flashlight until last year when I was in the stand 30 min before sunrise and my hunting partner got to his stand 10 min after me. His stand is half a mile away from mine and I could see his light and heard the deer from his sport right past my tree. He said he was very quite walking so the only thing that could of busted them that bad was the light. I use a green light if any and have never busted them with that.

I agree with the red light. They are very hard to spot unless you shine it right in their eyes! I use a flashlight because I HATE getting hit in the face with branches! If you have a clear trail that you can walk down then I say no light at all. As far as getting on stand I hunt close to the bedding area right at a swamp crossing. They usually don't show up until an hour after light. I try to get there just before first shooting light. If I were hunting closer to the food sorce I would get there at least an hour before first shooting light. If you jump them on the way to the stand I say go in earlier or move your stand further down their trail if you can. Closer to the bedding area.

How many "lumens" is a good l.e.d light??

Nobody has night vision goggles, J/K, I get there half hour before light and sometimes later depending on if I can wake up or not. During the Rut I will wait till 9-10 am before I head out and sit on trails to and from bedding area. If a buck is searching that is where he'll be but to get a mature buck away from a doe, good luck.

at least 30 minutes before light, and i use a green light

I prefer to get in there early, at least 45 minutes prior to sunrise if I am hunting public lands. The reason is simple, as they guys who wait for light go in, they push the deer through the woods where I am already set.

Deer travel long distances every day deer move fast even when they are walking. The deer you see 30mins after daylight could have been miles away when it was dark. A deer do not fear light I have walked right up to them from downwind on my way out of my stand. No flash light sounds like a good way to poke you eye out on a stick that you did not see because you were walking in the dark. 30 mins before dark is perfect.

You're not gonna walk through south Mississippi during bow season without a light or you'll have cotton mouths latched to both ankles. So I can't relate

Im in 30 minutes before sunrise and out 10 min after sunset. I use a light with an orange filter on it.

Here at home the beginning of legal shooting hours is 30 min before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset. If I arrived 30 minutes before sunrise, I am already too late. I usually have about a 45 min walk in, so a flashlight is always part of my gear.

I hunt from my treestand from dark 'til dark every day (weather permitting). That's about 11 hours a day. I always try to be in my stand and settled at least 30-45 minutes before I can legally shoot. I then begin leaving 30 minutes after sunset or at times before, if low light conditions exist where I am set up.

Like most hunters, I have shot deer at all hours of the day but that deer I shoot just as the hunting day begins was obviously not aware I was there. He may have been 1/2 mile or more away when I finally settled in to begin the day. That's why I arrive early and I can then enjoy the deer woods as the sky turns from black to light blue. I also appreciate all the critters who make their rounds just as the sun begins to rise in the eastern sky.