dvalliere

I've heard a lot of different answers to the question "how early should you be in your stand?"

My question is slightly modified: "How long before shooting light were you in your stand during gun season ON AN OPENING MORNING WHEN YOU ACTUALLY SHOT A DEER THAT MORNING?"

halfbakedi420

either way, i have shown up an hour or more early, and sometimes go out after sun up... if you are bowhunting close to the bedding area, i would say at least an hour early...gun hunting out to 400 yards, dont really matter what time. The deer move all day, imo, the gettin in the stand early is for concealment, so nothing can hear or see you arrive.
where we are, the deer are used to not being shot at, and people being close by, as they eat grapes from the front porch of this house. we can walk down to the blind while the deer are 150 yards and less away, they dont run off....and when ya shoot, they all come runnin in to see wtf that was....
in east texas...1 hour early and dont make a sound...100 hunters to 1 deer out there lol

Joot

At least 45-60 minutes before sun up for me...

dvalliere

When you've taken deer? Or is that just when you like to get out there, period?

Mojotex

Normally I try to get set-up and let the area "quieten" down 30 minutes or so before the fist crack of light. However, if I am headed into an area that I have not yet figured out a "quiet" way in, I'll time it so that I am able to barely see by the time I am within 1/4 mile or so of where I want to set up. That way I can at least try to avoid making a ton of noise going in. This puts me setting up right at decent light. That is not usually a good thing when I am using a climber. But think I miss too much "prime" time when I decide to wait a bit. Frankly I have very seldom had deer come by before 1 or more hours after decent shooting light, even when I am in way before light. It has happened over these past 50+/- years, but probably not more than 15 - 20 times.

birdgunner

I try to get to the stand before sun up if I know the area well. I really dont like using a light to get in the woods if possible. Full moon I go in an hour early.
I think I can make less noise and hunt to the stand if I wait till the crack of dawn but i move slowly. I've killed deer by using this method.

westtexducks

I am with halfbaked the spot that I get the privilege to hunt has lots of oilfield activity and the deer are not very spooky and you can show up at day break and be fine with a rifle, but with a bow you get there early so they do not know that you are there.
I took a guy with me last year who had only hunted central and east texas and he was amazed at how much noise it took before the deer would leave they are so accustomed to people and lots of noise they just do not care. We had to yell at that one before he would actually leave. He said over there if you so much as blinked they would head for the next county and you had to be on stand an hour before dark so they didn't know you were there.

warbirdlover

I'm there one hour before opening so things can settle down LONG before the deer start moving into the oaks from the marshes.

Big Z

If I'm hunting one spot in the morning, I like to be in position an hour before shooting light, 1.5hrs before sunrise. I often notice movement starting 10-20mins before shooting light, and just prefer to show a little beforehand.

fishintay

I always try to get in the stand by at least 15 minutes before shooting light so everything will have time to settle down before shootong light.