A_Bolt

I am in VA, and tomorrow will be the first morning below freezing, and it's going down to 20 or so by sunrise. Do they stay in bed on nights when it's that cold? Should I hunt later into the morning waiting for it to warm up and get them moving? I will be hunting the edge of a field planted with winter wheat, they are often there about 7 am according to the owner, but I wonder if they will pack it in earlier, or not go out at all. Any ideas on cold weather movement?

MOTOWNHONKEY

If you are going to hunt a food plot you should hunt it in the evening. You will scare the deer out of there in the morning. If you can find a spot back in the woods about 200 yards from that food plot and catch them moving back to their bedding areas. Yea deer move when it is cold they have to eat more because it takes alot of their bodys calories to keep them warm.

SKIDMARK

Deer will absoleutely move with this cold weather. They need to stay warm also which means they must get up and move around often. I will have to disagree with the 1st reply about not hunting food plots in the morning. I'm pretty sure that where you are the rut is either in full swing or fixing to get started. If it is you need to hunt the does, where they are the bucks will be. I would have no preblem hunting that field in the morning but I would try to enter my stand where the field will be least disturbed. Also if the wind is wrong I would even think about approaching it in the morning.

cardeer

Go for the food and in the cold they often will bed so the sun warms them up

UncleNorby

From my perspective 20 isn't that cold, but you're south of me. Deer can tolerate cold just fine, but wind and cold can make them hole up. Deer will indeed be up feeding in the 20s, as long as it's not too windy.

Charlie P

Deer burn alot of calories trying to stay warm, they still have to eat.

minnesotahunter

We've always shared the perspective in MN that the colder the better. Last year it was -18 on opener morning in Motley and we saw a lot more movement than we did this year. They need to move to eat to stay warm.

BowHuntingFool

They gotta eat to keep warm. I've got no problem hunting food sources in the morning. I hunt their exit trails about 100yards off the field edge back in the hardwoods. This is only a morning spot. I try to catch them going back to their bed for the day! Remember their trails going into the field at night are usually different than the ones exiting the field in the morning! Just be aware of the wind direction! GOOD LUCK!

Firehawk7309

I was out this morning and the temp at sunrise was 16. There was little if any wind and you could hear the deer moving, slowing crunching the frozen leaves. Where I hunt, the deer move past my stand between 8:30 to 9:30. Just like clockwork, 9:00, here come four does. Later in the morning while I was heading back to my truck (only had a few hours to hunt) I jumped another 5 does moving through a patch of oaks. No doubt about it, deer move in the cold and they are moving towards their food source.

jpm8920

I gotta go with minnesotahunter on this one. Where I hunt in NY the consensus has always been the colder the better. I see twice as many deer when it is very cold opposed to when it is not.