young_gun

45 min- half hour before sun up to sunset

Soilarch

I prefer to stalk so much more than stand hunt that i can't justify spending the money on my own stand. (rather buy new boots or jacket or bow accesory or call, or....well you get the picture.) When I borrow a friends or use the one permanate I've found I'll stay till about 10:00. But i much rather work a ridge/creek that runs through one of my properties, deer don't seem to think we humans like the creek bottoms

TREEDOG

I like to get out at least 20-30 minutes before it starts to get light to let the woods calm back down. I dont sit for any set amount of time. I hunt till I feel it times to go home. It might be 9am or 12 pm when I leave in the morning, it just depends on how comfident I am that day. During the evening I like to be in stand by 3pm. 3:30 or 4 and im cuttin it close.

Hiawatha

for deer i stay in the stand about 4 hours at a time. Elk however i have slept in my stand the night before the season opened just to be there at first light without spooking anything on opening morning. Worked for me this year arrowed a bull at 6am opening day of archery.

TURKEY FAN

FROM DUSK TIL DAWN!!!!!!! I NEVER LEAVE......................YOU CANT MAKE ME!!![:'(][:'(] Its only here four months outta the year, i live in the woods........those deer know me by name.......or atleast smell!

Washington Hunter

It all depends on when and where and how I'm hunting. In the early season I generally hunt a trail leading from a food source to a bedding area until about 10:00AM and then hunt the edge of an alfalfa field from 3:30PM until after dark. During the late season (November) I'll typically stay all day since the rut is in full swing. You never know what you may miss out on when it's bitter cold and the does are in heat.

MD Piney

Each year I'll try to ride the stand all day once or twice during archery season, but man that makes for a heck of a long day (14 hrs). Outside those few "marathon" days I break an hour or so for lunch - mid day. Later in the year during gun I try to ride it all day in an attempt to take advantage of folks pushing deer during lunch time. Just as tough of a sit, but little less hours. When you hunt public land you've got to use all the tricks in the bag!

Piney

Washington Hunter

Also, a couple tips for making time go by a little faster;

1.) Bring a good book. Though some may disagree with this I've had deer come out while in the middle of a book. In fact, the doe I took this year came out while I was in the middle of an exceptionally good chapter. When the deer show up close the book, set it on the seat of your stand as you stand up, draw, and release.

2.) Count. Count anything and everything. The number of seconds between birds chirping. The number of seconds between sightings of some sort of animal. The number of leaves (or pine needles as the case may be) that you can see. The number of leaves you can see on the ground. How many rocks can you see near your stand? How many other trees are in the immediate vicinity?

3.) When the time comes that you finally do tell yourself that you want to get down. Stay on the stand ten more minutes. When that ten minutes is up, tell yourself you want to stay in just ten more. Before you know it ten minutes has become an hour. That hour has become two, maybe even three.

Just remember, the longer you stay in your stand the better your chances are of seeing that once in a lifetime buck or even that big fat doe. You can't shoot deer sitting at the kitchen table or lying asleep in bed. You have to be out there in the woods for the opportunity to present itself.

Good luck and happy hunting!

waterfowl_hunter

Go out around 5:45am stay until 11:30am. Grab a bite to eat. Take a 45 min. nap then head out for the rest of the day. Which is usually from 1:30 til close.

9pointer123

I stay for 6:30AM till 12m an go get some lunch then i head back out at 2m till dark