Morning Stand or Evening Stand- Which is Best in Early Season?

Jeff Harrison had seen a big buck in the same suburban yard at the same time on his way to work.  As a residential painter, he frequently worked in neighborhoods that had adjoining lots large enough to provide good urban deer habitat, especially if they bordered a stream or creek where buildings had extensive setbacks.  On the opening day of the Maryland season, Harrison climbed into a slender tree stand a full hour before daylight.  The buck was likely to pass by, but not if it saw movement during daylight.  When the large antlers approached, the hunter’s heart raced, yet through extensive practice, he raised his bow and launched a fatal shot.  No doubt, his careful approach in total darkness accounted for the success.

Morning or Evening?

The ladder stand pictured above is one of my favorites and is located on an extensive oak ridge where a lot of acorns fall in September and October, a favorite food of deer, bears, and turkeys.  The remote spot is at least two miles from the nearest road and takes a significant effort to approach.  Deer tend to bed on the top of the ridge which makes approaching from the north or south challenging.  During the rut, this spot is good at any time of day, but in the early season, I use an ATV to get within a quarter mile of the stand, climb the ridge using a logging road, cross over the ridge, and sneak toward the stand slowly and quietly paralleling the ridgetop where deer often bed.

Cameras Can Tell the Story

A cellular trail camera can be your best hunting investment.  No matter how much sign is near your stand, unless you know the time of day, this information is useless.  As a rule, the less you disturb your tree stand site, the better the chances of success for your first hunt.  Also, research has shown that the probability of success is highest the first time you hunt a stand due to human scent contamination.  If you are pulling media cards, even at midday, you may be spooking deer from your area.  A cellular camera will tell you when deer are passing the stand and thus the best times to hunt.

Midday Feeding

Midday hunting is not often promoted in the early season yet when acorns are falling like these tasty white oak mast, deer will feed at midday.  Most members of the deer family bed in mid-morning, but take a brief feeding stint around noon, before bedding again for the afternoon.  If you have only a morning to hunt, extend your stand time until just past noon.  Or if you plan to hunt in the afternoon, try to arrive around 11:00 so that you have this midday snacking habit covered.

Stalk the Stand

Getting to your tree stand or blind is almost as important as how you hunt.  Always, always, always approach your hunting spot with the wind in your face even if you have to circle half a mile in darkness to get there.  Approaching your stand with the wind at your back will forecast your presence like a pack of howling hounds.  When approaching in daylight, move slowly and as quietly as possible.  Ironically, if you hunt an area with frequent vehicle traffic from farming equipment, deliver vans, or tourist traffic, your best bet may be to drive close to the stand, park downwind, and sneak to your special spot.  Deer may not stand and watch a vehicle pass but usually aren’t alarmed enough to leave the area, especially if there is an attractive food source involved.

Make Sits Fun

Early-season deer can move erratically.  When a corn or bean field gets harvested, deer often flock to those spots for the first few days until most of the spilled harvest is gone and then move on to the next feeding spot.  To be successful, you need to spend time at your spot even at times of a low percentage of travel.  Always pack a full water or drink container.  On cold mornings, hot cocoa has a warming effect.  A long sit is a great time to review your cellular picture file.  Has deer movement changed in the past few days?  Is one stand suddenly producing greater activity?  How are your friends doing?  You don’t want to get so immersed in digital data that a big buck walks by undetected, yet you want your interest to be at its peak.

When to Cock Your Bow?

On dark approaches to a morning stand, when should you cock your crossbow?  The answer is the safest way possible.  Personally, I cock my crossbow in good light whether it’s in my garage before leaving, in camp, or in headlights.  Is it safer to cock a crossbow in daylight below a stand and pull it up with a rope or cock it in the stand?  My ladder stand, shown above, is roomy and it’s reasonable to cock the bow once I’m buckled in, however, in smaller stands, it makes more sense to cock it on the ground and pull it up, butt first.

In Summary, Morning or Evening?

Each stand is different, yet you should hunt a place where deer are active and you can reach that spot without disturbing them.  If a silent approach in the dark from a downwind direction is possible, that’s the plan.  If not, consider hunting the spot with an early afternoon approach, into the wind, and using your best scent elimination practices.  Remember that the first time you hunt a stand will probably have the greatest chance for success.  Good luck and hunt safely.