Best time morning or evening?

howy308

Well-Known Member
Calling all stalkers,

I would like to start a thread with regards to your opinion on times. Who finds more deer to shoot in the morning stalk and who finds more in the evening and what is your preference?
 
Calling all stalkers,

I would like to start a thread with regards to your opinion on times. Who finds more deer to shoot in the morning stalk and who finds more in the evening and what is your preference?

If at all possible, I prefer to shoot them after my 11AM newspaper and coffee with biscuits, but before lunch.

But seriously, 80% are shot in the half hour after sunset and half hour before sunrise, as far as AM or PM is concerned it is 50/50. However in mid-winter they can be about at any time of the day. AM from April-August is a bit hard on the sleep-pattern, in particular if you need to drive 45min to reach your land, so I generally prefer PM. And after a PM stalk there is often time for a quick pint before the Pubs close...
 
Its a tough one. For my areas its mostly the hour before and after sunrise and sunset but saying that I shot a buck at 2.30pm last friday afternoon. More often than not if you get an hour of sunlight up here (Aberdeen) they are on the move to bask in what they can of it before the clouds come back over!
 
I find just about the same number of deer morning as evening, but I am more successful stalking them in the evening.
It takes me ages to wake up properly and if I haven't had enough sleep I'm pretty noisy climbing over gates and knock into things with the shooting sticks etc. etc. so the deer often know I'm there before I do.
I prefer shooting them in the morning if possible as you don't have a race against the clock if you have to find the carcass.
 
This was discussed on a thread a while back: http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co....-2-day-stalk-would-morning-or-evening-be-best

Personally I much prefer stalking in the morning; you can generally get to your seat or starting place unseen, the light is always going to be improving (not getting worse) and deer will have been laid up and ready for a wander about to get something to eat (presuming it hasn't been a full moon the night before).

I think deer, like people (well, like me anyway), are a bit more bleary-eyed in the morning so I've always found it a more successful time to go stalking. But that might be because I prefer morning stalking to evening!

One thing I think we do tend to do is leave the stalking ground too early in the morning. If I was starting at 5am then often I'd be off the ground by 8am, but these days I find the deer are getting out of bed later, so it can pay to delay the return to breakfast. A couple of weeks ago, for example, we shot a nice buck at 9:15 - so persistence clearly pays.

Thinking about it, in general I'd say that I am seeing deer being more active during the main part of the day - I travel up and down the motorways and will see deer out browsing right through the day.

willie_gunn
 
Well i find if your out at night your much better sitting waiting for the deer to come too you. And in the morning you use it too stalk the deer as they tend to be on the move, away from cover giving u the chance too spot easier and stalk in. So me i find morning much better as u see alot more deer. More succesful and you have light on your side. Nothing worse than it just being too dark at night too take a shot.
 
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Depends on your ground really I have some ground far better results in the am as deer leave the wood for a bigger quieter wood and other ground I have hardly shot a deer in the am's at so you have to try and work it out for that ground .alot to do with disturbance via footpaths and stuff ,dog walkers ! The morning ground I go to was on the list for today but I couldn't get my bum out of bed (late night ) so off to the pm ground later instead .
​norma
 
On my ground it makes no real odds, as the deer there arnt under huge amounts of pressure and there is only 1 footpath. I personally prefer the morning.
 
Depends on species, i find woodland stalking roe simpler in the mornings having also culled more in early mornings, where as i find red deer simpler to cull evenings bearing in mind this is in the field not woodland! my thoughts with red deer are they come out in the evenings to feed and return in the mornings!
 
DG has written articles on this and its in his book. However he doesn't give exact times(v unhelpful) but if you believe his data often stalkers go out to early and come back in when they should be out.

D
 
I find that i see an equal number of roe deer in a morning and at night. I find mornings (especially good conditions in feb/march) are my favourite and there is less of a light restriction when you go out and things get good. In my experience deer are less twitchy in a morning too (probably because they are lethargic and full). That said, in the summer, the evenings are just so enjoyable, especially when the grass is lush and green.

Just got home a couple of hours ago, dropped a wee buck and was fortunate enough to see 9 roe within 3minutes from just one vantage point/intersection of only 4 fields..... Clearly i haven't been going out enough! :doh:
 
Well i find if your out at night your much better sitting waiting for the deer to come too you. And in the morning you use it too stalk the deer as they tend to be on the move, away from cover giving u the chance too spot easier and stalk in. So me i find morning much better as u see alot more deer. More succesful and you have light on your side. Nothing worse than it just being too dark at night too take a shot.


+1
 
There's nothing in it really between morning and evening for me,a far greater factor will be the weather,on nice warm days well worth a look out round the hedgerows for sunbathers in the middle of the day.
 
Yep, the deer dont read boos so will be in and out all day. I am on a 4000 acre lease and on the high ground it is any time of day. On the farm ground they are more prolific in the morning. Most of my bucks over the years have been shot early in the evening or between 630 and 730 in the morning. All ground is different and you need to get to know yer own bit.
 
Yep, the deer dont read boos so will be in and out all day. I am on a 4000 acre lease and on the high ground it is any time of day. On the farm ground they are more prolific in the morning. Most of my bucks over the years have been shot early in the evening or between 630 and 730 in the morning. All ground is different and you need to get to know yer own bit.


+1
 
I seem to see more in the morning up to 12 noon on my land.
Everytime I have a blank morning and I'm walking back to the car...I trip over one!
Do seem to be seeing more during the day, maybe because there are more deer about?
 
The best time for the big bucks is in the first glimmer of light. Its not for every one and some cant even scan properly in it. But if done correct your success on the big lads will improve 10 fold.

 
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