What’s the best time of day to hunt deer? If you talk to different people, you’ll get different answers. With that in mind, though, think like a deer. Do deer ever change their habits or patterns? Yes, they do! If they hear car doors slamming or people talking loudly, then they run away because they don’t want to deal with people. This is especially true in areas where there’s hunting pressure. Deer, especially bucks, will learn what areas to avoid, and when they should be there or not, in order to avoid predators/people.
Optimal Times for Deer Hunting
Now what do humans do? They eat breakfast early in the morning, around Noon they take a break and eat lunch and around 5pm they eat dinner. Those are some of the times when deer have an idea they can roam freely and not be discovered. Specifically, you should consider hunting deer around lunchtime… Go out on the land and seek out grown over clear-cuts when you’d otherwise be eating your sandwich or burger at the lodge. You’ll likely find deer in the early afternoon– that’s when they typically are on the move between 11am and 2pm. Granted, deer don’t do long walks around lunchtime– they’ll probably only stroll a couple hundred yards from their bedding area– but that’s enough to find ‘em and shoot ‘em.
Where should you look for deer at midday? They need to drink water, so check out creeks, ponds and lakes. Especially look for areas near water that happen to have some type of cover– deer really like hanging out in those areas.
If you’re going to hunt deer, you have to be patient. Why not go on a guided hunt at Tioga Ranch in Pennsylvania? Call 570-835-5341 to ask about upcoming guided deer hunts. Tioga Ranch offers hundreds of acres of the best hunting area in the East!