| Best time to hunt |
| Deer travel to feeding areas from their bedding areas during the last minutes of the evening and from their feeding areas to bedding areas during the first minutes of daylight. As it is in Texas and in most areas you can hunt 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset. Deer are nocturnal animals which means they are most active during these times and throughout the night. Over the years this has been the most productive times during my hunts. Deer activity is attributes to many factors and a harvested animal can happen at anytime during the day but several key points must be addressed to ensure a successful hunt. 1) A deer's vision is not perfect at night. As one would expect on a full moon night the activity is much greater than on a new moon night. During a full moon the feeding activity is greater and the deer are less active the next day. Deer are less active after a clear night due to them being fuller in which they are content to stay bedded down throughout the day. Once sundown arrives the cycle starts over. 2) Deer's behavior can be modified by several factors: percipitation, wind, rut and hunting pressure. Deer become very nervous when there are a lot of sounds around them such as rain dripping from leaves or ice falling which cause deer to move. If the feeding cycle has been broken due to a storm, deer will start to move once it has pased. Wind is another factor. Deer will move if unable to hear surrounding sounds due to high winds. 3) Ruting! What more can be said! This is the time when bucks become stupid and they are looking for does to mate with. The rut last about a month and usually occurs in November in most areas. During the rut, bucks become more active and throw caution to the wind. During the rut, activity can happen during any part of the day. |