When elk hunting I make it a point to be in position before the sky starts to lighten up. I feel that this gives the area time to "settle" before legal light. It surprises me that I see other hunters leaving their camps and getting into position after first light. Why is this? Do some not feel that the first few minutes are worthwhile? Is it to dangerous or difficult to negotiate the steep terrain? Do that many people oversleep? How do you go about it?

I can't say for Elk but for deer I am allways set up at first light cause that and last light is the best time. Others I know say they like to wait till light to leave camp cause theres a chance they'll see deer on there way to there hunting spot. I thank it's just an excuse to sleep in or have that extra cup of coffee cause what good is it to see deer if there runnin away in dense timber.

I always try to be in place while it's still dark outside. I too have seen hunters not get out of the rack until the sunrise. They seem to be the ones that come home empty handed. Most often I am returning to camp with an animal while they are still farting around finding a spot to hunt. First and last light have always been good producers for me and my group.

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"You seem to be suffering from delusions of adequecy."

Be in place before light.

I hunt deer from a permenant camp. When I have tried to get into position before legal shooting hours I run into does in the dark. They sound the alarm and I don't see anything all morning. Anymore I wait inside the camp till legal shooting hours.

The answer depends a lot on where and when you are hunting, as well as whether you are familiar with the area you are hunting. When hunting an area I have never been to, I try to be where I can actually start hunting at first light. If the weather is bad I start hunting at first light simply because the elk in the areas I've hunted don't move until then. If I am hunting feeding areas, I want to be in position well before first light since the elk in the areas I hunt tend to feed at night and bed during the day. If I hunt bedding areas, I can usually wait until first light since the elk leave their feeding areas at about sunrise, and it takes them about 45 to 60 minutes to make their way to bedding areas. If there are a lot of hunters in the area, I try to be where the other hunters will scare them to before first light, so that the late risers chase the elk to me.

Basically, how and when depends on where and what.

We are allowed to shoot 1/2 hour before sunrise there fore I try to be in place 1 hour before sunrise. That way I'm ready for the late risers to chase them towards me.

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When in doubt, empty the magazine.

I'm where I want to be before the sun comes up.

I need a light when I get to my stand, period.

I hunt on our own property so I can be a little more laid back, but I always use a flashlight and encourage everyone else to use one too. Even if it is getting light, which to me is slightly too late to be moving around, I feel it is important not so much to see where you are going but so that other hunters realize it is a person. However, if it is light enough to see when I get to my stand I know I'm running late.

Besides, it is one of the greatest times to be in the woods, when everything starts to stir and wake up, when darkness turn to shadows then starts getting the colors.......

I aim to be in the woods before first light. That said I normally see more deer in the second hour of daylight rather than the first.

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Regards

Richard

I'm in my stand at least 30 min before and after shooting time but I like to be there at least an hour prior to let things settle.

It seems that deer and elk are also much more accepting of excess noise in the pre-dawn hours. With deer especially, you can set up right on top of them as long as you get in well before light. After light, they're much more likely to stand up and bolt at the sound of footsteps - unless you can convince them with a turkey call or grunt tube.

Normally unless I'm tired and sleep late...or if I'm hunting horseback for Mule deer, then I like to let them bed down before I start hunting...Thats on our Texas ranch where you do all the hunting off the horse, jump them and dismount and go to shooting...I hate riding in the dark, can't see nuthing...

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

I like to be on stand for a while when it is still pitch black. One reason is that I like watching it get light, hunting or not. Another is that a lot of deer move at first light. True, you do scare a few when going in perhaps, but that does not bother me.

A main reason I hunt this way is that one can perform an awful lot of scouting by ear during those hours, figuring out where the deer are going and coming from when all you have is their sound. I have heard antlers of walking bucks casually hitting limbs and brush during these times, as well as mighty fighting.

Once I listened to two bucks spar for 45 minutes within 20 yards of me before it got light enough to shoot. Talk about a pucker factor! It was bow season, and I took the first one that presented himself as the two were knocking horns about 12 yards away.

At the shot, the unhit buck looked about as if to say "Wow, I didn't know I had it in me!" when his opponent took off. The hit buck wheeled and ran around me in a half circle, dropping while I watched. 15 minutes later another buck came and stood in the tracks where I had just shot the first. He received the same treatment (two deer are legal here). It was one of my best days ever, and I would have spooked these bucks coming in after light.

Jeff