All day sitting?

[Code-Man]

Last year I was bow hunting and decided I would spin my tree stand around and since I knew it would take a while and would make noise I got out there about 1 in the afternoon. I spun the tree stand around got everything situated and before I got the quiver off of my bow I had a shooter come in. I have a trail camera picture of a hair after 1 I walked into the woods and about 2:15 I was walking out of the woods.

[Musky Buck]

That's just it the more remote and the more acreage connecting and the fewer the roads give you a much better 10-2 chance. Usually you have to get burned once by a mid-day hog before you put more stock into it. My mid-day action isn't what it used to be, pressure, pressure, and more pressure. But, it only takes a second or two and if you are after the big one, you better put in more and more hours, I'll all-day sit if I know a weather change will happen.

[Musky Buck]

I'm a little lost on this eating every 3-4 hours ? Does that count if they are bedded browsing what they can reach from their bed ?

[bogwalker]

I'm a little lost on this eating every 3-4 hours ? Does that count if they are bedded browsing what they can reach from their bed ?

Sure. Whitetail Deer are ruminants. Their stomach consists of several chambers. Like cattle they eat their fill and then lay down to regurgitate their food and chew it. They later feed and start the process all over again.

[Musky Buck]

Correct, what I'm thinking is that must eat every 3-4 hours ? In my area there is no truth to that, maybe in January, but I've had deer bed down that I've seen, at 8AM lets say and by nearly dark they're still in there same bed 8 hours later, I'm sure they fill up and hack it up all day is that what was meant ?

[Bear55]

I'm a little lost on this eating every 3-4 hours ? Does that count if they are bedded browsing what they can reach from their bed ?

I have also read somewhere where deer usually do feed around every 4 hours or so but I think that can vary a little. I would think most of the heavy feeding is done at night where they might just get up for a snack and then bed again. You might see more mid-day feeding from does and young bucks but the big bucks probably don't leave the safety of their core area when or if they grab a mid-day snack. I think pressure and weather can play a significant role as well, a lot of pressure and they will stay put. If a storm is coming they are going to eat while they can.

[bogwalker]

Correct, what I'm thinking is that must eat every 3-4 hours ? In my area there is no truth to that, maybe in January, but I've had deer bed down that I've seen, at 8AM lets say and by nearly dark they're still in there same bed 8 hours later, I'm sure they fill up and hack it up all day is that what was meant ?

Why do you say "Deer must eat every 3-4 hours"? I did not say that.

[leech~~]

Bow hunting I don't, but rifle it's pack a lunch and stay out all day. Lot's more guys going back in for lunch to kick them to me then!

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I used to have a really hard time doing the all day sit. I still struggle with it if I get cold, but the majority of the time still tough it out.

Here were my excuses I used to use:

-I'm hungry...now I pack sandwiches and snacks. Set times to eat these (I do 9am, noon, and 2:30 to avoid the primest of prime times).

-I'm thirsty...I pack bottles of water & gatorade

-I have to pee...I pee from my stand.

-I have to $***...Hold it. Mind over matter. If you really have to go, find a tree (bring TP)

-I need a nap...I take one in my Summit Climber

-I'm cold...I take at least 5 large hand warmers. Stuff these in your shirt, hat, gloves, boots, etc.

Outside of these I don't think I've found any other reasons to leave. I stand up and stretch about every hour for about 10 minutes. This helps get your circulation going again. It sounds weird, but almost everything I do (standing, eating, etc) is done at pre-determined times. It lets me say "only 20 more minutes until I get to ______" and gives me something to look forward to.

Last year I got up in the stand about 5:30am. About 5:31, I got that feeling from Maw Nature that something big was about to happen. I almost got down around 6:30, but decided to stick it out until 9am, no matter what. At 8:55 I looked at my phone, and started looking around for my [PoorWordUsage] tree. While scanning, I saw the biggest buck I've ever seen, and at 8:58 he was on the ground!

[Musky Buck]

Bogwalker, I read on pg. 2 what nonteepical wrote.

[Musky Buck]

I could believe it a touch, but during rifle season it's all about survival for them and they go completely nocturnal for the most part in my area, by 2nd weekend generally none of my group of 25 are seeing any deer nor is hardly anyone else unless they do drives. Thing is they're putting on fat now, we get warmish rifle weather and there need to feed goes way down, they feed heavily at night because they know they have to and that's when the bucks are breeding often and finding a new doe to chase in the night to where they'll bed together for the day, farm country deer.

[nonteepical]

musky, i was told that( a deer has to browse every 4hrs ) by Kip Adams a QDMA wildlife biologist who is our regional director, for our QDMA group prarie to woods whitetails. it's not an all out gorging like at nite, but after they chew and swallow their cud, their first stomach is now empty and they will put something back in it so they'll get up and browse, or like you said, may browse on what they can reach while bedded.

[Bear55]

We should also take into consideration the pressure Musky is talking about, the guys writing about deer eating every 4 hours might be in a low or no pressured environment. Deer on high pressure land learn that if you move during the day you might not see your next meal.

I think a lot of the hunting tactics we read about and see on tv just don't apply to the situations many of us see in our woods. Public and private land often see a lot of pressure, the deer adapt to that pressure in different ways. To be successful a lot of times you have to ignore the "experts" and scout more to learn how to hunt your own area. I wasted a lot of years doing everything the guys on tv and the magazines were doing, not any more.

[NoWiser]

Of the dozen or so deer I've shot with a rifle, I can only think of one off the top of my head that I didn't get between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Regardless of weather, I absolutely love sitting all day. If I have confidence in my stand location, about the only thing that will get me to leave is a dead deer. Either my own or if someone needs a hand dragging. A couple granola bars and a bottle of water and I am set for the day. Where I used to hunt it was all the other hunters moving around that pushed me deer. There was a ton of pressure in that area. Where I am now, that is not a problem and I'm getting deer moving naturally. Even my trail cams as of last week are showing the most deer movement between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

Bowhunting was a different story for me when I used to have time for it. I got most of my deer at dawn or dusk.

[Musky Buck]

Pressure changes them in farm country or we'd all be fools to leave our field stands. They do not get up to browse very often, they find a thick bedding area to hide in until dusk or we'd see them where we hunt. I'll go with our group of 25 hunters and 30 years of experience over what this QDMA guy has to say, but out of the farmland country I could see big woods deer having to feed more often as well if the weather would turn on them. I have seen many over the years bed down by 8AM ish and when I sneak back into my stand 9 times out of 10 they're still in the same spot at 4PM. Man is it tough to get down and back up without them seeing my movement. Pressure changes them, years ago they did move more freely at mid-day, not as much in my neck of the woods now.

[Musky Buck]

Final remarks, I think the hunting pressure in my area changes their feeding patterns. The deer in my area feed all night long, often times bedding down right in the field to digest what they previously ate, only to then load up before daybreak and their return to their bedding areas. Here's a spin, I haven't seen this much already plowed up ground in quite some time and it's the first time in many moons that all the corn in my area is gone and soon to be disced/chisel plowed and likely to be plowed under by opening day, the deer won't have it quite as easy to fill that stomach this year, the illegal baiters in my area could have a good year with way less competition from the fields. Side note the guy at fleet go said he can't keep shell corn in stock.

[nonteepical]

i can't make an argument for high pressured deer thats for sure. i can say though that i've had deer infront of my stand eating with shots being fired in the vacinity and they don't even flinch.

[NoWiser]

Musky, for as horrible of an area as you are hunting in (between the baiters, poachers, illegal cross taggers, too long of season, and excessive muzzy hunters), you should head over to the Big Woods in NE Minnesota. Plenty of spots to yourself and its easy to have a quality hunt. I can't say I have any of those complaints. Did find a bait site or two a couple miles from where I hunt, but I'm pretty sure the CO's will be taking care of that this year since I called them in.

[Fever]

Well... Alot of good posts so far. I hunt in Far north Central Mn. Not too much pressure coupled with lots of acreage so I think a few different factors apply. First I only get to hunt for 4-5 days a year so, I do sit all day. I will at times have to answer natures call but for most part will stay on stand. I do think that sitting all day during certain parts of the season is a waste of time however. ie; early season or late season bow or late season muzzleloading. But Over the years I've noticed that moon phases and occational hunter pressure very much contribute to mid day deer movement. I'm 35 and have been hunting for 21 years now and my three biggest bucks have met their maker between the hours of 11am and 3pm. But the variable that really gets them moving is the pre-rut chasing and new moon phase. I will once again be on stand about 45min before first light on opening day, I'll pack a lunch, some water, rattling antlers, a few calls, some scents, and I'll stay there as long as I can for three days in a row. If that doesn't work I'll head back up the next weekend and do it again. I think you really have to love the peace and quite of the big woods and above all, the rush of that shooter coming in... I do have three young kids so the time in the woods sitting there comes pretty easy for me. Good luck all. I'm all jacked up and still a couple weeks out.

[Musky Buck]

I hear that nowiser, I must not be very wise, I think a lot of my anger is almost being killed a couple of seasons ago by an errant bullet that whoever had no business firing into my land. But, for some reason my area has turned into a mess when it comes to deer hunting and in 27 years neither my dad nor I have seen or been checked by a CO.

[Musky Buck]

It's tough nowiser, my land isn't the kind I can easily put for sale as it connects to my dads and where he lives. People to the south are chronic early shooters/late shooters. The people to the east have plowed field to hunt so they're poking over our fence quite often, to the north it's unlimited tags by friends and family that are shopping in St. Cloud for the day and thankfully to the west we have a highway. I never dreamt an open 5 acre plot of ground would turn into 2 box stands or we would've bought that years ago. 10 years ago none of these stands with hunters existed and these are pretty brave people that are willing to sling lead into your property, something I'd never consider doing to someone else. My dad has basically given up and given into these guys shooting wherever they want. You can see why my hunt isn't what it once was and it's difficult to accept what will once again be reality opening day and all 9 days and most of the 16 day muzzy season. Sorry guys all day sitting if you have no other theory why not really, I enjoy watching the turkey's,grouse,pheasants,and geese and whatever else is on a fall binge. Good Luck and it's 17 days away gang !

[Bear55]

Musky time to get the CO on speed dial, you seem to have a pretty good handle on who the baiters and cross-taggers are in your area. A few tickets might help.

[fishermatt]

Three of the 4 biggest bucks I have seen or killed with rifle were between 10:30am and 1:00pm. I only hunt from Portable stands (at landowner's request) and it's hard for me to make it all day in those, so I usually climb down at about 1:30 and walk to another stand for the evening hunt.