dan wrote:During that november and late october time frame late mornings can be good. What i see is understanding where and why bucks are moving is important to success... I think your seeing more movement later in the morning cause of where your hunting. I will try and explain what I mean... I think bucks head to bed in the graylight, and even before light during the rut kind of like in early season, but I think they get there during shooting hours a lot more often during the rut phases. However, they only cat nap... They get a few hours sleep and they are back on there feet looking for does... I also feel, that most of the bucks, doing most of the midday cruising, are not the oldest bucks in the group, and when the older bucks do get worked up enough for midday cruising, they tend to stick to thicker areas, or areas with little human intrusion.
So my point is, if your rut set ups are in funnels, or cruising areas, late mornings are probably the way to go. But if your hunting early mornings and getting out there in the dark, better off hunting buck bedding. Personally, I do both... I start at the buck bedding then shift over to funnels an hour or so after daylight.
X2! Matches exactly what I have witnessed through the years both in person and via cams. Biggest mistake I made for a long time was hunting mornings early season. Sure it can happen anytime but feel strongly in the long run a guy does more harm than good getting in there b4 daylight until a late October chill.