Okay, suck might be a little strong but seriously. I’ve been hunting our Horseshoe Hills property for five seasons now and have yet to shoot a deer on a morning hunt. Not one. I don’t think I’ve taken a shot. I did shoot a doe mid-morning during the first Saturday of firearms season a couple years ago, but I’m focused on archery for the sake of this topic.
I’m trying to think back to times when I may have passed shots on a deer in the morning and nothing is coming to mind. I’m sure it’s happened. It’s had to have happened, right? Regardless, it’s starting to become a thing in my head to the point where I’m analyzing why it’s seemingly impossible to fill a deer tag in the morning hours there. I have a few theories:
- There’s no agricultural food source creating a classing “feed to bed” scenario. I listed this one first because I believe it is the primary issue. The nearest traditional farm grain field is close to three miles away so deer in the area aren’t feeding there. Instead they rely on what I plant in my food plots and whatever Mother Nature provides. My theory is deer simply bed pretty close to where they’re feeding and are often already on their bellies, or close to it, by the time shooting light comes around. I do get morning trail camera photos, but not nearly as many in the evening.
- My sample size is too small. Admittedly, I probably hunt at least three evenings to every one morning. Simple math would say I cut my odds of success by 2/3 just by not going as often as I do in the evenings. I’ve also often reserved morning hunts for the rut and for targeting mature bucks, which makes the success rate even lower.
- I spook deer on my way into the woods. I really don’t think this is the case any more than it is during the afternoon. I’ve allowed myself at times to think the noise I make driving in and where I park my truck matters, but I doubt it does. Still, it is a little clunkier getting set up in the dark and you can’t see deer you may be spooking so there might be some small thread of truth to this one.
- It’s all in my head. No! It’s not all in my head. Okay, maybe it’s a little bit in my head. While I still haven’t shot a deer on the property on a morning hunt, the factors listed above combined are enough to make it a bit more challenging. It is starting to bother me a tad just because I haven’t done it, but I’ll bet if I went every morning for a week straight, I’d fill a tag. I’ll bet once I do shoot the first one I’ll barely think of it again.
Tomorrow is another day and I’ll give it a shot. This morning I saw one young buck and it didn’t come into range anyway. I got a few trail camera photos, but not of any mature bucks. I did a little scouting when I climbed down and found a lot of buck activity around the stand that I set last year near the gas line to the east of the Gas Well Plot. I think I’ll give it a shot since I haven’t been in it yet this season. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be writing about the first deer I shot on a morning hunt at Horseshoe Hills.