What Are The Best Hunting Times?
I think I can speak for most hunters when I say I wish I had more time to spend outdoors.
We save up vacation (and sick) days for hunting season, then plan ahead and take time off during peak times, but sometimes you reach the end of the hunting season looking back wondering what you could have done differently.
Time is in ever shorter supply, and it’s a smart move to put in the time to improve your chances of success in the woods. Choosing the best time to hunt is the first step.
It's not always easy to plan the best days and times to take off, so we've done the research, analyzed the data and created this guide to show you the best times to hunt.
About this guide
Whitetail deer hunting varies greatly across the US. Variations in weather, hunting regulations, rut timing and many more factors contribute to differences in peak deer activity and hunting times.
The only factor that varies more than hunting conditions is we, the hunters. We all have unique preferences, quirks and traditions that guide our hunting methods, so this guide should be viewed as a rough outline or framework that you can mold into your current strategies identify the best time to hunt.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the factors that you should consider when choosing the best times to hunt.
Best Time to See Deer
We've written several posts on deer movement and behavior during different weather conditions and environmental variables. If you haven’t already, check out those posts because those factors highly influence the times that deer are most active
For this post, we’ll focus on a standardized viewpoint of the factors that explain deer activity.
Whitetail deer are crepuscular, meaning they are most active during dawn and dusk every day. The vast majority of their movement, feeding patterns and other behaviors occur within the hours surrounding first and last light making these the best times to hunt.
Why is this the case? Deer have adapted to this type of activity pattern as a survival mechanism, and it is thought to be mainly to avoid predators.
Most predators either hunt primarily during the night or during the full daylight, and these predators adapt to either have excellent night-vision or eyesight during the day depending on their activity patterns. In either case, these predator species tend not to see as well during crepuscular times with low lighting conditions, and they are less active.
For deer and many other crepuscular species, this means the times surrounding dawn and dusk are the safest periods to forage and travel. For hunters, it’s an easy way to identify the times of day where we have the best opportunities to see deer.
Another excellent resource from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry explains that there is a common trend in deer activity times, but it varies due to conditions and time of year.
The ESF states, “White-tailed deer are primarily crepuscular (active at twilight) in the spring, but are active during the hours of daylight as well in the summer, including midday. By late autumn at the onset of the rut and throughout this period, bouts of activity occur equally at all times during a 24-hour period. Winter activity, mainly foraging, is more likely in late afternoon. Storms at any time of year may reduce activity, with slightly more movement taking place before and after inclement weather. General levels of activity increase with day length in late winter and spring, decline in summer and then peak again in late autumn. Deer stand quietly or bed down in cover when inactive.”
These factors vary greatly depending on your location in the United States, so it’s important to devote time to studying your local deer population in order to maximize your chances for success. A great way to accomplish this is by keeping a hunting journal and recording data when you're in the woods hunting or scouting for deer.
All about the Rut
Opinions on what drives the timing of the rut have changed over the years, but most wildlife scientists and experts today agree that the rut is initiated based on photoperiod.
Photoperiod is the length of light during the day which acts as an internal clock that drives behaviors in some animal species. In the case of whitetail deer, their mating patterns are triggered when the days begin to shorten in the fall each year.
This trigger is due in part to the timing of the whitetail deer’s gestation period giving fawns a higher chance for survival by allowing them to grow for a half year before the next winter. It also ensures that whitetail does are at their peak health and fertility each year after they spent the last 6-8 months with plentiful food and nice conditions. They are in the best possible shape to support a growing fetus through the winter.
The timing of the rut varies throughout the United States, but remains relatively consistent year-to-year, so if you’ve identified when the rut started last year, you can reliably plan for this years rut.
We’ve partnered with Legendary Whitetails to analyze anonymous hunter data and determine rut timing in different regions of the United States based on reported deer activity. If you’re looking for guidance on rut timing based on actual data from your area, check them out below.
Bill Winke of http://www.midwestwhitetail.com/ seems to concur with all of this, as he is quoted saying” “I have not seen a rut predictor that was actually more accurate than the calendar. The rut is triggered by photoperiod – the amount of sunlight (number of hours) in each day. As the season progresses, that triggers the rut at pretty much the same time every year. You may see more behavior on certain days than others related to weather or hunting pressure, but the actual conception dates of the does are pretty consistent from year to year. Missouri recently did a study back-dating fetuses from late season harvested does and they proved that over a three year period the peak breeding date (the date when the most does were in estrous) was November 15 plus or minus one day. I always like to hunt during the week that starts ten days before the peak. In this case November 5 – 12. It is tough to beat that time frame.”
Check out the WiredToHunt Podcast to hear what Mark Drury thinks about factors that influence the rut.
When it comes to the southern whitetail rut, Mark also makes a great point which we’ve found to be consistent with our anonymous hunter data.
Timing the rut south of the Mason-Dixon line seems to be a whole other can of worms and much more variable. According to Alsheimer, “Southern whitetails don’t face the harsh winters and brutal conditions that dictate when Northern whitetail fawns must be born to ensure they are large enough to survive severe winters. Harsh cold and deep snows aren’t part of the Southern equation, so weather isn’t a factor for fawn births. Therefore, the South’s rut appears to be driven by less obvious factors, such as climate, genetics, nutrition, day length, moon phases and doe-to-buck ratios…It’s crucial to check with a local biologist to find out what month the rut typically occurs at a specific location.”
Also, a study produced by the New Brunswick DNR and published by the QDMA supports the consistency of the rut timing and the lack of evidence behind “rutting moon” theories.
One of the key takeaways should be that the rut timing varies greatly across the country, but it is relatively stable year-to-year. Tracking your hunts is a very effective way to identify patterns from last year and pinpoint when you think the peak of the rut will be this year so you can plan for success.
A few taps in the Quiver Hunting Journal during each hunt can make the difference between success and failure in the woods.
Data on the best hunting times
Hunters that use the Quiver Hunting App to track their hunts aren’t successful by accident. Tracking deer movement in your area gives you the upper hand and gives you the tools to plan for success when you hit the woods
Every year we analyze our anonymous hunter data looking for the trends surrounding why hunters were most successful, and there are some key insights we’ve uncovered that support existing research and hunting methodologies that have been in use for decades.
We did a deep-dive post analyzing when is the best time time to hunt looking at all the Quiver data in aggregate.. Surprisingly, the most activity logged per hunt was found to be in the middle of the day. Hunt the T’s: 10 - 2
In Conclusion
When trying to plan ahead, picking vacation days, it all can be really tough to line up perfectly. Sometimes you just have to take the days and times you have available, and that’s okay too. That’s time out in the woods. A chance to learn more and who, knows you may get lucky. As Roman philosopher Seneca once said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Best of luck out there!