Is Deer Hunting All Day Long Worth It? [The TRUTH]

Deer hunting is often a game of patience and persistence. Many hunters, myself included, often wonder when they should call it quits for the day. Sometimes it’s perfectly fine or even advisable to leave the stand early, but other times, it’s better to stick it out; but how can you tell? 

You should hunt all day long during the rut and periods of abnormally cold weather. Deer will move at all hours of the day during the rut, and late season, so stick it out. During other times, deer will be most active during dawn and dusk, and will move significantly less midday. 

Now that you know two of the times to focus on all-day hunts, let’s dive into more details about when you should hunt all day, why, and when it’s generally not beneficial.  

When Should You Deer Hunt All Day?

When you are hunting, there are times when it is obvious you shouldn’t leave. For example, those crisp November mornings when deer are constantly moving around, bucks are chasing and fighting, and time slips away from you. There are also times, of course, when it may not be so obvious. 

The Rut

This is the most obvious time of the season to spend as much time as possible in the woods. The deer are unpredictable and may be moving at all hours. Typically, my best days around the rut are during unseasonably cool weather. This really seems to get the deer up and moving. Bucks are also easier to call in during this time and can even be brought into range a little easier. You can bring in a cruising buck with a blind grunt or a rattling sequence if you do it right. 

If you want to learn a little more about rattling and when the best time to do it is, then check out my other article titled Rattling in the Morning vs Evening [100 Hunters Surveyed].

Hot Weather with Water Nearby

This may seem counterintuitive, and it is if you don’t have a good water source nearby, but if you do, you might be able to catch a deer sneaking in a mid-day drink. I have seen deer get up in the middle of a one-hundred-degree day to get a drink.

Sometimes water is a little harder to come by on a property. So if there are only a few water sources around, hang up a camera or two and keep an eye on them. They can be an awesome spot to hang a stand during the early season when it is still fairly hot out. If you have a spot that fits the bill, you might want to sit all day given the chance. 

Short Competitive Seasons

Short competitive seasons can be great times to hunt all day. You have less time to harvest a deer, so why not make the most of it? Some firearm seasons in the Midwest only have one weekend in them. These hunts are super competitive, and, in some areas, there is an excessive amount of pressure to perform. Frequently, deer will move in the middle of the day because other hunters bump them as they leave to get lunch. You should use this to your advantage and stay out there as long as you can. 

Why Should You Deer Hunt All Day?

All-day hunts can be tricky and sometimes uncomfortable to do, but during the right times, they can be extremely rewarding. This may seem obvious, but you are more likely to see deer the longer you stay out. Many hunters quit after only a few hours of hunting around sunrise or sunset. This can be a good strategy during certain times of the year or if you have other obligations and don’t have the time to sit all day.

More Likely to Catch a Buck Looking for Does

During the rut, if you stay out all day, you will be much more likely to find a buck looking for does. Bucks will typically tend a doe for up to three days. Once the buck leaves the doe, his search for another will begin, and this is when you need to be ready. There isn’t a way to determine when a buck will leave a doe, so you must be ready for him as long as possible.

Decreased Odds of Spooking Deer

Hunting all day will make you less likely to bump deer on your way to and from the stand. More than once I have sat an entire morning without seeing as much as a squirrel just to leave for lunch and bump deer that were standing within range of my stand. If you do leave and come back, hunt your way to your stand nice and slow, don’t just go tromping through the woods. 

Other Hunters Bump Deer

One shotgun deer season many years ago, I was planning to hunt all day. Around noon a 10-point buck was jumped by another hunter and ran right to me. Another year, I saw the biggest buck of my life run across a hayfield after other hunters bumped him by walking out in the early afternoon. It’s not a sure bet, but if you hunt on public land, you can certainly increase your odds of success by using other hunters giving up early to your advantage!

You Just Never Know

If there is one thing we know for certain about whitetail deer, it is that they will never stop surprising us. We definitely don’t know everything there is to know about deer, and all the logic in the world could be thrown out the window one day at 1 pm when that monster buck just decides to step out. The only way you will know what came around that stand that day is if you are in it. What if today is the day?

When Shouldn’t You Hunt All Day?

There are times of the year when all-day hunts just aren’t going to be very productive. It just isn’t realistic to always hunt the entire day. Hunting a whole day is a tiring thing, and if you do it every time you hunt, it is going to wear you down. On top of that, there are some days where hunting all day just isn’t going to help. 

Unseasonably Hot Days

These are some of my least favorite times to hunt. The deer seem to only move right after sunrise and right before sunset. During these times, it’s usually buggy and hard to keep your scent under control because you will be sweating just sitting on your stand. On these types of days, it’s generally best to hunt during the cooler parts of the day.

Keep in mind, though, that if you’re thirsty, the deer probably are too. If you have a good watering hole in your area, you might be able to catch a deer stopping by to get a mid-day drink. 

Bad Weather

If you are sitting in the stand and it starts raining super hard or there is very high winds, you can bet that the deer are going to hunker down, and you are not going to see much of anything. Those kind of days are best spent at home. Although I can say for a fact that mature deer are often shot after a storm or heavy rain. If you can get in the woods just a little bit before it lets up (not after the storm is over), then you might catch a nice buck roaming.

If you want to know more about hunting deer during or after the rain, I wrote an entire article about it that you can check out right here!

A Parting Tip

If you aren’t sure if you should be hunting hard and you want to know if the deer are moving, just have a look at a local cow pasture. If the cows are up and moving, so are the deer. If the cows are all huddled under a shade tree, so are the deer. If the cows are all in a pond trying to cool off, it’s a good time to hunt a water source. 

In general, it is a good idea to hunt as long as you can. You never know what is going to come through the deer woods. You might just get lucky and see a nice buck. Odds are, you won’t see anything, but we call it hunting and not killing for a reason. 

Thank you for reading my article! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any questions or feedback, please send me an email at Patrick.Long@omegaoutdoors.net. If you want to learn more about me or Omega Outdoors, visit my About Page. Otherwise, I hope you have a great day, and check out some of my other articles while you’re here!