Two best days each week to be in the deer woods

Much has been studied and written about how deer respond to hunting pressure. Having killed my best bucks during the middle of the week, I've always subscribed to the belief that deer quickly catch on that so many are after them and alter their movements as a matter of prey survival. The current issue of Deer and Deer Hunting magazine mentioned the results of yet another study that used radio-collared deer to measure the impact of hunting pressure on deer movements and found something quite interesting. As expected, the study found that deer reduce their movement on weekends since these are the days when hunting pressure peaks. However, what the study also found was that deer continue to lay low for a couple of days more as the woods continue to settle down. The study found that it wasn't until Thursday that many of these collared deer returned to their unpressured movements and often continued this into Friday. Then, just as if they had a calendar, they seemed to anticipate the return of hunter pressure by the time Saturday rolled around. These findings fall right in line with what I have seen over many seasons with one addition. I've also seen deer activity increase during the middle of the week during the later part of the season, just as it does during the later part of the week. You might say it seems, at least to me, that deer treat the later part of each season the same way they do the later part of the week, and seem to know when a lot of hunters have found other things to do.

Now IMO, a point not to be missed in all of this is that these findings are based on a normal season where the vast majority of hunters are at work during the week and only hunt during the weekends. Given the ongoing COVID situation and so many people able to spend more time in the woods, the deer might have a much harder time patterning hunter activity this year.



Another late season, middle-of-the-week buck

I killed my best deer ever 2 years ago on a Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm, the rut was on, and nothing else mattered.

Best two days are today and tomorrow.

thats a fine deer

Yep, this day and the next day

Yup
Seems the fishing at the coast nowadays is about the same way with all the weekend warriors screaming across the flats in their $80k rigs on the weekends.

Love that double muley split buck in your pic! Hell of a deer

Feedback appreciated.

Yes, all bets are off during the rut.

If only it would last much longer.

any day of the week

Makes sense. Two best days to be in the woods are any days I can be there but I preferred Wed-Fri

The two best days seem to be the day before I get there and the day after I leave

Noble Foundation in Oklahoma did a radio collar study of some bucks to track their movement during hunting season. Results were interesting. I have also seen better deer hunting on lower pressured places when the weekend hunters were out and about. They pushed deer onto lower traffic places no matter the size. My place is like this in late season and I hunt everyday of the season just about.

The article also mentioned a study done in Oklahoma by researchers as Mississippi State University (Hail State!). It found that over a two-week period during the season, adult bucks dramatically reduced their distance traveled and began utilizing smaller areas more intensely. As would anyone IMO, the researchers interpreted this change in behavior as an effort to avoid being seen.

Any day is good, but I enjoy it more when I am there.

Friday mornings always seemed good depending on weather. But as many have said, any day in the woods is better than none.

Beng retired, my buddy and I hunt the middle of the week. We're normally the only ones in camp and have the whole lease to ourselves. It's nice and quiet.

I don't have that problem at my place in Kansas. However, I have had a fishing lodge on Lake Fork for nearly 30 years and have been fishing here for nearly 40 years and can tell you that the bite on Monday is tougher than later in the week.

My guess would be Thursday and Friday.

Only 2 of us on 300 acres. Anytime is a good time. We only hunt the perimeter and most of our place is sanctuary. Having said that, when we had a couple of other people hunting they would come out on weekends, ride 4 wheelers to stands, pull chips and generally muddy the water. Back then I definitely saw more deer during the week. So happy I don't have to put up with carp any longer.

Any day. Just need a bag of corn. They are like rats. The other 2 shooting lanes look the same.

That is always what my trail cams tell me.

Deer don't have calendars. They only know when there is a lot of activity in the woods and when there isn't


if the place is normally busy then it really does not matter, they are used to seeing people.


imo deer hunting is much easier when there are people on the ranch every day of the week than when there is very few people ever there.

But they also seem to know the difference between people who are working and those that are after them.

True. We can drive in and corn a road let a guy out to get in a stand and the deer are out before the truck is gone. Corn the road and then let somebody walk 50 yards to a stand and the corn will sit until the evening hunt or until an oil guy drives by at 35 miles an hour.

I hunt the weather more than the calendar, work and wife willing.

I just hunt when i can. Most of my best deer have been shot when i would not have thought it was a great time/weather etc.

My three biggest bucks have all been shot between the hours of 2 and 3 on hot mid/late season afternoons.

I don’t have many chances to hunt during the week but I have found in my area towards the end of the season when most hunters have given up or settled for a smaller buck the activity really picks up, last year I shot a 6 year old deer that I had never seen all year on December 31st. I have also taken good deer early during the rut but the best two deer I have shot in 8 years on this place have been after Christmas. FYI I am hunting central Tx.

Most of my notable animals have been killed in less than “ideal” conditions.

Yet another fable the hunting community has been misled on, that weather has to be perfect. Sure, animals move more on some days than others but they still have to eat, sleep and breed