Twilight Hunting

[dega37]

Horde, I don't hunt, but am considering getting into it, and have a question. Other than purposefully night hunting, is game typically more active during twilight hours? Should I be expecting to often be shooting near dark and needing illuminated reticles and a larger objective?

[Bigs28]

I don't know where you live but in in South Florida. Most of the deer i see are within 2 hours of sunrise and sunset but i have killed deer in the middle of day as well. Game movement down here is pretty weather driven from what I've seen. Super hot days nothing is moving. Cooler or raining are my favorite

[Drift]

It's pretty much gospel with the guys I hunt with that the first 2 and last 2 hrs of daylight are the best. I like illuminated reticles. But consider ..If you need a lighted dot to see the crosshair center. and the animal runs 100 yards after being shot, its may take a lot of searchig in the dark to find it.

[howl]

Hours of peak activity vary, but plenty of the time you'll shoot in low light. Scope quality has improved so much over the years that large objectives and illuminated reticles are not always necessary. My primary deer rig wears a VX3 1.75-6x32 with heavy duplex. It'll do in the woods past legal shooting hours.

[mdram]

many viarables. if you have a full moon, everything changes. weather, time of year, ect ect

you will learn how they are in your area, just takes time

[customcutter]

Yes, early morning and late evening. If I hunt out of state I try to plan my trips when there is little or no moon, and the night is dark. That way the animals aren't as likely to be up and about quite as much as on a full or near full moon. Then I see more activity during my mid-day hunts.

[dega37]

Thanks for the info guys.

[Double Naught Spy]

For legal day hunting, dawn and dusk will often be your best times, when the animals are out getting one last snack or heading to bed (dawn) or just heading out to start feeding (dusk).

I agree that illuminated reticles are not (always) necessary, but boy they sure can be really nice to have. They are certainly worth considering. It isn't that you will use them a lot, but to be able to have them when you need them is the key.