On hot days, deer will rise near sunset to head off to feed and drink, and then return to bed down for the day at dawn. This means you need to be in your stand on a trail that runs from bedding to feeding areas in the evening and vice versa in the morning. Alternatively, you can hunt over a water source at these times.

That all sounds simple enough, but deer -- especially mature bucks --tend to move at the last light or the very first light of the day, if they aren’t totally nocturnal. Moreover, being able to see well enough to take aim under these conditions can be a challenge.

Instinctive longbow and recurve shooters have a distinct advantage in poor light because they’re not looking for sight pins -- in fact, they frequently keep both eyes open when they shoot. Compound shooters who use pins and peep sights, on the other hand, are likely to encounter difficulties in low light.

To counter the problem, always use fiber-optic pins. These pins gather any and all available light, which makes them glow. If you use a solid metal pin, it’s just going to look black and will disappear into the background when you train it on a deer’s equally dark body. For extra illumination, add a battery-powered light that illuminates your sight. We’re not talking about lights that cast a beam on the target. Those are illegal. Illuminators typically mount on the top of the frame of your sight bracket and shine straight down on your pins.

If you like using a peep sight, find one with a large hole. The bigger the hole, the easier it is to see through in poor light.

If you can, teach yourself to shoot with both eyes open. This will help you see tremendously. Or, remove your peep sight and tie pieces of dental floss on the bow string at eye level, about an inch apart, to help you line up your sight.

MIDDAY STROLL
You know that deer like to move at first and last light on hot days, but where can you find them during the middle of the day? Lying in their favorite, cool bedding areas, no doubt. If you know where these bedding areas are located, you can take the hunt to the deer.

Grassland hunters have been bagging bucks like this for years. They find a good vantage point early in the morning, watch a deer until it lies down to bed, and then sneak in on it for a shot.

In forested areas, it’s not so easy to watch deer bed down, but scouting will help you determine where likely bedding areas may be found. Look for them in well-shaded, thick areas, especially near water or food.

It’s definitely trickier to stalk deer in a forest than it is on the prairie when you consider that you won’t know exactly where a buck is lying. However, it’s easier to stalk deer in a forest when you consider you have plenty of cover to block a deer’s ability to see you. Move slow and deliberately: And you absolutely must have binoculars. The key to this game is to move for three seconds and then glass for 10 minutes.

When you’re looking for bedded deer in the forest, you can’t count on spotting a fully exposed deer body. Instead, look for deer parts. Find part of an antler reflecting the sun. Look for the horizontal line of a deer’s back in a brushpile where all the lines of vegetation are mostly vertical. Or, look for a brown and white coat amid mostly green foliage.