Once I finally convinced myself to do a midmorning hunt, I was sold. I can't believe how many frustrating crack-of-dawn mornings I endured while deer blew, and stomped and ran away before I realized I could avoid all that by going in at, say, 9:00 a.m.

When acorns are on the ground, especially during the early season when deer haven't yet felt hunting pressure, the animals move throughout the day. It's not unreasonable to expect deer to bed down just after the sun comes up, and then return to feed on acorns a few hours later.

In fact, my hunting journal shows that in heavy acorn years, I saw the most deer, both bucks and does, between 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Coming in late also lets you hunt sites where bedding areas abut the oaks. In this scenario, setting up right in the middle of several oak trees makes perfect sense. You'll be away from the bedding area and, while the deer graze on acorns, have plenty of time to make the shot.

Another good option for a morning stand that can be used before daylight is at the very floor of a bottom.

Ordinarily, I tend to avoid these areas because swirling air currents make it hard to stay upwind of a deer's sensitive nose. But the wind is often at its lightest early in the day, and if you pick the right day, this can be a killer spot.

On my hunting property, there are two big hills. Between them is a deep bottom, and on top of those hills are many big white oaks. At either end of the hills are thick bedding areas.

I think this is representative of many hunting properties. Deer use that bottom to travel from their bedding area to the acorns.

I love to sneak into this spot early, taking care to stay far away from the oak trees, and wait for deer to come by as they leave to go bed down.

The main difference is that in the approach mentioned previously, I am set up right in the feeding area, waiting for them to return to eat. In this one, I'm set up near the bedding area, waiting for them to leave the feeding area. In one approach I am counting on the deer to come back to the acorns, and in the other, I wait for them to leave the acorns.

MIDDAY HUNTS
Setting up along a travel route between oak trees and bedding areas can be effective at catching deer moving during the midday period. But I've found that sitting in the middle of the oak trees is more effective, particularly when those oaks are on a hilltop. For some reason, deer seem to be attracted to hilltop oak stands between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

At those times, an acorn-covered hilltop is going to be my first choice.

The advantage of being in the thick of the food source versus on the trail is that you can have a good long look at the deer as they move around between trees. Also, since it's midday, you have plenty of time for tracking a deer, downing it and dragging it out.