Often in the middle of the day, deer will simply bed in the area where they have been feeding. Please note that if denser cover is relatively close by, they will gravitate toward that. Conversely, don't be surprised that even a big buck will plop down in relatively open cover.

HOW PRESSURED DEER MOVE AT MID-DAY
Pressured deer, specifically does, will continue to travel at mid-day, but they may well do so differently than they did when they were under no pressure. A hardcore big-buck hunter might think that that this adaptation by does has no relevance to him, but actually, this tendency makes all the difference in the world during the rut.

Now it is often the does that will sense the danger of human intrusion before a rut-crazed buck will. And it is the location of the females that will determine where the males will eventually appear. Does will likely still be visiting hard- or soft-mast food sources to feed at mid-day, but they will also likely be traveling through the densest cover available to arrive at these menu items. Study topo maps or conduct scouting expeditions to locate these areas on your properties.

For instance, I have one favorite property where I have tagged 21 deer since 1988. The land features a hardwood cove, creek bottom, food plot and ridgetop -- none of which are any good to hunt when the deer become pressured during the rut. But the parcel also contains a pine thicket and a cedar copse that border each other. Many, many times I have observed does, does with bucks, and lone bucks moving along a trail that runs through and connects the two thickets. And, yes, on numerous occasions I have observed these whitetails doing their noon stroll.

Indeed, the biggest buck I have ever spotted on the property was seen on this pathway. The big boy was traveling back and forth on the trail hoping to locate a willing doe.

HOW UNPRESSURED DEER MOVE AT MID-DAY
During the rut, unpressured does and bucks are much more likely to use direct routes to access their mid-day feeding and bedding areas. A natural or manmade funnel is thus a superlative spot to set up shop then.

For instance, on one property I hunt, the landowner only allows one hunter per day on his place -- no exceptions. I can almost always be assured of a quality outing and of the deer moving naturally. On this property in the morning, deer travel up from a creek bottom, through a pine grove and then enter a funnel between an overgrown cutover and a pine thicket where the animals bed.

On the days I have reserved, I frequently set up within the funnel and almost always see deer strolling through. At mid-day, the whitetails will arise from the thicket and then walk a short distance through the funnel to forage in a postage stamp overgrown field that adjoins the pinch point. That funnel can be very productive in the morning, of course, but it is also a superior place to take a stand at mid-day -- again because of the mid-day stroll phenomenon.

Please note that I'm not claiming that the mid-day period is better than the early morning and late evening to go afield. I believe that hunters should always concentrate their efforts at those times, regardless of the stage of the rut. In addition, those periods will remain prime times throughout the various deer seasons with the possible exception being the late season when temperatures plummet and deer movement greatly slows during the morning. But if you are not taking advantage of the noon stroll, as Mr. Fields labels it, you're not taking full advantage of deer movement traits.