Sunrise or Sunset?

What is your favorite time of day to be in the deer stand?

The early stand is ripe with wonder as morning breaks and chases the darkness into light. Temperatures momentarily drop while the sun begins its daytime arch and the warm blanket of air which clung to the frosty forest dissipates. Songbirds awaken with busy melodious chirps and then everything stops, out of the corner of your eye you notice a Whitetail moving to its bedding ground and all of your senses are captured at once.

The evening stand is a welcome friend after a long hunt. The magical transition from day to dusk evokes images of big bucks that could materialize from the brush at any moment. As night drops, the forest becomes wild again. The uncanny quiet is interrupted by chit, chit, chit, of hooves, and your heart begins to race.

As a young hunter, I shot and field dressed my first buck in the last moments of shooting light as a harvest moon peered through a stand of Spruce. My biggest buck, as a seasoned veteran,  was taken off a still-hunt from a back-woods oak point and my buddies helped float it out on a sprawling slough as another full moon reflected it’s glimmer across the water. 

I love the transition from day to the long shadows which invite nocturnal creatures back to life.

I love the primal feel, with weapon in hand, as I walk out of a black forest unto a logging trail that holds the last remnant of daylight.

I love the feel of a successful hunt as friends quietly emerge out of a darkened wood.

I love the sunset. What do you love?

Peace

Sunrise Photo: Joas Miller