When to sit waterholes for deer???

[Oregonbowhunter]

I want to sit on a water hole opening weekend in Central Oregon for archery deer. It's been hot and dry all summer and the area has very little water with a few water holes here and there. It's a very dry dusty climate there. Anyway, what time of day do deer come to water. Do they come first thing in the morning or during the hotter parts of the day?

Thanks

 

[ICMDEER]

In our country, you would likely be wasting most of your time. I'd say most of the big bucks are nocturnal when it comes to drinking. They spend most all day bedded down and feed from dusk until dawn with a drink outside of legal shooting hours.

But I'm a spot and stalk guy, so I'm not a good person to ask.

 

[manny15]

I've always assumed they get nocturnal in the summer, but usually in the evening they set out for water...

 

[elkholla]

I tend to disagre with the other comments here. I sit waterholes every year and see big bucks every year from my treestands. I think that this is a very under rated method to hunt western deer. IMO.

 

[Oregonbowhunter]

Elkholla, what time of day do you have deer come in?

 

[Saskman]

I have had more luck with whitetails than mule deer at water holes but from my experience I have had better luck in the evening when it is really hot out. The deer sit in the heat all day and will have a drink before they go out to feed. The bigger bucks will tend to come when the light is almost gone but occasionally a good will come in when it is light enough to shoot. There is usually a string of little bucks and does when there is lots of light left. I am sure it depends on how pressured the deer are as well. The more pressure the later they will likely come.

Saskman

 

[overton]

I have deer hunted 42 years and have never seen a mule deer buck take a drink. I have seen a few blacktail bucks drink about noon on a hot day. I have seen plenty of does drink during daytime. The waterhole is still a good idea. Use your glasses to find them between water and day bedding area. Watch them bed, stalk them and then stick them. If I made that sound easy it usually isn't. Good luck.

 

[cpugsie]

I've had good luck setting up on a trail going to or from the water hole. My best archery muley (176-5/8") was taken coming from a water hole just after sun up. It was too dark to shoot at the water hole when the big guys were using it so I found the trail they were using to leave and setup in the trees. It was about a 1/4 mile from the actual water hole. I saw these big bucks using this trail the year before and back tracked it to a water hole and figured out what they were doing. The next year I had my buck on opening day 30 minutes into the hunt. Find yourself a good trail going to the water and setup. Good luck!

 

[Oregonbowhunter]

I'm sure waterhole hunting is different no matter where you go. The are I'll be in is all timber and some sage brush and lot's of reprod. But it is very very dry. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[slamdunk]

There's some truth to all the replies, especially the nocturnal one. But one that i have experienced on more than one occasion and not heard anyone else say it, is- "right smack in the middle of the day".
Deer in high pressure areas learn the human movements and MOST hunters are gone back to camp the middle of the day and that makes for a good drink time for a thirsty buck, or a bull for that matter.
I have sat on waterholes all day for both deer & elk and have been amazed at the activity that just showes up when i'm taking a nap out of shear bordem. I have seen some great animals killed this way, and if you can handle fighting off severe bordem, heat and flies.....it just might pay off for ya.
But all in all, no matter what tactic you use, patience is the key to sucess.
Good luck!!

 

[andrew_12gauge]

i would have to agree with slamdunk mule deer are fickle creatures, just when you think you have em figured out, they go and change all the rules on ya, about 5 years back my grandfather had about 4-5 bucks coming into his field all summer long, 2 of em were real dandies, we thought we would have an easy hunt come opener then about 2 weeks before the season opened poof they were gone ever saw them again