“A bad day in the woods is better than a good day at work.” I can remember my first Midwest pre-rut trip filled with truck issues, hunting pressure, and a good buck that wouldn’t stop. After 3-4 days of hunting from daylight to dark, I went home empty-handed but still had a blast.
For the majority of the deer hunting community, the calendar is smack in the middle of sweet November. Now is the time to make those all-day sits – or is it?
Knowing the power of the rut and how it brings deer onto our property or shooting lane that we haven’t seen before, is it worth it to sit all day?
Are All Day Sits - Overrated or Underrated?
Let’s see what the crew over at Southern Collective has to say:
Walter Lee: “When it comes to all-day sits, I believe they’re a luxury earned through hard work and deep familiarity with the area. As a weekend warrior who also travels out of state for rut hunts, I find it tough to commit to one location for an entire day unless I’ve thoroughly vetted my options. That confidence comes either from years of experience in a single area or from several days of focused scouting that confirm a spot is truly worth the investment.”
Matt Reeves: “Honestly, I think all-day sits are a little overrated. There are just too many factors that come into play. You have to do what makes sense for your situation and pay attention to the area you’re hunting. Some spots are simply better for morning/evening movement because of thermal shifts — so why sit there all day when you know the spot is going to change?”
Parker McDonald: “There’s no such thing as overrated time in the woods. If you have the luxury of being able to hunt deer all day during the rut, you are stupid not to do so. Every minute you spend in the woods, especially at the time of the year they’re most likely to be walking around in daylight, your odds go up. To be even clearer, I’d say the same thing about any point in the season. If you have the luxury and drive to be in the woods from daylight ’til dark, you should do it.”
After posting this question in 2-3 well-known Facebook hunting groups, a couple of things caught my attention.
First: back to the start; no time spent in the woods is bad or wasted, in my opinion. Anytime spent outdoors enjoying what God created is good.
Second: It seemed to me that it was also geographically influenced. What I mean by that is southern hunters with a wider scattered rut window were not as quick to jump on the all day sit train as opposed to midwest hunters with shorter but more defined rut windows. Again, here is Parker commenting on that.
“My experiences in Alabama tell me that I should prioritize daylight until about 2pm at the peak of the rut. Buck activity is consistently at its highest from 8:30-10:30am. So if I have the time to sit all day and it seems like deer activity is steady, I’ll definitely sit as long as I can. But I highly prioritize being in a tree an hour before daylight through 2pm for southern big woods.
The Midwest is a different story. If you’re in a good spot, you could have deer moving through all day long. If I’m on a trip to the Midwest in November, I’m planning to sit all day as soon as I find a spot I have confidence in. All-day sits are a no-brainer in the Midwest.”
As a southern hunter with little Midwest hunting experience, I called my good buddies Tyler Jones and K.C. Smith at The Element, who hunt the Midwest and Texas, and here is where it gets interesting:
“Overrated, but not something to take off the table. If the wind is right, the weather is cold, on the right dates, and you’re in the right spot, then there’s definitely a reason. But I like to warm up midday and eat a burrito.”- KC
“Overrated. Trail camera data will prove it. The last time I sat an all-day rut sit, I saw my deer before 8:30 am and after 4:30 pm. I prefer to get down and rattle close to bedding if I want to hunt midday.” – Tyler
Tyler raises a valuable point about mobility. I wonder how many big bucks have not been killed because I was stuck on a spot.
Here are a few pros and cons to consider when deciding whether to sit or not sit all day long.
Pros of All-Day Sits
Increased Time on Stand = Increased Opportunity
1.More hours in the woods naturally boost the odds of crossing paths with a mature buck.
2.Deer move unpredictably during the rut; all-day sits ensure you’re there when it happens.
3.”You can’t kill ’em from the couch.” [unless a couch is in your shooting house/blind…true story]
Midday Movement
1. Bucks often cruise between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. during peak rut, especially in pressured areas.
2. Hunters who leave the stand midday often miss out.
Less Human Disturbance
1. Staying put reduces scent spread and noise from entering/exiting the woods multiple times.
2. Can help preserve stand sites and reduce pressure on a hunting area.
Cons of All-Day Sits
Physical Fatigue and Discomfort
1. Sitting for 10–12 hours can cause stiffness, soreness, and fatigue.
2. Poor comfort leads to shifting, fidgeting, and possibly alerting deer.
3. Mental fatigue is a real thing, tough sitting all day with limited deer movement, and your mind starts racing, ”Should I be over there?” “Should I move, Should I stay?” “What’s happening back at the house?” The mind starts playing tricks when boredom sets in.
Temperature and Weather Challenges
1. Early-season heat or late-season cold can make all-day sits miserable—or even unsafe.
2. Hard to regulate body temp or stay dry for that long.
Limited Mobility
1. You can’t adapt to changing deer patterns or wind direction once committed to a single spot.
2. Stubbornly sitting all day in a dead zone wastes valuable hunting hours.
Final Thoughts
There is a reason we save up vacation time for November. As deer hunters, we want to maximize our chances of killing a buck, and the best time to do that is during the rut.
I was listening to a podcast recently, and the host mentioned the rut being the great equalizer. It’s a time when people who enjoy hunting but, due to life or a job, can’t get out and hunt as much as the die-hard enthusiasts can go and sit in a fence row or funnel and kill a good buck.
There is truth to that, which can infuriate the die-hard hunter who has been scouting all year with trail cameras out, but don’t get discouraged; the rut has a way of bringing new bucks into your life. The rut gives and it takes away, keep hunting.
In conclusion, sit all day or don’t. Whichever one you choose, keep in mind you’re still hunting, which is a blessing. So to everyone taking off work, safe travels, shoot straight, and I hope your rutcation ends early with a big buck in the truck and a ton of memories.
