Editor’s Note: Ronnie Groom of Panama City, Florida, the longtime owner for 60 years of C&G Sporting Goods, has been one of the foremost deer hunters of our day for the past half century. Groom, a well-rounded deer hunter, participates in bowhunting, primitive-weapon hunting and gun hunting. Groom hunts deer in several states – on public and private lands – where the hunting pressure is both heavy and light.

I like to try and take big deer in the mornings. Generally, these large bucks will be traveling from their feeding regions, going to some type of cover. I’ve discovered that most of the time early in the morning that the bucks will move into cover that may not be as thick as they will frequent later in the morning. The deer have learned that most sportsmen only will hunt until about 9:00 or 10:00 am. Then the hunters will give-up and head-back to their vehicles. They also realize that sportsmen don’t hunt in the middle of the day. So, these are the times that the big bucks will move the most to take advantage of the deer hunter’s predictable movement patterns.

To hunt bucks when they are nocturnal, I come to my stand well before daylight and catch the deer traveling in this sparse cover before they move to deep cover. In high-pressure hunting areas, I’ve also learned to stay in my stand when other hunters aren’t hunting. Very-few sportsmen will go to their stands and be in them before daylight. Also, few hunters will be in their stands between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. So, these times are when I hunt bucks that have been branded as nocturnal.

How to Hunt High Noon Bucks:

Oftentimes deer that are moving in the middle of the day and don’t want to go into the thickets will feed along the edges of thickets. Many times, there may be plenty of food just along the edge of thick cover. A big buck may travel along that edge and begin to feed in the middle of the day for two reasons. He knows that the food is there, and he wants to eat some lunch. Secondly, he realizes that if danger does approach – he’s within two steps of cover. He also knows that during the middle of the day the hunters aren’t moving. Therefore, the likelihood of a hunter encounter is extremely slim.

Check out John E. Phillip’s book, “PhD Whitetails: How to Hunt and Take the Smartest Deer on Any Property,” available in Kindle and in print and in Audible.

Check out John’s book, “How to Hunt Deer Like a Pro,” available in Kindle, print and Audible versions.

You may have to copy and paste these links into your browser. When you click on the books, notice on the left where Amazon says you can read and hear 10% of these Audible books for free. On the right side of the page for each book and below the offer for a free Audible trial, you can click on Buy the Audible book.

Click here to see all of John E. Phillips’ books on hunting and fishing.

Tomorrow: Tactics to Take Nocturnal Deer