Best afternoon hunt times

[RiverRoost]

Opinions on whether you think it's better to be afternoon hunt around lunch,1,2 o'clock if wait and get out around mid afternoon.

[Ctrize]

Eleven to two then two hours before sun down where you can hunt all day.

[dirt road ninja]

Last couple hours before dark

[Marc]

When hens first start leaving to sit on the nest, about 10 AM seems to be the magic time in my area.

But, if I cannot be out at daylight, the best time to hunt is when I can...  Late morning/afternoon, any time I can drum up a gobble, I figure I have a good chance at him.

I hunt an area where birds roost and are around in the morning, but wander off the property mid to late morning (and return again in the evening)....  I hunt another area where I rarely hear early morning gobbles, but birds wander in late morning to early afternoon.

I feel the best time to hunt birds, is when they are in a particular area...

[Harty]

  Unlike the morning I have not noticed any golden PM hours. My approach is get out there when time permits and try and find a hot bird. You just never know !

[GobbleNut]

I feel the best time to hunt birds, is when they are in a particular area...

  Unlike the morning I have not noticed any golden PM hours. My approach is get out there when time permits and try and find a hot bird. You just never know !

Yep,...learning the habits of the turkeys you are hunting is the best way to figure out when the optimum times are to be focusing your hunting efforts in a given location.  For instance, hunting a roosting area during the middle of the day for turkeys that might be hanging around their feeding areas a half-mile away is a poor strategy. On the other hand, hunting that same feeding area when the birds are traveling to and from their roost site is just as bad a strategy.  The best strategy is to hunt either area when the birds are most likely to be there.

In answer to the initial question, I would say later afternoon is better than early afternoon, assuming you are focusing your efforts in the right places.  If you are doing that, it is just a matter of persistence,...combined with the right hunting/strategy for that particular place. 

It is possible to raise the interest of a gobbler at any time during the day,...if you are there when he decides he is in the mood,...hence, the need for persistence.  However, from my own personal experience, I would separate my preferred hunting times into three categories:
Best:  first light until noon
Second best:  4:00 (afternoon) until dark
Third best:  noon until 4:00

[RiverRoost]

Thanks for the tips. It's hard to pattern these birds as I'm currently flooded out from driving in to my club so you gotta boat to the road which has been a big hindrance in scouting this year and I am on several thousand acres in a continuous block so just like white tails in this situation it's kinda hard to get a travel pattern down.

[Dtrkyman]

I think a lot depends on temps but I like 12-5


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