How late do you stay in your stand in the evening?

[buckhunter21]

Ok, after starting the thread for morning hunting, I thought I'd see what everyone thought about evening hunting and how late they stay in their stand?  Right at dark, half hour after, etc?  Sure it depends on if you have deer under you as well.  Also, on your way back do you go out of your way to avoid fields, etc, like when you come in during the morning?
 
Personally, I used to sit in my stand a good half hour after I couldn't see anymore, but now I'm out of there right at dark if I don't see anything.  If I have deer under me it's later obviously.  Most of my sets I have no other way to get out but go through a field so unfortunately I do end up bumping deer every now and then.  Anybody have any tips for this?

[msbadger]

I'm a dark in and dark out...hunter...A few times I've had to call home and say I'm alive and will be late....due to getting caught mid ladder by deer...other wise before cell phones Mr. B was ringing our bell or yelling my name...lol

[hunter480]

shooting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, so I`m always in the stand at least until end of shooting time, so it`s full dark when I leave. I`ve bow killed many deer right at the end of legal shooting hours.
 
Typically, when it`s time to go, I want to get the heck outa there. I`m always a nervous wreck leaving the stand, scared I`m going to bump deer.

[OHhunter]

If I'm on a field edge I leave, at the end of legal shooting time if no deer are around, if deer nearby I leave when I think I can get out without spooking them.   When I back in the woods I leave when I can no longer see my sight pins through my peep, which is usually 10 mins before the end of legal shooting time, unless deer are around then I wait them out.

[JPH]

I pretty much bail when it is too dark to see my sights. I suppose that I should stay longer, but leaving with a little light allows me to see deer in the fields and skirt them as I walk out.
 
All this being said, I would rather spook a deer after legal shooting hours than at any other time. I fear that spooking them on the walk in can disrupt the day's hunt and anything spooked during daylight can begin to pattern my stands. But (IMO) a deer bumped by a wondering hunter, after sunset is unlikely to alter patterns.

[Goose]

Once the season closes(half hour after sunset) Im gone while theres no deer around. If there are deer around Ill wait them out. On fields Ill wait till its pitch black then try going undetected. If I do spook them in the field there isnt much I can do in some cases.

[shaman]

It used to be in Ohio that you could shoot a full hour before sunrise and after sunset.  I could never understand that.  It was always way to dark.  Still, you'd have folks shooting before legal hunting even then.

In Kentucky the law says a half hour before sunrise and after sunset, but my eyes tell me that it's all over long before then.  I get about 15 minutes after sunset and I have to call it quits.  One night I had a nice herd situated just outside of bow range.  I decided to wait them out.  When a doe finally showed up, I knew she was there, but I could not find her in my sights.

"Okay," I yelled. "You've won."  I put down my bow and climbed down.  She snorted me all the way to the truck.

I've also had to pass on a couple over the years that were legal, but I just could not pick them out of the shadows.

The bottom line :  My eyes tell me when to start and stop.

[Bigfoot]

i agree with the above poster,opening day the rule book might say 7:35pm,but hunting in the woods with the leaf's on the trees my eyes say 7:10-7:15pm

if their's deer that are close by i'll just wait for them to look in my direction and start moving my hand around

maybe it does something,maybe it doesnt.......it doesnt really matter to me and havent noticed any difference

[Patriot]

I'm usually outta there as soon as I can't see well enough to shoot. 
 
Once in a while I'll just sit there and enjoy a few extra moments of peace and quiet before going "back to reality".