Deer+watering+time

[Luke E.]

 Okay, I know deer will hit a water source whenever they want but i'm curious, What part of the day have you guys typically seen deer hitting the watering hole the most?

[TNMTBik3r]

It has been a couple of years since i hunted over water (pond on a farm) but I typically saw deer drink between 7:30 and 9:00 am. I never saw any come drink in the afternoon, but there was water on the neighboring farm.
IMO, better off hunting over food than trying over water.

[Lumber_Jack]

The answer is.....it depends. Deer need about 2-3 quarts per day per 100lbs. So a 150lb deer needs 3-4.4qts.

Deer lose water through urine, poop, and panting. So this time of year unless being run by a buck they may not pant much.

Deer also get water from food. So it depends on what they eat. Things like cat briar are high in water content where acorns although 70% water are small and don't provide a significant water source. So food is a contributing factor.


Really the best way to tell is set up a camera and start patterning the deer in correlation to time of day and temperature.

[Luke E.]

The answer is.....it depends. Deer need about 2-3 quarts per day per 100lbs. So a 150lb deer needs 3-4.4qts.

Deer lose water through urine, poop, and panting. So this time of year unless being run by a buck they may not pant much.

Deer also get water from food. So it depends on what they eat. Things like cat briar are high in water content where acorns although 70% water are small and don't provide a significant water source. So food is a contributing factor.


Really the best way to tell is set up a camera and start patterning the deer in correlation to time of day and temperature.

 

I know when they hit this pond the most (in the A.M.). I hunted there this evening because my wife wanted to shoot some and i will never turn that down so I ended up slipping in there pretty late and that was the easiest place to slip in. They started coming behind me within a couple minutes of me sitting down so if i'd decided to try to make it all they way to the stand we would have bumped in to each other real quick. I was just curios what others usually found.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Luke E.

[Luke E.]

The answer is.....it depends. Deer need about 2-3 quarts per day per 100lbs. So a 150lb deer needs 3-4.4qts.

Deer lose water through urine, poop, and panting. So this time of year unless being run by a buck they may not pant much.

Deer also get water from food. So it depends on what they eat. Things like cat briar are high in water content where acorns although 70% water are small and don't provide a significant water source. So food is a contributing factor.


Really the best way to tell is set up a camera and start patterning the deer in correlation to time of day and temperature.

 

 Thanks for the lesson by the way, learn something new every day. I had no clue how much they drank.

[whiskey]

I used to hunt a riverside stand and catch deer travelling between bedding and feeding areas. From my experience, they would water after feeding on their way to the bedding area. That may have just been convenience, but that's how it worked. I have hunted water sources during hot, dry bow seasons with success. Deer would come in late afternoon till dark for a drink. 

[Guest Bonedaddy]

Seen'm come to my neighbor's pond in the evenin' and mornin' and the same at the little patch of woods I hunt that has a natural, small watershed pond on it. I think it depends a lot on where they are in their travels 'round this farm country. There are ponds, ditches, creeks, puddles, what have ya all over. They don't get thirsty much 'round here.