Consider the ritual among most deer hunters on opening weekend and beyond.

The alarm goes off at Dark:30. Hunters either spring from bed excitedly, or groan and reluctantly pour themselves off the mattress. They throw back hot coffee, eat some breakfast, grab their gear and head off to the stand in the dark.

They settle in and hunt patiently, being particularly attentive from legal light to about an hour after sunrise. As 9:30 approaches, something happens to hunters if they haven’t had an action-packed morning.