Have the same debate every regular season opening day!

[moog5050]

Do I cover ground or sit in the thick and nasty and hope to pick the right escape route?  Considering I have never shot an opening day buck other than a little guy early on, I have not chosen right yet!  With less hunters pushing deer, I am not sure that the escape route is best, but maybe it is.  Your plans?  

[biggamefish]

1 minute ago, moog5050 said:

Do I cover ground or sit in the thick and nasty and hope to pick the right escape route?  Considering I have never shot an opening day buck other than a little guy early on, I have not chosen right yet!  With less hunters pushing deer, I am not sure that the escape route is best, but maybe it is.  Your plans?  

 You and I are in the same boat, I have one 8 point that I shot in my early years. That was in the afternoon after everyone else got there deer. Since then though I always try to pick the right spot and it never happens. 

This will be our year though! 

[Fletch]

We may need a bigger boat.....I am in this one as well lol!

[ApexerER]

Right spot at the right time is what it is all about......90% of the time i'm in the wrong spot. Hopefully that 10% of the time will happen Saturday morning for me....

[Splitear]

I can't go Saturday morning due to a work conflict, but I'm really thinking about setting on the edge of a thick/swampy area on Saturday afternoon to see if I can catch something holed up there. I'm a little concerned about dragging something out of there if I knock it down though. I guess I can cross that bridge if and when I get there. 

With a 2 year old and a newborn at home, my hunting time is going to be in very short supply this year, so I'm hopeful I can connect quickly. Good luck everyone!

[doebuck1234]

Sit the pines alot during bow season and gun where my cam is setup as it's high traffic back into some thick stuff and golden rod fields on neighboring property but this year I think I'm going to overlook the woods in hopes the neighbors bump something on their way in

[Bolt action]

Great question and one that I toil over constantly. In my situation,  the soybeans are brown and down, so the deer have no interest in them at the moment. Oaks in my area didn't do much this year either. I could sit on the field edge which backs up to my small block of woods and hope to catch some movement along the edges. Or I could position myself further back in the woods and hope that the neighbors push them my way. Based on the wind and what I think will give me my best shot at seeing deer, I'm going to sit back in the woods for the opener. 

[DirtTime]

Saturday will be my 3rd "Opening Day" this season. The bow opener down here, regular season up north and Saturday regular season down here, I have no clue yet.

If my wife wants to hunt we'll be up north so the opener down here will be the same as the past few years, and we'll be in the ADK's and not worrying about the SZ. If she doesn't plan to hunt or changes her mind, or gets sick, or something, I'm still not sure. I may head north solo and sit a new blind I set up a couple weeks back over looking the lower end of a swampy area for the first few hours then still hunt until I have to head back home.

If I head out down here, probably sit an area I have left alone during the bow season, not that it matters seeing it's public land down here.

 

About the only thing I haven't sat this season was open hardwoods or actually over looking any fields, so well, I just don't know. I'm not even sure what I feel like toting Saturday yet, no matter where I go or where I sit/walk/poop or look at ads for bananas.

[Lomax]

I will be with my son in my big blind overlooking my field.  Have seen several nice bucks this year so hopefully we get one opening day. This has been a great opening day stand we have taken multiple bucks out of it.  If all goes well he will be a happy hunter on Saturday. 

[grampy]

In all my 'opening days' only a hand full have been successful. I am the worst at picking the opening morning spot!!! 

I probably over think it way too much!

Better off to just go with what your gut says.

[sbuff]

I zig they zag, I zag they zig....

If I knew the answer I'd have a deer by now . Good luck 

[Cory]

Last year I chose to sit in a different stand over looking a gully and I could see my other stand about 150 yards out . what was standing under that stand a big 8 point. No shot . If I don’t get a buck opening day that’s a wrap for me . I have never seen a buck after opening day in 24 years of hunting my property! 

[Moho81]

I'll sit in the same spot I was told to sit some 24 years ago and I wont move all day just like I was told to do some 24 years ago. 

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't 

[airedale]

Technique would be determined by the hunting pressure in the area I was hunting, lots of hunters and pressure I am watching escape routes. Area to myself with very few or no other hunters I am sneaking around still hunting.

Al

Edited November 16, 2021 by airedale

[Lawdwaz]

Saturday’s wind is south/southeast turning to south then south/southwest.   Uggh

My best archery area is great for that wind but the past two weekends have been blanks.  So I don’t know if I should waste my time there.  My gun spots of choice are not conducive to that wind.  I may be able to sit in a awesome spot due to a roster change in camp but that isn’t great for the wind direction.   If it was west or north wind I’d say to you “if you’re a betting man, double down on Lawdwaz”.

Don’t bet on me this weekend.  

[mowin]

I'll be in the same stand as the past 20 yrs. Thick and on the edge of the swamp. Killed a handful there on opening morning and a few more opening evening's. 

[Four Seasons]

2 hours ago, moog5050 said:

Do I cover ground or sit in the thick and nasty and hope to pick the right escape route?  Considering I have never shot an opening day buck other than a little guy early on, I have not chosen right yet!  With less hunters pushing deer, I am not sure that the escape route is best, but maybe it is.  Your plans?  

Always go for thick in my book. I believe in some of these places like Letchworth it’s bred into them that they head to thick on a daily basis. Now with the rut involved that throws another card on the pile when it comes to mature bucks.  I myself will always pick thick. 

[Swamp_bucks]

Escape routes near thick cover.  I'll be in the same spot I've sat the last 3 years it's nice because I cam just pick a different tree for any wind.  Killed one on opener 2 yrs ago and had another buck chasing a doe in there last year just couldn't make out what it was.

[Just Lucky]

I wait till 2nd day to still hunt. Too many neighbors on opening day. I have taken 6 bucks, and a few doe on opening day over 27 years. I usually head into center of one of the properties I hunt.

This year I will sit a treestand that I moved in the spring. I haven't used it this year during bow. 

I located the spot last year late in the season and thought it would be a good spot, we will see.

[UpStateRedNeck]

Opening day is about the only day I'll sit all day during gun.  Escape route to the thick crap, when I'm not kicking trespassers off.

[REDNECK4LIFE32]

2 hours ago, Lomax said:

I will be with my son in my big blind overlooking my field.  Have seen several nice bucks this year so hopefully we get one opening day. This has been a great opening day stand we have taken multiple bucks out of it.  If all goes well he will be a happy hunter on Saturday. 

Saturday Hank the tank is going down?

[Pygmy]

If you are hunting where there is typical opening day pressure, ALWAYS hunt the thick stuff on escape routes...

Bottlenecks with thick cover between  larger areas of woods or cropfields are excellent , especially in midday when the pilgrims get cold or bored and start milling around...Prime time to kill a buck on opening day in areas of high hunting pressure  is between 11:00 AM  and 2:00 PM....

[wolc123]

I will be in the deep woods, swamp-edge stand that has produced for me the last three opening days.  Hopefully, the ladder is still there and it is structurally sound.  I didn’t get a chance to check it out during archery season this year.

I did secure permission to remove carcasses, from the adjacent landowner on the back side of the swamp, so hopefully I can keep my feet dry this year.  The swamp is quite full with all the recent rains we have had.

An antlered buck will need to have at least 4 points on a side or clearly be at least 2.5 years old for me to punch my buck tag before Thansgiving because I want a crack at an Adirondack buck after.  Southern zone bucks are worth less than half to me.

[Robhuntandfish]

I will prob tell my hunting buddy he has first pick since he hasn't tagged yet.  

I have a couple of stands in mind but most likely I will be in the opener stand I usually am. At least in the morn. We only gun hunt there cause it's so thick and only longer shots avail across a swamp. It's the Opener stand cause dropped a buck there first year I put it up.

In the afternoon I will prob be in the stand where I've been seeing the bucks in the pm in bow.  

Edited November 16, 2021 by Robhuntandfish

[REDNECK4LIFE32]

I'll be wherever @Swamp_bucks puts me. From what he's showed me looks good.