Saturday is opener

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
I plan on going all weekend. One thing I've learned, there's never more birds around than there is on opening day. All this talk of waiting for crop harvest and snow is for fair weather hunters. Far and away I have better success early in the season than later. But don't get me wrong, I go every day I can. 20 below or 60 above, I'm out with the dog. A bunch of roosters will be shot this weekend, and I hope to get a few. I know Skye and Roxy will be chompin' at the bit to go. With the Vikings on a bye week, all the more reason to spend all day in the field. Sometimes I think regardless of success, my favorite times of the year are evenings spent with the dog after a day out hunting.20191227_233804.jpg20221019_183748.jpg
 
I'll be out on the public this weekend as well. Good luck to you. I've never hunted opener before so I am not sure what to expect. I've heard horror stories of getting to fields at 5am with trucks already lined up on the road. If it is too chaotic I have locked down a few small parcels of private I hope to hold a limit for me.
 
MNMEAD said:
I'll be out on the public this weekend as well. Good luck to you. I've never hunted opener before so I am not sure what to expect. I've heard horror stories of getting to fields at 5am with trucks already lined up on the road. If it is too chaotic I have locked down a few small parcels of private I hope to hold a limit for me.
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You'll definitely want to get to public spots early. When I go on opener, I try to get to my preferred morning spot between 7 and 730. Sometimes I'm still too late. Other times I've held it down until 8:55 when a group comes and hunts it anyway. Openers a zoo sometimes haha
 
Mostly (but not exclusively) a MN habit thing from what I have observed. I have not hunted a pheasant opener since I lost access to some private land. Minnesotans are notorious for this even in other states and Minnesotans that have this happen to them accepted as the norm for public land.
 
Bob Peters said:
I plan on going all weekend. One thing I've learned, there's never more birds around than there is on opening day. All this talk of waiting for crop harvest and snow is for fair weather hunters. Far and away I have better success early in the season than later. But don't get me wrong, I go every day I can. 20 below or 60 above, I'm out with the dog. A bunch of roosters will be shot this weekend, and I hope to get a few. I know Skye and Roxy will be chompin' at the bit to go. With the Vikings on a bye week, all the more reason to spend all day in the field. Sometimes I think regardless of success, my favorite times of the year are evenings spent with the dog after a day out hunting.
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You do know that the Vikes are going to melt down in classic fashion, right? I know you know, I just felt compelled to share that. Remember when Favre came to MN and they almost went to the Superbowl, but didn't? Remember Daunte and Moss and Carter then Gary Anderson missed the only field goal of the year? Remember the MN Miracle was followed up by a game with the Eagles? If not, you can check them out on YouTube. :)
 
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I will take a strong regular season and a play-off run any year. Super Bowl victory would be nice, but week by week it is much more fun to win too.

Vikings of the 1970s took quite a few lumps in the final game.
 
Lets be honest here, did anyone peg them to even be a playoff team this season? Everything I read and saw had them finishing last in the division. So certainly at this point they are exceeding those expectations. Plenty of season left though. Let's pump the brakes a little here.
 
My weekend will be filled up with other things, but Im already penciling Monday evening for the opener for me. Im sure they can wait until then!
 
I’m guessing the majority of us would choose being in the field over sitting on the couch no matter what is on the TV.
 
Homer KFAN radio is great. Paul Allen calling the Vikings games ... Noon to three or so (except in SD) is a good time to take a quick lunch and chill. Listening to Vikes is great. In MN I usually hunt hard 9 - noon or 1. Take a break and then start working cover 3 to sunset ... if need be.

Great time to drive around and scout for combines or freshly combined corn fields next to cover.
 
Yes GH, I remember all those. The 98 team you mentioned had Randall Cunningham at qb, that was before Daunte's time. I was at that game, it was prolly the quietest a capacity crowd in an NFL stadium ever was. My brother put his face in his hands and didn't look up for 5 minutes. I still don't blame Gary, Dennis never should have taken a knee going into half time with the most high powered offense in NFL history.

Since I started hunting I've watched less football than ever. But Brittman hit the nail on the head, if you can get the radio tuned in, it's a huge bonus to hear PA call the game in between spots. I still remember last year hearing that crazy bills/vikes game in iowa. Every time I got on the truck the lead had changed! I still remember hunting till the closing bell, a couple roosters in my vest. Watering Skye at the truck, checking the score and Holy Moley! Josh Allen fumbled on the end zone and the purple won in O.T.!!!!
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
I mean how many dozens of years in a row did they end up 9-7, back themselves into a playoff game, only to lose? I'll choose pheasant hunting every time.
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They have been squeaking out games.gb almost came back to beat them.gb missed 2 field goals in that game.Thar was the difference. That last game,Roger's almost beat them late.
 
I'll be out all weekend with a couple of buddies hunting some public, we will get to our spot early saturday morning and pray that we don't have the typical 8:55 group show up. Happens every year, all you can do is put some trucks on it in strategic spots and pray they keep driving. We do the same thing for IA opener. I will agree MN hunters seem to be the worst at this, even in SD and IA it happens all the time and more often than not it's a truck from MN.
 
gimruis said:
That's the worst. No respect
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Happens all the time. Sit on a spot for 2 hrs just to have people roll up right at shooting time, get out, slam doors, fumbling with gear and yelling at dogs... MN opener is a zoo, but I would not miss it.

There are just more hunters on opener than there are decent spots so having the field to yourself is expecting a lot. Only thing parking a field early does for me is make me not feel bad about rolling up on a spot that someone else showed up early for. I just expect others are going to move in and if not, icing on the cake.

But then you have the assholes that take it the other direction: Drop a couple trucks on a field the night before and show up to 'their' field right before shooting. I have seen that and parked right next to their empty trucks and hunted it. They show up 2 hrs later and give ME the stink eye.
 
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