What's opening day like

hayduke

hayduke

New member
Been going to Selby and Gettysburg in Nov and it was nice, Hunt only walk in and knock on doors. My hunting buddy wants to go opening weekend, if we had private yes, I'm thinking it's going to busy hard to find rooms and hard to have chance at private as well, any advice would be appreciated. Could be just two guys and three dogs or four guys and five dogs.
Thanks
Duke
 
Any public spot that holds birds is usually a mad house. Private is harder to find on opening weekend as many people have family and friends usually. Personally my father and I usually show up at our public area about 9 a.m. Well before most do. It keeps most honest people from pulling in next to us. There are the occasional groups that pull in right at noon and think they get first dibs. We tend to walk the direction we choose and they can either walk behind us or in a different direction. It's funny to watch opening day though. Big groups usually walk fields once and move on. Most occasions there are plenty of birds that run around them or that they walk by that a guy with a good dog can get a limit. If you do good in November I personally wouldn't bother with opening weekend. I only do since I live here.
 
We've been coming up for opening weekend for three years now. It's more for the get-to-gether among old friends than any thing else...like BIGRAND said, it can be a mad house here and there, and we also get to our spot early about 9-10am. There can also be some productive areas that get over looked...the first year we did REALLY BAD! but we didn't know where to go, things have improved over the last few years...i'd think you could do well, with the number of guys/dogs you are gonna have...
 
Opener is my least favorite trip of the season--can't hunt til noon, it can be quite hot, crops are probably still standing, everything is busy, etc. I do go, as I own land, and I want to see how the food plots did, how the CRP looks, how the cedars are doing, etc., since I haven't been out there since June or July. To contrast that, my favorite time of the season usually falls between nov 10th and the 25th or so...crops are out, can hunt at ten, it is cooler, birds are starting to bunch up, and it is possible that you may get to hunt the first snow of the year...that is how it worked for me last fall...we got around about 6" or so in mid Nov...awesome!!!!
 
I agree with BB. Usually a zoo. I do hunt the opener but wait till Monday as I am there most of the season. The first couple weeks are hard to get on private land as most have family/friends and pay hunters. After much easier to get on private. I always have friends come up in November but before Thanksgiving. Much cooler and not as much pressure on public lands. December is usually great hunting but at mercy of weather.
 
benelli-banger said:
Opener is my least favorite trip of the season--can't hunt til noon, it can be quite hot, crops are probably still standing, everything is busy, etc. I do go, as I own land, and I want to see how the food plots did, how the CRP looks, how the cedars are doing, etc., since I haven't been out there since June or July. To contrast that, my favorite time of the season usually falls between nov 10th and the 25th or so...crops are out, can hunt at ten, it is cooler, birds are starting to bunch up, and it is possible that you may get to hunt the first snow of the year...that is how it worked for me last fall...we got around about 6" or so in mid Nov...awesome!!!!
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Pretty much how I see it. I get roped into some early hunts and mostly do not like the heat. Often go late in the day---cooler and birdier. I have a little more cover in my backyard than usual and as it is all surrounded by corn I will go out late when they are moving back to the creek bottom. Worked out last year on opener, two birds.
 
I usually hunt right through to the bitter end, in early January...I would take that last weekend before I would take opener, if it came right down to it, unless there was a foot of snow on the ground AND it was below zero with a wind of 20 or more miles an hour...but, of course, I have hunted PLENTY in those conditions...challenging! It's all good, make no mistake...I would bypass opener if it was a choice of that vs. a bit later...
 
I will never do it again since I hunt public. I hunt to enjoy the outdoors, work the dogs, and get away from people. There are people everywhere and they don't care if you were there 3 hours before legal shooting. You will drive more than you hunt to try to find a piece of land to yourself. It is awful.
 
I've been going out to the Pierre area the last couple of years the weekend following the opener, and as several note, the public and WIAs can be very busy. If you know of some good ground, get there EARLY and park in an obvious place. That will deter some, but I've had guys park right behind me. In those cases, I get out, say hello, and then talk with them to get them to go in one direction while I go in the other once legal time comes. It isn't ideal, but...
 
if you don't have a private pay to hunt place lined up by now.......chances are not good for you. come later.....
 
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