Anyone purposely skip opening day?

It has crossed my mind to skip opening day because its often a zoo. But those are sacred times. I cant bring myself to stay home when the mountains are calling.
 
We only get 7 days for rifle hunts. You bet we are out there on the opener. Archers get a little longer, so that might be a maybe. Let the weekend warriors head out on Monday.
 
Never have missed opening day during gun season . Archery yes usually wait till I know all the bucks are out of velvet . Just doesn't interest me to shoot one still in velvet
 
It just dawned on me I skip multiple areas every year on opening day. There always has to be a backup area and a backup to the backup, and a backup to that backup. Either of these really good areas can produce, but they may not be needed. Sometime they get hunted a few days into the season, or the last day, and sometimes they are a single ridge or knob along the drive home that can be hiked in a few hours. There might be a half dozen backup spots across the state and just as many near home. Hunting can be thought of as playing the best odds, and sometimes a hunch in low quality areas turns out to be a jackpot. I’ve learned to trust my gut even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else.
 
I rarely hunt opening weekend of our big game season; helps that it’s a five week season and I’m retired :D
 
No, but if I were annoyed at the number of people out there and considering skipping it, I’d split the difference and skip opening morning and focus on an evening hunt.
 
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