Anyone purposely skip opening day?

[Trimbandit]

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.

 

[Weldor]

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.

 

[Triple T]

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

 

[TaperPin]

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.

 

[mtwarden]

I rarely hunt opening weekend of our big game season; helps that it’s a five week season and I’m retired

 

[3325]

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.

 

[EastHumboldt]

I only do pack in hunts in wilderness areas, so it’s not a zoo like Eastern whitetail hunts or crowded public in the west. So no.

 

[Coveyleader]

Antelope opened Friday and my waterhole is getting crushed, but waiting a bit.

 

[BadDogPSD]

Yes, I have skipped hitting opening day several times.

 

[sambo3006]

I've skipped the archery opener many times, mainly due to hot temperatures. I've never missed the firearms opener since my first one in 1984. There have been a few years when I was hunting in another state on our opener, but still out there. One year, work obligations meant that I drove almost all day on the opener to hunt another state, arriving about an hour before the end of shooting time. I braved a flat out blizzard with 40 mph winds until dark because I wasn't about to end my opening day streak. I actually saw a few deer, but thankfully no shooters.

 

[Team4LongGun]

MT opening day archery is a zoo. Absolutely skipping it. There are much better times….

 

[rogerdoger]

I will skip it this year, got a limited entry tag and it’s a decent drive, can’t use general tag anywhere else unless I go for a cow.