I have this same thought each year too! Its hot!!! and 2hr drive one way to just see does. Bucks show up end of Oct/ Nov but I'm too excited and go either way. In the stand with my bow is still better than at work!

If you own a place, it's good to be there opening day (of rifle)...just in case someone gets "lost" on your place. That and the weekend after Thanksgiving has the most folks in them woods, and some of them are mighty amped up. And I'm not talking about the kids.

It happened to me.

I had owned my place about 5 years and caught a poacher. He ‘said’ that he thought his aunt owned it and he had hunted it all his life. I had bought the land from his aunt. I told him that I had bought it 5 years before. He said that he didn’t believe me. I told him “No problem. I’ll call the Game Warden and he can straighten the whole thing out.”
He declined and left.

On multiple occasions I have found cell cams that aren’t mine.

I expect all non resident owners have some poaching going on.

When I was in my early 20’s a buddies stepdad took us to a dove field his buddy owned.

We got set up and started shooting a few birds. Game warden shows up about 30 min later and starts talking to the guy, out of earshot from me. He then comes over to me and very politely tells us we have to pack up and head home.

We get on the road and it comes out that the stepdad who brought us knew who owned it several years back but had no idea who owned it now, and did know that it had sold.


Some people just don’t care about others property.

I think it gets worse outside of Texas.

Yes of course I hunt opening day. it's like a holiday to my wife and I. I think you should take your son hunting on opening day. Do it every year, make it a tradition. The memories will be well worth it.

Years ago it used to be a holiday in Pennsylvania. They used to be as crazy or crazier than us about it.

Yes, try to hunt opening day of both archery and rifle. Just retired so I will have the opportunity to hang out at the lease during the work week in Oct. We always did budgets in October so I only had the weekends off for archery.

Take him opening day. You’ll only get so many of those with your kid. Won’t be long and sports and/or girls might be more important to him and you’ll be doing opening day without him

Take the kids whenever you can! My son and daughter know the rules of as long as your grades are up and not missing anything critical, they are allowed to miss school. Everything school wise has to be kept in line. Memories for us all that are lifelong.

No, I hunt south Texas and we don't get serious until after Thanksgiving. Last year on opening day I went fishing on Lake LBJ and limited out on cats in about 4 hours. I had the whole lake to myself.

I hunt opening day.. but my little place is surrounded by a large lease/club that is way over manned.. so it sounds like youre in the hood in Chicago on a saturday night about 30 seconds after first light..

The next door neighbors dont seem to have much of a policy in place in terms of herd management or any "rules".. I think they are pretty much "if its brown, its down" kinda club.. which makes things a bit difficult on my 135 acres... but, we make it work..

The time with your son and memories made will be worth him missing a day or two of school.

I never missed an opening day even if I had to plan months in advance with vacation time or if I got sick.
It was mainly just being out there with others, and a successful hunt was just icing on the cake.
Now, most of those special people have passed or just not able to hunt anymore so most of my memories are from those days of old. It's not that important now to be out there, but I still try, and if I don't make it, there are other days that I can.

I taught Math and Science for twenty years! There were more absences on the Friday before season opener than just about any other day. My principal spoke to me when I told a parent not to skip out on Friday but Monday. You can't hunt Friday. Skip Monday you can hunt Sunday evening and Monday morning. Gives you two more hunts.

Every year !

Only on days that end in "y".

I rarely hunt on weekends, so no, I don't hunt opening day. I have a work schedule that gives me plenty of weekdays to hunt. Plus, I work every other weekend and the weekend I'm off, it's spent with family.

Yep! State holiday for gun season in PA. Blaze orange army invades the woods

Yes, if its not 99 degrees. I'll be dry camping with a CPAP machine. Should be an adventure

ONLY