first or last of season

[porkchop401]

Fellas I am heading back to Colorado this year for second rifle season again. This past season I arrived on opening day of first rifle and spent the week scouting and acclimating . l noticed that buy the 4th day of the first rifle season hunting pressure had fell off to nothing. on the fifth day I noticed much more game out and about. Once second rifle opened there was a lot less movement like in the first days of first rifle season.
This year I plan on arriving on the last day of first rifle and having the ability to stay til season ends even if it means taking a day or two off to rest in the middle of season. I am hoping to see movement pick up towards the end of the 9 day season. Any opinions my plan is welcome.

 

[HARPERC]

There's no substitute for time in the field. Hunting the entire season wherever it is, is the best you can do. You may score 20 minutes into the hunt, or last light, last day. Who knows?

 

[Tikkamike]

For me it is very hard to resist that first day hunt, and sometimes it works out if you can catch the animals early before they get all worked up. BUT I think the end of any season is always the best, or like Harper said, the entire season. The last few years I have had a late season whitetail tag that is open for a month and a half. I typically hunt 4-5 days minimum (from when i get off work at 330-dark) per week and by the end of the season I hate whitetail hunting and swear ill never do it again. but the 100+ hours I spend always seems to pay off in the end. Only once did it not and thats cause I got excited and missed a good buck. I will also say this. I hunt a lot of elk and you can almost guarantee that hunting all day will do nothing more than wear you out. Spend your time getting high early in the morning and just see where the animals are then try to be there that evening. Should make for a enjoyable and successful trip

 

[HARPERC]

A thought occurred to me reading Mike's post. I answered from a non-resident view point. I have opted out of opening weekend frenzy locally many times. I've also been known to dig deeper into the blankets if the weather turned bad. Traveling is a different animal.

 

[porkchop401]

Well it is certainly a non resident thing as I travel 18hrs to get there. All the hunters I have may in the area were non resident hunters and about 3 days was all they could stand hunting. last year was learning the country . though I may not have it figured out , l least know some of what not to do this year.

 

[Red Sparky]

Down here in NM our ML and rifle hunts seem to start on Saturday and end on Wednesday. We get what I call the "weekend warriors". The woods are full of hunters on Sat. and Sunday and then it seems like Mon.-Wed. the woods are empty. It seems like I see more animals Mon.-Wed. when other hunters are done hunting. You can kill something any time but on the weekends I sit on trails that are escape routes. I let the other hunters pressure push the animals past me unless I know of an area that other hunters do not get to, which is usually away from the roads. One of the escape routes I cover is a high saddle that gives me a good view of the surrounding area. Good quality optics save the legs while you can pinpoint where the elk/deer went.

So if you spent last year getting a lay of the land you may have some escape routes you can cover without wearing yourself out the first few days. Then go at it hard during the middle of the week when there are not as many hunters out.

 

[porkchop401]

Down here in NM our ML and rifle hunts seem to start on Saturday and end on Wednesday. We get what I call the "weekend warriors". The woods are full of hunters on Sat. and Sunday and then it seems like Mon.-Wed. the woods are empty. It seems like I see more animals Mon.-Wed. when other hunters are done hunting. You can kill something any time but on the weekends I sit on trails that are escape routes. I let the other hunters pressure push the animals past me unless I know of an area that other hunters do not get to, which is usually away from the roads. One of the escape routes I cover is a high saddle that gives me a good view of the surrounding area. Good quality optics save the legs while you can pinpoint where the elk/deer went.

So if you spent last year getting a lay of the land you may have some escape routes you can cover without wearing yourself out the first few days. Then go at it hard during the middle of the week when there are not as many hunters out.

I have a couple of dark drainages that funnel elk well especially when pressured , last year my hunt was over before I realized what was happening to the elk . Can't wait for opening day!!