Quote from: Gooserbat on May 02, 2022, 12:07:49 AM
I skip opening day/opening weekend on public land. The frustration of rude people is worse than the frustration of educated call shy over hunted birds
Yep,...best advice to take anywhere. I know a dozen places where I could kill a gobbler IF there was nobody else around. I also know that the chances of there being nobody else around the first few days of the season to muck things up is almost nonexistent. I just don't hunt those places early in the season. One solution is to spend time prior to the season looking for those out-of-the-way spots that are not on everybody's radar and hunt those places early on.
That is not to say that the actions of people that intentionally interfere with other hunters is somehow excusable. It is not. At the same time, I think there are just as many, if not more, cases where such interference is accidental rather than intentional. Either way, when hunting a highly-pressured area at the beginning of the season, it is best to assume that you better make short work of any opportunities you have to score. If a turkey is gobbling, somebody is likely going to show up eventually, whether they know you are there, or not.