Opening week is always the best week because there is no pressure.After that it's a judgment call. It depends on the pressure, deer movement and your area. The first week is always the best where i hunt, then it seems like the hunting slows down until pre-rut starts. The season in my area starts Oct.1. I hunt hard for 5 days, and then the deer hunting slows down, so on or about day 6, I slow down my hunting until the end of october. Why? because I hunt 20 acres and don't want to ruin it for the rut. If you have access to large amounts of hunting area and have multiple stands already setup, hunt hard and it will pay off. Do your scouting and hunt your best stand(s) the first week, then go hunt somewhere else or something else, then go back to your best stand(s) during the pre-rut and rut.