i TRY to go in and be setup atleast an hour early....seems opening day its no problem....after that, it gets later and later lol....

im going to push myself this season....i KNOW it helps....opening day of rifle one year i was in my honey hole with the rifle....got in SUPER early...in the stand and settled in....not long after i had 2 bucks walking around munching acorns and grunting ALL morning in the darkness. could EASILY whacked the biggun...he was a beast...moonlight lite him up and i could see his giant rack....but im not that kinda hunter.

about 10am i look up and here they come....the big boy with another buck in tow....didnt even look at the smaller one...the biggun was just plain huge. could i have dropped him? im willing to bet i could have...did i??? didnt even fire....didnt like the shot...he was walking and the brush was somewhat thick....that was the time i learned the importance of the strap for the top of my Viper...i stood up to get a clearer shot and the top of the stand fell onto the bottom...neither deer ran....but started walking and there was no stopping them....he was killed a couple days later....boy was he a beast......



but im CERTAIN if i came in at my NORMAL times i woulda busted both of them out of there and never seen them again that day.....they hung around JUSTTTTT till a few minutes before i could legally shoot(still about DARK but the moon was bright...i had my clock set to go time) no dice...