There is a fellow where I work who mentioned that he was going bowhunting when the rut came in. I asked him if he wanted to get together at lunch time to practice a little (we have a range at work). He said " Nah, it still shoots the same as it did last year, I don' t need to practice" .

Another of my friends has property in Western MD. He reports the same thing. Lots of early hunting on the Friday before the season comes in. Course the locals start rifle hunting in October so it is mostly the city folks who wait until the Friday before the opener.