I think it has a lot to do with the Hog-Dog season before Archery opens. They get kicked out and pressured earlier. Not sure if you guys noticed, but no does where killed this year during arch and it's not because no one was out there. I hunted a weekend in bow and just didn't see a deer, which is odd for me. (IF FWC IS READING THIS OPEN THE DANG BOW SEASON UP DURING THE WEEKDAYS) The only buck pics I had gotten before Dec 14th where at night. The 14th I got my first daylight pic, which makes sense to me with pre-rut starting to heat up around then. I think the amount of hogs in GS this year is a huge reason. They are live catching the sows and cutting their ears off so the dogs can't catch the breeders. Listen I'm all for everyone to include hog-dog guys to have a place to hunt, but it's a problem for deer hunters.
Another factor was earlier in this years season the water level was pretty low out there allowing them to disperse more and have more bedding ground. Now that the water levels are up a little higher I seeing more deer and catching more pics of deer in the areas I expect them to be travelling. So I'm not sure there is one simple reason they appear at least to me to be on a different pattern then in years past. I've hunted GS off and on for the last 22 years. I've seen a ton of change. Heck of a lot better FWC presence, the roads are night and day better, Campgrounds at least on the 471 side are insanely better, Total amount of game is vastly improved, Avg buck size greatly increased. So all things considered GS is way, way better to hunt now then it was 10-15 years ago. I went entire season never seeing a deer from the stand and shooting a few hogs a season to now it's very odd for me not to see a deer, hog, or turkey during a sit on stand.