Ask around your area. The main thing to keep in mind is hunt your Does. When the Rut begins you'll know. You'll watch a button buck be boss all the way up to a huge deer. When your the big guy within 100 yrds how would you react until a larger one appears. Deer are a trip. The first thing they notice is rack size. If it's close, they rely on visual diplays of usage. Last resort is a fight.

If you go early season hunt, define what your kill is. If you want meat hunt areas that get high preasure from guns during the rut. Lets face it, your not bringing a bow to a gun fight in high preasure areas when it's gun season. If you hunt your favorites and it will last through gun, don't kill anything unless it beats your freinds before the rut. Any protected property will bennifit from gun hunters next door. Just make sure when the rut comes you can predict where your Does will be. There is know thing like home brew "Doe in Heat".