How Does Your Strategy Change During Gun Season

[Octang]

For those of you hunting in high pressured areas, how does your strategy change during gun season? Do you still hunt bedding? Hunt funnels/escape routes? Play off where other hunters will be bumping deer? Etc...

I am not really looking for any advice, I am just curious how you guys shift tactics for when the woods get crazy.

[MarshRunner17]

Opening day I like to setup in a position where deer will be bumped out by other hunters getting to their stands. That's not to say that bed hunting wont yield any results, its just I like to take the free deer drive if I can get it

[brancher147]

I get off my but and start roaming the mountains.

[Ragingun]

Over the years I've found areas that deer go to after getting bumped a few times and tend to congregate there. It akin to stacking deer and works well. I typically don't go out the first part of the week and wait for other hunters to do my work. Then I go to these areas that no one ever goes to and it's nearly always a successful hunt. Some of these areas aren't hunted for many reasons, long walk, too much work, water too deep, no tree to climb in etc.

[Edcyclopedia]

I harder...

[Dewey]

Escape routes, terrain funnels or snow tracking. Completely different than how I bowhunt.

[mag1]

I stay home and catch up on my sleep. when I gun hunted we used to go way in, sit some funnels, and also tried to take advantage of other people moving around.

[Outdoor814]

Opening day I like to setup in a position where deer will be bumped out by other hunters getting to their stands. That's not to say that bed hunting wont yield any results, its just I like to take the free deer drive if I can get it

This right here

[Boogieman1]

I hunt in a state with a 2.5 month scoped rifle season, how do I change my strategy? I avoided walking close to corn feeders, I climb higher in trees to avoid getting caught by friendly fire, I stay away from open fields, I concentrate on places no gun hunter can see through a scope, I avoid easy to access spots, if I see a truck slowly creeping by I run and take cover, I pray alot, I hide from both deer and hunters who shoot on sound, if I smell beer I walk the opposite way,.

[Killtree]

Opening day of gun season I will set on an escape route until about 9:00am, after that I still hunt thickets.
Gun season in my area really coincides with lockdown which I feel helps my hunting style, and is also what molded my hunting style.
I put the wind in my face and still hunt a thicket, when I am through the thicket I hotfoot it through the open woods to the next thicket, wash rinse repeat.
I will usually glass the edge of a thicket real good from a distance before approaching.
Several years ago, when I wasn't quite as sneaky as I am now, I was sneaking through a thicket when I came up on a buck tending a doe. It dawned on me that the main reason I was able to sneak up on them was due to the fact that they were so preoccupied with each other that they weren't paying real good attention to their surroundings.
I have had a lot of success applying the sneak and peek during the lockdown due to that slight chink in the deer's armor.