Hunters taking to the woods and fields of the region endured damp, chilly conditions on the first day of the state's rifle season for deer Monday.

The two-week season for antlered or antlesless deer, which runs through Dec. 12, got off to a slow start in the Pine Creek Valley.

Glenn McConnell of McConnell's Country Store in Waterville reported early Monday afternoon that deer hunters simply didn't seem to be out in great numbers.

"I have yet to see a dead deer," he said. "That's extremely unusual."

McConnell said it wasn't the rain keeping the hunters away, but a thin deer herd.

The recently completed three-day black bear season was a different story, with plenty of hunters out in the Pine Creek Valley.

"I think it's just lack of deer," he said.

In the Northern Tier, Jerry Abbott, an employee at Ackley and Son Sporting Goods in Westfield, Tioga County, said the first-day "kill was down, but the quality was up" with several nine and 10-point bucks brought in. As of 5 p.m. Monday, the largest deer entered in the store's Big Buck Contest was a 10-point with a 20-inch spread weighing 165 pounds. Abbott also noted that wind, rain and a lack of snow took a toll on the number of first-day kills.

State Commission officials say it's no secret that big deer numbers are not what they were several years ago.

Pete Aiken, Northcentral wildlife habitat management supervisor, said number of deer harvests appeared to be down for first day.

"I think it's more the warm weather than anything. It's affecting the movement of the deer," he said.

Don Garner, regional information educational supervisor for the Southcentral Region in Huntington, said the deer harvest in that area looked to be about the same as last year.

"I checked some really nice deer. The unfortunate part is I found a lot of ticks. So that's something hunters need to be aware of," he said.

Overall, he said racks on bucks appeared to be bigger.

"I don't know if that's going to hold true," he added.

He noted that his office so far processed just six mistake kills, down significantly from years past.

The rain, he said, didn't seem to keep hunters away.

And the best news of all: No deer hunting related accidents to report in his region thus far.

Pete Sussenbach, wildlife conservation officer supervisor in the Northeast Region, said the rain may have kept many hunters out of the woods in that area of the state.

Tom Springman, owner of the Country Store in Pennsdale, said he's seeing the usual numbers of deer in his store for processing.

He said about 40 to 50 deer usually are brought in by hunters on a typical first day.

Some 750,000 people were expected to go deer hunting Monday, according to the state Game Commission.

Between 80,000 and 90,000 deer were anticipated to be taken, nearly one-third of the 300,000 deer that the state agency estimates will be shot during the season.

David Gross, owner of Gross's Custom Butchering, 2098 Lycoming Creek Road, reported a steady flow of deer coming to his store for processing.

"It seems to be going pretty well so far." he said. "We've been real steady all day. A lot of good-sized deer."

One reported hunting accident occurred in Indiana County involving a 10-year-old girl whose gun accidentally discharged when she fell from a tree stand, injuring herself and her father.