WAYNESBURG - With chilly temperatures and biting wind gusts, most people probably considered Monday's weather rather awful, but for the hundreds of blaze orange-clad hunters who spent the day in the woods of Washington and Greene counties, the conditions were nearly perfect.
Monday, the first day of deer rifle season, is an unofficial holiday in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Most schools were closed, and many adults took the day off work to try their luck at nabbing a monster deer.
"All the hunters seem to be having a good time, as long as they can stand the weather," said Dan Sitler, a wildlife conservation officer who monitors northern Washington County for the state Game Commission.
Temperatures were in the 30s Monday, but the wind chill made it feel like the mercury was stuck in the 20s or lower. However, most hunters know how to dress to keep warm and those who were willing to ride out the cold were often rewarded, Sitler said.
"I saw a lot of really nice-sized deer. It's much better than last (year's opening day), when it was warm and raining and just miserable," Sitler said.
The cold temperatures may have slowed business at Sutch's Processing in Daisytown, Washington County. At 3 p.m. Monday, the shop had about 40 deer that were to be butchered and processed, and that's a bit less than usual. But owner Jim Sutch expects the lull will be only temporary.
"The weather is nice and cold enough that the hunters can take their time getting it to us. The risk of the meat spoiling isn't very high, so they can get away with that," Sutch said.
Business was as brisk as the weather at Virgili Custom Meats in Jefferson, Greene County. A lot of hunters seemed to do well with the cold weather, so the shop was rather busy processing the animals Monday afternoon.
"I think we have about 70 deer and they are all pretty nice size with a lot of nice racks," said Tina Cooley, a supervisor at the shop.
The weather is supposed to get even better for hunting in the next several days. Snow showers late Monday and early today should have laid a dusting of snow overnight. More snow is in the forecast for the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
"Snow on the ground is great for hunters. The snow makes things really stand out," Sitler said.
Deer rifle season will continue through Dec. 13.
Hunters harvested 323,070 deer statewide last year, according to the state Game Commission. Of that number, 109,200 were antlered and 213,870 were without antlers. In Wildlife Management Unit 2A, which encompasses all of Greene, most of Washington and a portion of Fayette counties, 6,600 bucks and 14,300 does were killed.