After waiting in a tree stand in Berks County for more than an hour Monday morning, Mike Reinsmith, Pine Grove, spotted what would be his reward.
"It's the biggest one I ever got," Reinsmith, 49, said of the 140-pound, 8-point buck he saw hoofing it through a forest in Berks County.
At 7:45 a.m., he got it with a single round from his bolt-action rifle.
"One shot, done. As an Army guy, we pride ourselves on one shot, one kill," Reinsmith said.
"When he came home, he shouted 'I got a big one!' He wants to mount the head now and we'll probably eat the deer," Reinsmith's girlfriend, Michelle Sekellick, said.
They brought his deer to Mar Lin Markets in Norwegian Township on Monday. Other trophies there included an 8-point buck harvested by Ronald Purcell, Pottsville.
"That's a really nice trophy. Today, it's been pretty steady, as far as hunters coming in with their deer. We got 15 deer in so far. For this time of day, that's pretty good," Steve Petchulis, a butcher at the market, said at 1:15 p.m.
At 3:30 p.m., Anakin Wilson, 9, of New Ringgold, spotted a doe in East Brunswick Township, and his grandfather, Frank Shamonsky, 53, also of New Ringgold, turned and shot it with his bolt-action rifle.
"We were on the ground. We were both leaning against an oak tree. We'd been out all day, from 6:30 in the morning. So, one thing Anakin learned is that sometimes patience pays off. And without him, I probably wouldn't have seen it," Shamonsky said.
The two-week rifle deer season began Monday. At noon, it was 42 degrees and sunny.
"I like it a little bit better if it's colder, then you get a lot more guys walking around. If it's like this, everybody will walk into the woods and sit down. And the deer won't move if you're not moving," said Jim Turnitza, 41, of Pottsville, who was hunting in Blythe Township on Monday with his son, Jake, 13.
"I'm going back out now to get a sun tan," Jim said at 12:40 p.m. as he shouldered his rifle and marched into the woods just off Tumbling Run Road in Pottsville.
Chris Caravan, 43, of Pottsville, said he spotted three deer Monday morning, "two doe and one buck, a spiky. He only had two points. He was too young."
Eric Schwartz, 37, of Pottsville, said he didn't think the weather made any difference.
"It's all about location and being at the right place at the right time. Sometimes it's more luck than experience, but experience helps," Schwartz said.
Schwartz was out in Blythe Township on Monday with his son, Carter Kerby, 11, of Pottsville. They were participating in the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Mentored Youth Hunting Program. And they spent 10 hours in the woods Monday.
"We didn't get anything, but we heard a lot of shots around us. So, we're going to give it a shot tomorrow to see if we have any better luck," Schwartz said.