If this year's two-week statewide firearms deer season follows the pattern of Pennsylvania's previous season, the majority of the hunters filling a buck tag will do so Monday on opening day.
Each year, however, thousands of hunters leave the field at the end of opening day with an unfilled tag. Usually, they begin to ponder potential tactics and strategies for the rest of the season as they walk back to camp or begin their drive home.
For Schuylkill County Sportsmen's Association president Gary Slutter, going home empty-handed after opening day is far from a disappointment. Rather, the Friedensburg resident sees it as an opportunity to spend additional time in the woods, enjoying one of his favorite pursuits and knowing sooner or later he will set his sights on the buck he wants.
A avid whitetail hunter who has taken dozens of bucks while hunting more than 15 states, Slutter hunts deer for the challenge and enjoyment it provides. He also takes pride in using much of the venison for meals at Schuylkill County Youth Field Day, the three-day Norm Thornburg Youth Conservation Camp and the Schuylkill County Women's Outdoors Day.
With more time than ever to hunt since retiring as a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission waterways conservation officer, he says being successful later in the season really comes down to the scouting a person has done, knowing the deer travel routes and then putting time in the woods.
"If you can, you want to go just about every day, just about every chance you get," Slutter said. "You don't get them sitting at home; the more you're out, the better your odds are going to be.
"As long as you're out, then you have the opportunity anytime during the day. Sooner or later, the law of averages says you're going to see a buck."
While it seems fewer hunters are making deer drives nowadays, they are a tried-and-true method for upping the chances for success once opening day has come and gone. One of the keys to scoring on drives is to have the pushers work the thickest, most inhospitable cover they can get into, and while large, organized drives work well, smaller drives can also be productive - especially when hunting woodlots and farmland.
"You want to go slow when you're pushing - walk and stop," Slutter said. "Many times I've been putting a drive on, and as I'm walking I may not see anything, but if you stop 10 or 15 seconds or so, the next thing you know, a deer takes off.
"You make them nervous and they go, meaning two people can make a drive, especially if you know the territory you're hunting and you know the deer escape routes. Go out when you have snow to see where the trails are, where the tracks are, when they're using them and you can drive right after opening day through the rest of the season.
"If it's cold, people are going to be moving more than if it's warm, because they get cold and want to get warmed up. It's important to dress so that you can handle the weather and stay put."
If the deer seem to have vanished from the area that has been scouted, chances are good they are still in the vicinity. Most likely the deer have curtailed their movement, at least during daylight hours, hence a good tactic is to think like an archer.
Hunters who have access to quality archery-only spots may also want to give serious consideration to revisiting them with their bow or crossbow in firearms season. Often locations such as housing developments are productive throughout the year and can, in fact, be real hot spots during firearms season, especially if neighboring properties are hunted hard.
"Deer know where they're safe, and most times within these houses is a great place to hunt," Slutter said. "Those urban deer are just as smart as those out in the big woods, maybe even smarter, so you have to be scent conscious. They have human scent all around them, and they know when you're in the woods."
And being in the woods hunting is the only way to fill a buck tag.