I had hunted the first day of early muzzleloader last year and did not see a single hunter, but plenty of deer. There are still many people that hunt the regular season and less hunt Archery and Muzzleloader. I know some hunters that have said, " it doesn' t feel like hunting season with the leaves still on the trees" . To me, I just love to hunt or shoot deer, plus the meat is fabulous! To verify this, try the rifle range this weekend or on October 17th, than compare the range with the Saturday/Sunday before December 1st, you' ll see what I mean.

That 1st day I will be near Lake Ariel in my tent blind with 2 other guys in tree stands, in the AM. Than goto sons soccer game, than off to my tree stand behind my house at about 3 pm. I have seen here around 7 or 8 does.

Good luck hunting....

Tom