Local businesses have seen herds of hunters in the area for the
opening day of buck season today, but all agree the weather is a
disappointment to hunters.

Frank Gilmore, owner of the All in 1 Sports store, said Sunday
night business had been steady for the past three days.

“We sold out just about everything,” Gilmore said. “We already
restocked twice. I’d say about 20 percent of business has been from
out-of-state people.”

Other employees at the store said the amount of hunters in the
area this year is not even close to the amount in the area in
previous years.

“The population has gone way down, and prices have gone way up,”
Gilmore said. “You can buy the meat cheaper at a store.”

Joe Brauser, owner of Mayer Brauser, opens his store the Sunday
before buck season begins. He said he saw more hunters in his store
than last year, though not as many from out of state. He said
people are coming from far away but still from the state from
places like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He said it has become
really expensive for out-of-state licenses, and in the past,
they’ve had people come from as far as Boston.

“Last year, I think I had one customer,” Brauser said. “It was
really bad. I think there’s more bear and more deer this year is
why more (hunters) are coming up. There’s also nicer weather this
year, though I know some hunters wish there was a little snow to
track.”

A hunter in the store late Sunday afternoon said gas prices are
50 cents a gallon cheaper this year than last, which may explain
why more hunters are out this year.

Dan Yale, a bow technician at S&S Archery, said he hadn’t
seen a whole lot of hunters in the area because he said there’s not
as many deer. He also said he knows some people like snow to track
in and will wait until the second week – when there’s usually snow
– to start hunting.

Area hotels also saw rooms fill up with hunters.

Brooke Bentley, desk clerk at the Best Western in Bradford, said
they still had about half of the rooms vacant but had more hunters
than last year. She said they had a number of walk-ins and expected
more hunters to come in throughout the week.

“It’s so unpredictable,” Bentley said. “They show up out of a
whim. We get more and more (hunters) throughout the years.”

Jim Dougherty, desk clerk at the Comfort Inn in Bradford, said
that the hotel was not quite full but expected it would be by the
end of Sunday night. He said most of the people checking in stay
through Wednesday.

Dougherty the number of occupants at the hotel was about the
same as previous years.

“Most of them are coming from Pennsylvania, but some are coming
from New York,” he said.

Sheila Prosser, desk clerk at the DeSoto Holiday House, said the
motel had just a few vacancies, mostly from hunters calling to
cancel their reservations, and less hunters than previous years due
to the weather.

Prosser also said there was about five or six walk-ins, “just
hoping to get a room.” She said most of the hunters leave either
Tuesday or Wednesday morning.

All of the hotels serve breakfast at an earlier time for the
hunters with the DeSoto Holiday House and the Comfort Inn starting
at 4 a.m. and the Best Western starting at 5 a.m.

Local restaurants and supermarkets also serve the hunting
crowd.

Arvin Ellis, general manager of Perkins in Bradford, said the
restaurant will be opening at 4:30 a.m. today to host hunters.

“Last year, we had 37 (hunters) come in,” for the early opening,
he said. “This year, we’ll be lucky if we get that. I think there
were more last weekend than this. It (has) really died down. It’s
not like the old days. This year, we only have one guy asking off
work. We used to have six or seven guys asking off.”

He said the laws and the weather with temperatures predicted to
be in the 60s today may be a reason why there are less hunters in
the area.

A woman working at The Lighthouse restaurant hadn’t noticed a
lot of hunters yet but said the restaurant will be open for hunters
at 4 a.m. today and 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Cathy Yohe, co-owner of the Willows, said the restaurant is
normally closed on Mondays, but it will be open from noon to 8 p.m.
today, serving special lunch and dinner menus.

“As far as this business goes, there has been more this year
than last year,” she said. “I just believe there are more deer out
there this year, and more hunters are getting involved. There’s a
lot of guys hopping around different camps here, visiting.”

Mark Cercone, assistant manager at Tops Market, said customers
had been coming in steady all weekend.

“I have noticed people I haven’t seen before, who are probably
from out of state,” Cercone said. “We’re usually busy right through
the evening. It’s not what it used to be, but it’s still good
business.”

Steve Roller, assistant manager at Parkview Supermarket, is a
hunter himself and said he has noticed a lot of hunters in the
area.

“There’s a camper I know was in, looking for an area,” to hunt,
Roller said. “There’s also a few out-of-town people in the area. I
saw a truck earlier with a Virginia license plate, I believe. I
know some guys are bummed about the snow.”