File photo
Deer hunters shot almost ten percent fewer animals than last year on the first day of the nine day gun season.
Preliminary totals released by the state Department of Natural Resources show 68,756 deer were taken on Saturday — down from 76,223 on opening day last year.
There appeared to be fewer hunters in the woods. The DNR sold almost 551,000 licenses by late Friday, which was 17,000 fewer than the same time last year.
The opening day buck harvest was down by about 2,200 from 2015, and the antlerless harvest fell by 5,300.