Business was better than expected at area butcher shops on the first day of firearms deer season in Pennsylvania on Monday.

By 3 p.m., Richard Eidem had about 13 deer in his Long Run Road shop in Lehighton.“I didn't think we'd have that great a season with buck only able to be shot until Friday, but it's a nice first day,” he said. “The bucks that are coming in are decent size and so are the doe.”The largest deer in Eidem's shop measured 8-points and 20-inches wide. Wildlife management unit 4C, which includes most of Carbon and Schuylkill counties, are now among the units where antlered deer can only be taken until Friday.According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, deer population is being tracked as stable or increasing in most of the state.Food availability plays a large role in the deer harvest at a local level.“It has been a banner year for mast crops, such as apples, berries and grapes, in much of the state,” said Dave Gustafson, the Game Commission's chief forester.Around 750,000 hunters were expected to be out looking for their prize across the state on Monday.The Game Commission expected about 300,000 deer to be taken through the two-week season.“It's been a very busy day for us,” reported Joyce Borger, of Haydt's Meat Market in Kunkletown. “We had about 16 to 20 deer by 3 p.m. Even by noon we had a surprising amount, up from other years.”What really surprised Borger was the size of the deer.“We have a quite a few 8-pointers sitting back there,” she said. “We can get about 75 to 80 pounds of meat out of our largest deer.”Both Borger and Eidem agreed that a majority of hunters like to get ring bologna out of the meat.“That and sausage,” Eidem said. “It's crazy good.” Borger said venison sticks are also popular at Haydt's.A license for the statewide firearms season cost $20.70 for adult residents and $101.70 for adult non-residents.License sales are predicted to finish slightly higher than last year when 950,000 were sold.Thomas Scott, of Palmerton, however, said he thought the number of hunters in the area was down on Monday.Scott got his 7-point, 180-pound buck, however, at 7:15 a.m.