TUNKHANNOCK -- Rifle deer season begins in Pennsylvania on Monday.
Three days after Thanksgiving, many in northeastern and central Pennsylvania are like children on Christmas Eve.
Mike Milanesi traveled to our area from outside Philadelphia to hunt.
"I'm going to hunt Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday," Milanesi said. "I have to work on Thursday. I may shoot back up here for Friday night."
First-time hunters are also gearing up for the start of the season.
"We just moved here from Philadelphia last January, and this is my first hunt," Henry Wessel of Meshoppen said. "For being a city boy, I'm going to give it a try and see what happens."
Newswatch 16 caught up with some hunters stocking up for the big day at Gay's True Value in Tunkhannock. Workers there said they've had a rush of sales for the start of the season.
"Gun sales are good," Gay's employee Dave Miller said. "The ammo's going well. Yeah, we're doing well."
Another place that is busy is J&G Sports Center in Throop.
"It's very brisk selling ammunition," J&G Sports Center owner Joe Grizzanti said. "Mounting scopes, selling rifles, handguns, accessories for hunting."
The business has been open for 41 years. They're usually closed Sundays but made an exception for the eve of deer season.
We spoke to many hunters who said the thing they're looking forward to most is getting out in nature.
"Being a hunter, sitting in a tree stand all day, you see things the average person walking through the woods doesn't really get a chance to see," Milanesi said.
Deer hunting season lasts until December 9.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Game Commission expects more than half a million hunters to take part in the rifle deer season in the coming days.