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Thousands of Utahns headed for the hills early this morning as Utah's general-season deer hunt got underway.
Hunters of all ages are out there trying to bag a buck, but the big story today is the weather. It's really been perfect -- if anything, too warm.
The weather is making it easier for hunters to get around in the mountains, but not necessarily making it easier to find the deer.
Wildlife managers told us, this week, they expect the success rate for hunters to be about 25 to 35 percent. In other words, about one in three or four hunters should harvest a deer this year.
For some, like Steve Manzanares, it was a very short hunt. He found a deer first thing this morning.
"We just stopped and glassed the deer and saw it was a buck down there. And so I got my gun off and chambered a round and got him," Manzanares said.
With so many people in the outdoors, safety is always a concern during the hunt. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) enforcement officers have been patrolling hunting areas looking for violations. They're specifically focusing in on gun and ATV safety.
So far, we are not aware of any incidents in the state where someone has been seriously hurt in today's opening of the hunt.
Tune into Sportsbeat Saturday tonight at 10:35 pm for an in-depth look at the opening day of this year's deer hunt.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
