Warm weather was the only wild card as firearm deer season opened Saturday in Nebraska.
"A good day for deer hunters isn't necessarily a good day to hunt," said Tony Korth, the Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium director.
"I think with the mild weather, people were watching football instead of hunting."
Deer are much more active when the temperature is cooler, leading to more success for hunters.
Korth's total of 57 deer by late afternoon was slightly behind last year, but he expected those numbers to rise before they closed up shop.
"We've had a lot of nice deer, but nothing especially large," he said.
Pat Molini, a district wildlife biologist at the Nebraska Game and Parks' Lincoln office, said deer were being checked in about every 10 minutes early in the day. Then came the 2:30 p.m. opening kickoff of Nebraska's win over Rutgers.
"When the game comes on, it's like a ghost town," he said. "People are waiting to check in after the game."
Molini said he noticed more older bucks than in the past. Hunters reported seeing good numbers.
"We had four really beautiful deer," he said. "If you are a meat hunter, they are all beautiful."
Kit Hams, the big game program manager for Game and Parks, said numbers were fairly steady at his check station in Scottsbluff.
"The weather is beautiful, and people are all in good spirits," he said. "It's a little warm for deer hunting, but hunters aren't complaining."
Hams expected a rush at dusk after checking in 90 deer by 5 p.m.
Check stations in Norfolk and Kearney had already surpassed last season's totals by then. Norfolk had 111 compared to last year's total of 91, and Kearney had 126 compared to a 124 total last fall.
Scottsbluff, Alliance and Alma trailed last year early, but Hams expected those numbers to rise by day's end.
"We had several nice deer, but no record breakers," Hams said. "It's been normal."
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