OUTDOOR CORNER: DEER HUNTERS AIM AT RECORD

Next Saturday, November 15, marks the start of the 1997 Firearms Deer Hunting Season in Missouri.

Although the basic challenges and thrills of pursuing white-tailed deer in Missouri haven't changed over the years, deer hunting has come a long way since the season reopened in 1944 after an extended closure. That year, 7,557 hunters took 583 deer during a two-day bucks-only season in 20 southern Missouri counties.

In 1996, almost one-half million hunters took a record setting 189,261 deer during an eleven day season that was open statewide.

The southeast portion of the state accounted for its fair share of the record. Wayne County led with 2,164 deer taken. Bollinger, Perry and Madison counties were next with 1,668 deer, 1,031 and 1,000 deer respectively. Stoddard County checked 421 while Scott County checked 227. The Bootheel counties of Mississippi, New Madrid, Dunklin and Pemiscot combined for a total of 270. Cape Girardeau County checked 655 deer in 1996.

The 1997 Firearms Deer Season has the potential to match, or even exceed, last year's numbers. The season runs from Saturday, November 15 through Tuesday, November 25. This increases the odds of having suitable weather conditions. Heavy rains and warm temperatures in past seasons have often resulted in reduced harvest due to limited movement by the deer and limited access to hunting areas by the hunters.

Shooting hours for firearms deer season will be one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset (CST) each day of the season.

Any person taking a deer must immediately invalidate the harvest log portion of the permit by punching or notching the edge of the permit. Only notching is required this year; the time and date do not have to be entered.

Transportation tags are separate from the permit and can be either "pre-printed" stick on tags (available from all permit vendors) or "homemade" (created by the hunter and showing their full name and address). Either type of transportation tag must be attached to the deer immediately after harvest.

Deer taken during the firearms deer season must be checked, by the taker, at an established checking station in the county where taken or an adjoining county between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on the day taken.

Hunters who receive check station convenience stickers in the mail should take them to the check station when they check their deer. The check station operator will remove the sticker and attach it to the check station data sheet. Convenience stickers are not required and not all hunters will receive them. If a hunter does not receive one, or forgets to take them to the check station, the check station operator will copy the necessary information from the hunter's permit.

During the firearms deer season, other wildlife may be hunted only with a shotgun and shot not larger than No. 4. This provision does not apply to waterfowl hunters, trappers or to a landowner on his/her land or to a lessee on the land on which she/he resides. The holder of an unused Deer Hunting Permit and the prescribed hunting permit may take coyotes and, after the opening of the furbearer hunting season south of Interstate Highway 270, bobcats by the methods allowed for taking deer.

Coyotes may not be pursued or taken during daylight hours with the aid of dogs from November 1 through the November portion of the firearms deer season. Furbearers, squirrels and rabbits may not be chased, pursued or taken with dogs during daylight hours of the firearms deer season in Bollinger, Butler, Carter, Dent, Iron, Madison, Oregon, Reynolds, Ripley, Shannon and Wayne counties.

During firearms deer season, all persons hunting deer must wear a cap or hat, and a shirt, vest or coat having the outermost color commonly known as daylight fluorescent orange, blaze orange or hunter orange which must be plainly visible from all sides while being worn. Camouflage orange garments do not meet this requirement.

Hunters who have not purchased their deer hunting permits yet are urged to do so as soon as possible to avoid delays at the vendor. If you wait until Friday evening, you could encounter crowds. When all of Missouri's 1,400 permit vendors try to process permit applications at the same time the system slows down resulting in delays. Hunters can avoid long lines and delays by purchasing their permits early in the week and avoiding peak shopping hours.

For complete information and regulations, consult the 1997 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Information brochure available from permit vendors statewide.

Gene Myers is a Missouri Department of Conservation agent in Cape Girardeau County.