OUTDOOR CORNER: DEER HUNTERS CAN TRACK DOWN HUNGER VIA SHARE THE HARVEST

Here is a riddle for you: What do Christmas and firearms deer season have in common?

One thing they share is the anticipation that children (regardless of age) feel as they go to bed the night before. Some will dream of deer making a clatter on the rooftop. Others will dream of deer hooves rustling among the fallen leaves that carpet the floor of a mid-November woods.

When it comes to Christmas, we are told that it is better to give than to receive. Firearms deer hunters will have an opportunity to play an active part in the giving.

Concerned about the hunger that burdens many Missourians, the Department of Conservation has found a way to help families in need. In 1992, the Department started a deer meat donation program by allowing successful hunters to donate deer meat to those in need through established charitable agencies. This program, Share the Harvest, provides an easy way for hunters to donate venison to Missourians in need of red meat.

Many families and individuals have no dependable source of protein in their diets. Red meat can provide that important component. Deer is a valuable source of protein, but unlike most red meat, is unusually low in fat. Through Share the Harvest, Missouri hunters can provide this part of the daily diet.

In 1995, there were 24 Share the Harvest programs statewide. Nearly 10,000 pounds of deer meat was distributed to needy families. In 1996, there are 55 programs statewide. Two of those are in southeast Missouri. Stoddard County is participating for the second straight year. Donations are made through the Stoddard Gospel Mission. Hunters wishing to donate deer meat should take it to Stoddard Frozen Food Locker for processing.

In Cape Girardeau County, the Jackson Knights of Columbus is a first-year sponsor. Hunters can donate meat through any of these local processors: Jackson Frozen Foods, Pocahontas Meat Processing or The Meat Shop in Cape Girardeau.

The 1996 Missouri firearms deer season opens Nov. 16 and runs through Nov. 26 statewide. An additional two days in January will be open in some northern Missouri management units. Consult the 1996 Deer and Turkey Hunting information brochure.

Deer hunters need to be aware of changes in the way they must tag deer and turkeys this fall. Instead of transportation tags being issued as part of deer hunting permits, they will be provided separately by permit vendors at the time of sale. Hunters will be required to print their name and address on the transportation tag before hunting and carry both the hunting permit and transportation tag to the field with them.

As soon as they shoot a deer, successful hunters will be required to cut a notch in their permits and fill in the date and time of the kill. They also will print the date of the kill on the transportation tag before attaching it to the deer. The adhesive any-deer and bonus stickers issued to hunters are not to be removed from their backing until hunters bring their deer to check stations. Check station personnel will peel off the appropriate sticker and affix it to the transportation tag.

Unlike last year, hunters will not need to carry string with them to tie their transportation tags to deer. This year's transportation tags have adhesive backing as in years past.

Another change in this year's deer hunting regulation concerns shooting hours. In the past, it was legal to shoot at deer from 6:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. during the firearms and muzzleloader seasons. This year, legal shooting hours are from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset. This is especially helpful to hunters in western Missouri, where sunset comes about 20 minutes later than in the east.

Wildlife biologists predict that, weather permitting, hunters could harvest more than 200,000 deer statewide. The all-time record harvest occurred in 1995 when hunters took 183,151 deer during the 11-day firearms season.

~Gene Myers is a Missouri conservation agent in Cape Girardeau County.