Missouri firearms hunters take 5,700 turkeys

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri conservation officials say hunters took nearly 5,700 turkeys during fall firearms season, down about 200 from last year.

The season ran Oct. 1 through Oct. 31. The Conservation Department said Monday that Greene County had the highest number of turkeys checked at 165, followed closely by Franklin and St. Clair counties.

The agency also reported selling about 14,000 fall firearms turkey hunting permits this year. That's a decline of 5 percent from last year.

Central Missouri saw an 8 percent increase in the number of turkeys checked. Most other regions recorded decreases from last year.