PREPARING FOR THE HUNT

Jerome Townsend climbed a tree with his stand, a maneuver that takes just minutes.

Townsend checked an arrowhead.

The weather outside is turning colder but for hunters things are just beginning to heat up. Deer, duck, goose and turkey seasons are either in season or will be in soon.

Archery season for deer and turkey is open now and will close Nov. 14. Rifle season for deer begins Nov. 15 and concludes Nov. 25. There is an extended season in northern Missouri Jan. 3 and 4.

Archery season for deer and turkey will resume Nov. 26 and continue through Jan. 15.

Bob White, district supervisor at the Missouri Department of Conservation office in North County Park said that anyone needing to obtain a hunter safety certification will have to look to other regions in the state because the last class before deer season is already full in Cape Girardeau.

White said that apart from the required hunting safety certification for anyone born after Jan. 1, 1967, hunters should know the land they will be hunting on and they should be sure they have the landowner's permission to hunt.

All hunters should remember to wear hunter orange for safety purposes.

"The extended archery seasons were designed to reduce the deer populations, to reduce crop damage and for herd management," White said.

White also said that poachers are still a big problem and the Conservation Department will have several patrols working day and night and by air to detect illegal deer hunting throughout the fall and winter.

White said he has received a number of calls from people witnessing the use of dogs and spotlights to hunt deer. Another big problem is deer being shot along the highway.

For the people who play by the rules this could be a great year where many hunters bag their game.

For Jerome Townsend of Jackson, hunting has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with preparation, effort and opportunity.

It's a good idea to prepare by practicing with your hunting equipment in the summer and fall so that when it comes time you are ready. Being prepared also means scouting out the area where you hun, he said. Also, knowing the signs of the game you seek is an important part of preparation.

Secondly, you have to put forth the effort that hunting requires, such as getting up at 4:30 a.m. and going out into the cold.

Finally, the opportunity must present itself for you to bag your game.

When all of these factors come together Townsend calls it success not luck.

"I don't like the word luck. People that are skeptics will try to say you got lucky when you kill a deer," Townsend said.

But is it luck when you seek information about how to be a better hunter and woodsman through reading, talking with other hunters, practicing your marksmanship and other skills and finally learning from your previous hunting experiences?

Townsend takes his hunting seriously, but he by no means claims to be an expert. He does claim to love the sport and he has been fairly successful at it for the past decade.

Like most people he got his first taste of hunting when his father took him to hunt deer during rifle season.

Later, Townsend became interested in bow hunting. His interest in bow hunting has overshadowed his interest in hunting with a rifle, but he still hunts three to four days a week during rifle season.

Townsend hunts deer in the fall and turkey in the spring. He hunts in both Missouri and Illinois.

When he first began hunting with a compound bow he would practice everyday to improve his skill. He said he still practices, but not as often.

Scouting out the area to be hunted is as important as being able to hit the target. Townsend has done a lot of reading about what to look for and has relied on fellow hunters and outdoor enthusiasts to pick up woodsmanship tips.

Townsend looks for signs of high concentrations of deer. Mast crops (areas with a high concentration of acorns or other food sources), tracks and, later in the fall, deer rubs are signs Townsend looks for before deciding on an area to hunt.

After he's found the area he wishes to hunt in, he then chooses a tree suitable for his mobile tree stand.

For bow hunters, the need to get as close as possible to the deer is paramount to success, so there should be no human scent on clothing and hunters must learn to be quiet and not to leave signs which might spook deer in the area.

Townsend said the bulk of deer he has killed by bow over the years have been within 15-30 yards.

Once Townsend has found the tree he wishes to hunt from he can climb the tree and be ready to hunt within minutes.

Since rifle season doesn't require the closeness that archery season does, clothing scent isn't as important.

You can shoot a deer from 100 yards or farther away, compared to a typical distance of 30 yards with a bow.

Townsend said he enjoys bow season more than rifle season because there aren't as many people in the woods and the deer are more likely to be acting normal.

During rifle season the "orange clad army" will disrupt the normal activity of the deer herds, Townsend said.

Once Townsend is in his stand he will sit and wait; using a deer grunting device and scent to attract deer to his immediate area.

Once a deer is in his sights, all the preparation and effort will come together. Townsend said he's killed 10 bucks and two doe since he began bow hunting in 1988.

UPCOMING SEASONS

Missouri Waterfowl Seasons

Waterfowl hunting seasons are broken into zones. The middle and south zones are given below.

Middle Zone

Ducks and Coots Oct. 30 to Dec. 28

Canada Geese Nov. 28 to Jan. 31

White-fronted Geese and Brant Nov. 28 to Jan. 31

Blue, Snow, and Ross' Geese Nov. 28 to March 9

South Zone

Ducks and Coots Nov. 13 to Jan. 11

Canada Geese Nov. 13 to 17 and Nov. 28 to Jan. 31

White-fronted Geese and Brant Nov. 13 to 17 and Nov. 28 to Jan. 31

Blue, Snow, and Ross' Geese Nov. 13 to 17 and Nov. 28 to March 9

Deer and Turkey seasons

Deer-modern firearms season Nov. 15 to 25

Deer-muzzleloading season Nov. 15 to 25, Dec. 6 to 14

Deer and Turkey-archery open now until Nov. 14, Nov. 26 to Jan. 15

Turkey-spring-firearms- April 20 to May 10