PREPARING FOR THE HUNT: FIREARMS DEER SEASON STARTED SATURDAY AND ENDS NOV. 24

Before the first light of dawn breaks through the trees, Bob Morrow hits the woods waiting and watching for his prey.

Morrow is among some 400,000 deer hunters in Missouri woods this weekend and over the next two weeks hunting the whitetail deer. The Missouri firearms season started Nov. 14 and ends Nov. 24.

Preparation for the hunt is key to success. For some, especially new hunters, preparation involves lots of shopping.

Deer hunting equipment and accessories abound. A trip through a local sporting goods or discount store proves it. Catalogs are filled with stuff ranging from high tech to highly questionable.

Global positioning devises can plot a hunter's location using satellite transmissions. Night-vision scopes help hunters see in the early morning or late afternoon hours. Devices claim to amplify sound. Others claim to sense temperature changes indicating the presence of game. The list goes on.

"I call those big boy toys," said Morrow, a Cape Girardeau businessman and seasoned deer hunter. "And there are things that are helpful, like binoculars and range finders. One of my favorites is a very powerful optical device. I can sit back a quarter mile or half mile and watch from a distance."

But no amount of equipment makes a good sportsman.

"All the toys in the world won't make you a good hunter," Morrow said. "There is no substitute for basic, good woodsmanship."

Those skills come with experience. Often deer hunting is a family tradition passed from one generation to the next.

"I started as a young man, about 10 or 11 years of age," Morrow explained. "I went with my dad and family friends."

Now Morrow hunts with his daughters. The experience is about more than harvesting a deer, he explained.

"It gives us an opportunity to teach our children an appreciation for the outdoors," he said. "And I think a lot of people are drawn to the experience of being outdoors and the challenge of competing with the game animals in their territory."

As the firearms season begins, a number of new or ill-prepared hunters will head to the woods. "We all know people out there with firearms who shouldn't be," Morrow said. "As sportsmen, we have a tremendous responsibility to police ourselves."

About 400,000 hunters will likely take about 180,000 deer in Missouri during the season.

For some deer hunting is like a lottery, a chance encounter with a deer. But hunters who get a deer year after year leave little to chance.

"People who I consider competent and serious hunters, hunt them year round," Morrow said. Prior to the hunting season, these hunters take to the woods tracking animals, learning their behaviors and scouting their environment.

And some equipment is needed.

Hunters need a weapon. "You need to be well skilled in accuracy and safety," Morrow added. Missouri requires hunter safety education courses for hunters born after Jan. 1, 1967.

Hunters need the right clothing. During firearm season, blaze orange clothing is required for safety. But hunters also need clothing that will allow them to stay in the woods, even when the weather turns cold or wet.

"With technology today, there are a lot of new fabrics and items available," Morrow said. "In this state, we can have almost any weather imaginable during deer season. If you can't stay in the woods, you won't be successful."

Most deer hunters use a tree stand. These vary greatly. Some hunters build stationary stands in trees and use them year after year. Others use climbing tree stands, which ratchet up a tree to a likely hunting spot. Morrow sometimes uses a tripod to hunt agricultural land.

"You have to have all kinds," he said. "That way you have the tools needed for whatever is best that year."

Deer have a keen sense of smell. Hunters often try to trick the animals by using a variety of scents or lures. Hunting season is set during deer mating season.

"Yes, we're talking about urine-based products," Morrow said. "I can't say these have helped me tremendously, but they haven't hurt me. Some people swear by these scents."

During archery season, which starts prior to firearms season, Morrow used a doe scent and took a six-point buck. "I think that did assist in bringing the deer to me."

Morrow isn't alone. "A lot of people take deer hunting seriously," he said. "And I see luck basically as when preparation meets opportunity. We are able to go out in the woods and have a good time, but the success is due to hard work and planning, not accident or luck."