Successful deer harvest for Missouri's young hunters over Thanksgiving weekend

Preliminary data released Monday by the Missouri Department of Conservation show the state's late youth portion of the 2021 deer hunting season, Nov. 26 to 28, yielded the second-highest harvest on record.

"After a breezy and cold Thanksgiving Day, we had some pleasant conditions for our young hunters to be in the woods during the three-day (hunt)," said the MDC's Jason Isabelle, adding the 2021 total is nearly 20% above the five-year average.

Hunters aged 6 through 15 harvested 3,477 deer statewide during the period.

• Antlered bucks: 1,470.
• Button bucks: 383
• Does: 1,624.

In the COVID year of 2020, the late youth portion saw nearly 500 more deer — 3,967 — taken across Missouri.

Locally over the holiday weekend, 26 deer were harvested in Cape Girardeau County, 29 in Perry County and 14 in Scott County.

Top Show Me State counties for the late youth portion were Osage with 86 deer harvested, Franklin with 82 and Miller with 68.

Upcoming

The antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs Dec. 4 to 12.

The alternative methods portion runs from Christmas Day through Jan. 4.

Archery deer season, which began Wednesday, runs through Jan. 15.