Wind hampers opening weekend of Missouri deer season

Strong winds up to 45 mph over the weekend hampered deer hunting success for the first two days of the firearms season.

Cape Girardeau County went against a statewide trend as hunters harvested 463 bucks and 200 does for a total of 663 deer over the two days, up from last year's 650.

Hunters across Missouri killed 89,732 deer Saturday and Sunday, short of last year's 97,774 over the same time period.

"Any time you have warm and windy conditions for deer hunting, it is less than ideal," said Ken West, protection regional supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "They will bed down and stay down."

Deer that were moving probably were being pushed by hunters, department resource scientist Jason Sumners said.

Another factor Sumners believes affected deer movement was the full moon.

"I suspect deer were more active at night because of the moon," he said.

Over the Southeast Region, hunters killed 7,803 deer, up slightly from last year's 7,778.

Butler County hunters took home 461 deer, down from 542 a year ago.

In Wayne County, hunters shot 1,215 deer, which was up from the 1,118 taken last year.

Stoddard County hunters killed 414 deer, down from last year's 455.

In the Bootheel, Dunklin County hunters killed 82 deer after taking 81 in 2010.

In the Ozarks Region, hunters shot 11,478 deer, 101 less than last year's opening weekend of 11,579.

Hunters in Carter County bagged 557 deer, down from the 572 taken on opening weekend in 2010.

In Ripley County, hunters tagged 865 deer, down 101 from last year's 966 opening weekend tally.

While some regions showed an increased harvest and others lower, Sumners said, it's too early to gauge season success based on two days with poor hunting conditions.

He noted the 2009 season, when the opening weekend harvest was down from the prior year, the full season harvest ended up higher.

"The first weekend usually accounts for about 40 percent of the harvest," Sumners said, "but it's unpredictable."

Last year's regular 11-day firearms deer season harvest was 1,370 in Cape Girardeau County and 188,205 across the state.

One nonfatal hunting accident was reported over the weekend. The 65 year-old Miller County victim was treated and released the same day.

Better hunting conditions and cooler temperatures are forecast by Friday.

"As soon as it gets cooler, the deer will get active," West said.

The firearms deer season continues through Nov. 22 statewide, followed by a Nov. 23 to Dec. 4 antlerless season in selected counties (none in Southeast Missouri) and a statewide muzzleloader season Dec. 17 to Dec. 27. The final segment of the youth deer season will be the weekend of Jan. 7 and Jan. 8.