Young Missouri hunters kill record number of deer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Conservation Department says young hunters killed a record number of deer during the recent two-day youth firearms season.

Missouri has held a deer season for hunters age 6 through 15 since 2001. The Conservation Department says young hunters killed 16,392 deer this past weekend, up 13 percent from the two-day season last year.

The 2011 hunt was held a week later than usual because of requests to avoid conflicts with Halloween. Conservation officials say the later season was closer to the peak of deer rutting, which means the animals are more active.