SportsNovember 14, 2003

Halloween was two weeks ago today, but you'll see a lot of people wearing the color orange this weekend with the start of the Missouri firearms deer hunting season. Hunters will head out today to set up deer camps for the start of the season Saturday. The season ends Nov. 25...

Halloween was two weeks ago today, but you'll see a lot of people wearing the color orange this weekend with the start of the Missouri firearms deer hunting season.

Hunters will head out today to set up deer camps for the start of the season Saturday. The season ends Nov. 25.

More than 425,000 hunters took to the woods during firearms deer season last year, and more than 90 percent of them were out on opening day.

The firearms deer season is composed of five segments: urban deer management, youth-only, November, muzzleloader and antlerless-only. The urban and antlerless-only portions apply to other parts of the state, and the youth-only portion was Nov. 1-2.

Among things to keep in mind before your first hunt:

CLOTHING: Firearms deer hunters are required to wear a hat and also a shirt, vest or coat of hunter orange (fluorescent orange or blaze orange) so the color is visible from all sides while being worn. Camouflage orange does meet requirements.

Anyone who hunts small game or furbearers is required to wear hunter orange during the November portion. The only exceptions are migratory bird hunters and hunters on federal or state public hunting areas where deer hunting is by archery methods only.

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TAGGING AND CHECKING: The permits look slightly different this year, but each has an integral transportation tag. Immediately after harvest, separate the transportation tag portion from the permit and attach it to the game. Separating the tag invalidates the permit, so don't do so until immediately after harvest. Be careful not to remove the protective paper from the rest of the permit; the check station operator will do that before they affix your permit to the check station data sheet.

Deer must be checked, by the hunter in the county where taken or an adjoining open county between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day taken. The hunter is the only person who can possess and transport game, but it must be labeled with the taker's name, full address and permit number.

DAYS AND TIMES: Shooting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. During the November portion of the firearms deer season, other wildlife may be hunted only with a shotgun and with shot not larger than No. 4. This does not apply to waterfowl hunters, trappers, landowners on their own land or lessees on land they lease and live on.

During daylight hours Nov. 1-25, statewide furbearers may not be chased, pursued or taken with the aid of dogs. During daylight hours of the November portion of the firearms deer hunting season, squirrels and rabbits may not be chased, pursued or taken with the aid of dogs in Bollinger, Butler, Carter, Dent, Iron, Madison, Oregon, Reynolds, Ripley, Shannon or Wayne counties.

SHARE THE HARVEST: In 2002, hunters harvested 277,025 deer with all seasons combined. This amounted to nearly 13 million pounds of venison. More than 90,000 pounds of that venison was donated by hunters through Missouri's Share the Harvest program.

The Share the Harvest program provides a way for hunters to donate much needed meat protein to needy Missourians.

It's easy to donate. Hunters who want to participate simply take their deer to an approved meat processor and tell them how much venison they wish to donate. The processor will package and store the meat for pick up by a local sponsoring agency. The agency then delivers the venison to local organizations for distribution to the needy.

Gene Myers is an area agent with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

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