Missouri hunters rebound from opening weekend for big kill

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A disappointing opening weekend left Missouri deer hunters down but not out.

Hunters took advantage of good weather to close the November firearms deer season with the fifth-largest deer harvest in Missouri history. This year's harvest total was 205,460, which was 16,869 fewer than last year's record harvest of 222,329 but more than might have been expected following the opening weekend.

"We started out slow," said Lonnie Hansen, the Missouri Department of Conservation's top deer biologist. "Opening weekend was just not ideal. It rained, and it blew, and that affected our harvest. Then you throw in on top of that the acorn situation and it's just not surprising we had our harvest down as much as we did."

Even before the hunting season, analysts knew an abundant acorn crop was likely to make hunting tough, especially in the southern half of the state.

Deer in forested areas rely heavily in acorns for food. In years when acorns are scarce, deer often gather in fields or areas of acorn abundance to forage, making them vulnerable to hunters. In years of acorn abundance, deer travel less and are scattered, making them less visible.

The November firearms deer season always opens on a Saturday and spans two weekends. In most years, more than half the deer taken during the entire 11-day season fall during the first two days. This year's opening weekend harvest was down 30,591 (23 percent) from last year's record-setting season opener.

As the season developed, however, the weather turned cooler and drier. By season's end, hunters had cut the gap between this year and last year almost in half. The final tally was just 7.6 percent below last year's record mark.

"When hunters have a hard time on opening weekend, they spend more time out there later in the season," he said. "I think we will see a continuation of this during the antlerless portion of the firearms season in December."

Hansen said he expects this year's total firearms deer harvest to be within the normal range-somewhere in the neighborhood of 250,000. He said the largest regional harvest decrease was in the Ozarks, where deer rely most heavily on acorns for food. The strongest harvests were in regions where forest acreage is small and acorns are less important to deer.

"We knew going into the season that the abundance of acorns was going to make things especially tough for hunters in the Ozarks," said Hansen. "The harvest numbers confirm that."

Hansen noted that the only region where the deer harvest increased this year was northwest Missouri. Fourteen out of 19 counties in this area were affected by antler-point restrictions that went into effect last year. Under that rule, hunters could only shoot antlered deer if they have four or more points on one side. The experimental regulation is designed to increase the number of female deer hunters kill.

In Cape Girardeau County, 1,213 deer were taken, including 449 females. Bollinger County's harvest was 1,831 deer, including 761 females; Perry Couty's harvest was 2,562 deer, including 1,169 females; and Scott County's harvest was 379 deer, including 152 females.

The Department of Conservation recorded 10 firearms-related hunting accidents during the November firearms deer season, including two fatalities.

Muzzleloader season

Missouri's muzzleloader deer hunting season saw 15 percent fewer deer checked than last year. The decreased muzzleloader harvest followed the trend set in the firearms deer season.

Hunters checked 10,115 deer during the muzzleloader season, which was Nov. 25 through Dec. 4. The number was down 1,823 from last year's record mark of 11,938, but still the third-largest number since the muzzleloader season began in 1988.

In Cape Girardeau County, 70 deer were taken. Bollinger County's harvest was 83 deer; Perry Couty's harvest was 123 deer; and Scott County's harvest was 17 deer.