JEFFERSON CITY – Hunters checked 89,728 deer during the opening weekend of Missouri’s November firearms deer hunt, a decrease of 8.3 percent from 2010.
In Stoddard County, hunters checked a total of 414 deer. According to a spokeswoman with Southeast Regional Office in Cape Girardeau there were 210 bucks, 65 button bucks and 139 does killed in the county during the opening weekend of firearms deer season.
Resource Scientist Jason Sumners, with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), said weather played a role in this year’s decrease, but attributed a longer declining trend to shrinking deer numbers in some parts of the state.
“There’s no question that the opening-weekend harvest was affected by warm temperatures and high winds,” said Sumners. “However, this isn’t just a one-year decrease. The opening-weekend harvest averaged 118,000 from 2001 through 2005. From 2006 through 2010, the average was 95,401. Those figures reflect a change in regional deer populations.”
Sumners said areas where deer numbers are down include parts of the Kansas City, Northwest, Southwest and Central regions. The opening-weekend harvest in those areas was down between 11 and 18 percent.
The opening-weekend harvest in southeastern Missouri and in the Ozark region was similar to last year’s. Sumners said deer numbers are increasing slowly in those areas.
Sumners said the declining trends in deer population and harvest numbers are not cause for concern.
“We have been trying for the better part of a decade to stabilize deer numbers in some areas,” said Sumners. “In others we have been working to bring down deer populations to reduce crop damage and deer-vehicle accidents. Now our challenge is finding ways to fine-tune harvest at the local level to balance hunting opportunity with nuisance problems.”
Sumners said this could mean future reductions in the availability of antlerless permits in some areas.
According to Sumners, a decrease of 8,000 in the opening-weekend harvest is not likely to have a significant effect on the overall deer harvest but may reflect a general trend of lower deer numbers in many parts of rural Missouri. With 12 days of the November hunting season ahead, followed by a nine-day antlerless deer season, 11 days of muzzleloader hunting and a two-day late youth season, hunters have plenty of time to catch up. Archers have through Jan. 15 to hunt. Sumners said he expects the 2011-2012 deer harvest to be in the neighborhood of 250,000 to 275,000.
Top harvest counties during the opening weekend were Howell with 1,702 deer checked, Macon with 1,617 and Texas with 1,588.
MDC recorded one non-fatal, firearms-related hunting incident during the opening weekend.
Photo Above: Dalton Putnam of Dexter killed this deer over the weekend - his first with a bow. (Submitted by SMT reader Shannon Putnam.)
The ShowMe Times invites area hunters to send photos of their successes during deer season. Send your photo, with the name of the hunter, information on the deer (such as weight and points), and the area in which the deer was taken. Send photos and information to amiller@showmetimes.com
Fifteen minutes after climbing into his tree stand, Ethan brought down an 8-point buck during an early morning hunt on one of the family's farms west of Doniphan near the Eleven Point River. In the 7 years Ethan has been hunting, he has managed to bag 16 deer: 11 with a gun and 5 with a bow, but this was his first buck with a bow.
This follows on the heels of October's turkey hunting season where Ethan called up a flock of 9 turkeys during a warm and humid mid-afternoon hunt.
After 10 minutes of using his box call, he brought in a hen; the flock then scattered. He ran to his bird, but realized the flock had not gone far so he squatted to take cover in the light brush and began to call with his mouth. The flock returned, and Ethan took a jake, which was his first turkey called up using only his mouth.
In his spare time, Ethan also enjoys fishing. He is an 8th grader at Dexter Middle School and the son of Tim and Kim Flowers.
The ShowMe Times invites area hunters of all ages to send photos of their successes during deer season. Send your photo, with the name of the hunter, information on the deer (such as weight and points), and the area in which the deer was taken. Send photos and information toamiller@showmetimes.com.
Ethan Kincy killed his first deer this weekend during the Missouri Conservation Department’s youth deer season.
Ethan, who is 10 years old and in the fifth grade at Central Elementary School, killed a ‘button buck’ Sunday evening on private property north of Dexter. This was the second year for Ethan to hunt and this was his first deer.
Ethan is the son of Darren and Leigh Ann Kincy of Dexter and he was hunting with his father.
MCD’s special youth deer season is for young people age 6 through 15 and was this weekend, Nov. 5 & 6.
The ShowMe Times invites area hunters of all ages to send photos of their successes during deer season. Send your photo, with the name of the hunter, information on the deer (such as weight and points), and the area in which the deer was taken. Send photos and information toamiller@showmetimes.com.
Blake Horton of Dexter bagged a 10-point buck this weekend during the Missouri Conservation Department’s youth deer season.
This is not the first deer killed by Blake, but it is his first “big buck.” He is a freshman at Dexter High School and the son of Allen and Tracy Horton.
Blake shot the deer on his family farm in Hunter, Mo.
MCD’s special youth deer season is for young people age 6 through 15 and was this weekend, Nov. 5 & 6.
Young hunters that fail to fill their tags will get a second chance Jan. 7th and 8th, 2012, with a second special youth season. Only one antlered deer may be taken during the entire firearms deer season. So if the youth has already taken one antlered deer during one of the other portions of the firearms deer season, he or she may not take another during this portion.
The ShowMe Times invites area hunters of all ages to send photos of their successes during deer season. Send your photo, with the name of the hunter, information on the deer (such as weight and points), and the area in which the deer was taken. Send photos and information toamiller@showmetimes.com.
By Annabeth Miller, SMT Editor
Area youth between the ages of 6 to 15 have headed to the woods this weekend as part of the Missouri Conservation Department's special youth deer season.
This season makes the third autumn that Shyann Jines of Dexter participated in the youth hunt, and for the third time she has taken a deer.
Shyann is a freshman at Dexter High School and the daughter of Stacy and Corey Blocker. Shyann took this 7-point buck on her cousin Cody Jines’ farm near Aquilla.
Young hunters may take one deer of either sex this weekend. Additional tags may not be filled until the regular firearms season, which begins November 12th.
Kids that fail to fill their tags will get a second chance Jan. 7 and 8, 2012, with a second special youth season. Only one antlered deer may be taken during the entire firearms deer season. So if the youth has already taken one antlered deer during one of the other portions of the firearms deer season, he or she may not take another during this portion.
The ShowMe Times invites area hunters of all ages to send photos of their successes during deer season. Send your photo, with the name of the hunter, information on the deer (such as weight and points), and the area in which the deer was taken. Send photos and information toamiller@showmetimes.com.
Young hunters may could one deer of either sex this weekend. Additional tags may not be filled until the regular firearms season, which begins November 12th.
The ShowMe Times invites area hunters of all ages to send photos of their successes during deer season. Send your photo, with the name of the hunter, information on the deer (such as weight and points), and the area in which the deer was taken. Send photos and information to amiller@showmetimes.com.
