PULASKI COUNTY – Missouri’s chief executive became the state’s “chief deer hunter” Friday afternoon.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon harvested a button buck while deer hunting in Pulaski County. Nixon will donate the venison to Missouri’s Share the Harvest program, a public-private partnership that provides meat to families in need.
Nixon took the deer using Fiocchi ammunition produced in Ozark and a Sierra bullet produced in Sedalia.
Gov. Nixon took the deer Friday evening to Steve N Sons Custom Meat Processing in Newburg, where the venison will be packaged for distribution to a local food bank, shelter or feeding center. Share the Harvest has been a tradition for Missouri hunters since 1992. Since then, Missouri hunters have donated well over 2 million pounds of venison through Share the Harvest.
“I’m delighted to again be one of the thousands of Missouri hunters donating venison to help provide for those in need,” Nixon said. “Share the Harvest has helped put meat on the tables of countless Missouri families over the past 20 years, and continues to grow as more hunters and processors become involved. It’s a great way to make a difference for someone.”
During the last hunting season approximately 6,100 deer were processed through Share the Harvest, resulting in more than 350,000 pounds of venison for needy families. That was an increase over the 4,600 deer donated for Share the Harvest in 2009 and the 4,200 in 2008.
Share the Harvest is a partnership between the Conservation Federation, the Missouri Department of Conservation, regional food banks, local food pantries, and meat processors.
To find a list of participating Missouri meat processors online, go to mo.gov and search for “Share the Harvest.”
This was Dalton's first deer killed with a bow. He killed the deer in the woods near his family's home near Dexter.
Dalton is a senior at Dexter High School and is the son of Shannon and Denny Putnam.
The Missouri Conservation Department reports on its website that so far in this year there have been a total od 1,093 deer harvested in Stoddard County, with 409 does, 160 button bucks and 524 antlered bucks killed.
8-Point Buck
Wes Howard was one of the successful hunters this last weekend, the opening weekend for firearms deer season in Missouri. Wes killed this 8-point buck on Saturday morning near Van Buren in Carter County. The Missouri Department of Conservation reports hunters checked 89,728 deer during the opening weekend of Missouri’s November firearms deer hunt. (Submitted by SMT Reader Wes Howard)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
Successful Brothers
Brothers Wes and David Howard of Dexter both had hunting success in the deer woods during the opening weekend of firearms deer season. David Howard (left) killed a 9-point buck near Van Buren on Saturday evening. Wes Howard shot an 8-point buck on Saturday morning, also near Van Buren. (Submitted photo)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
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.
