MISSOURI, USA — Missouri's firearm hunters enjoyed a brand new early season this year, without worry of stepping on archery hunters' toes.
The state's new firearms early antlerless portion of the season happened between Oct. 6 and 8, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) said. The season was reportedly introduced in 2023 due to high deer levels and changing weather patterns.
"With deer numbers being at desired levels in most counties but continuing to increase, additional antlerless harvest is needed to stabilize the deer population,” said MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle. “The goal of the new firearms early antlerless portion is to help increase antlerless deer harvest prior to the November portion of firearms season when many hunters focus on harvesting bucks.”
The department also released which of the state's counties took most advantage of the early hunting weekend.
According to preliminary hunting reports, Franklin, Howell and Ripley counties killed the most deer in Missouri during the firearms early antlerless season at combined totals of 491, 454 and 434 respectively. Missouri hunters throughout the state killed 16,575 deer that weekend alone.
Franklin and Howell counties are returning champions at deer hunting in Missouri, currently listed as No. 2 and No. 3 in total deer killed in all 2023 hunting seasons. Ripley is a surprise addition to top counties, with only ranking No. 26 in statewide deer hunting totals before the new firearms early antlerless season took place.
One reason for the high turnout of both hunters and deer may have been thanks to the unseasonably warm temperatures the state saw at the beginning of autumn.
"Hunters couldn’t have asked for much better weather,” Isabelle said. “After a warm start to October, the cooler weather during this year’s early antlerless portion helped to increase daytime deer movement and made for comfortable conditions for hunters.”
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