JEFFERSON CITY – Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 14,896 deer during the antlerless portion of the firearms deer season, Dec. 4-12.
Top harvest counties were Callaway with 467 deer harvested, Pike with 376, and Morgan with 354.
Perry County hunters harvested 179 deer: no antlered bucks, 27 button bucks and 152 does.
Ste. Genevieve County hunters harvested 124 deer: one antlered buck, 19 button bucks and 104 does.
Last year’s antlerless-portion harvest total was 15,620.
The antlerless portion was extended from three days to nine days this year.
“Prior to last year, the average harvest during the three-day antlerless portion had been just under 8,000 deer,” said MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle. “We had some fantastic hunting conditions during last year’s antlerless portion, which resulted in a harvest total that was nearly double the average. So, although we were below last year’s mark, this year’s total was well above the average harvest over the last several years with the shorter season.”
For current ongoing preliminary harvest totals by season, county, and type of deer, visit the MDC website at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/.
For harvest summaries from past years, visit huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-harvest-reports/deer-harvest-summaries.
Archery deer season runs through Jan. 15, 2022. The alternative methods portion runs Dec. 25 through Jan. 4, 2022.
Find more information on deer hunting from MDC’s 2021 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where permits are sold and online at mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/2021-06/2021FDT.pdf.