Young hunters ages 6 through 15 harvested 15,591 deer during Missouri’s early youth portion of the 2020 deer hunting season, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Top counties were Franklin with youth hunters harvesting 336 deer, Howell with 324, and Osage with 320.
Last year, youth hunters harvested 18,289 deer during the early youth portion.
“This year’s harvest total is about on par with the average over the last few years,” said Jason Isabelle. cervid program supervisor “Whenever you have a short season portion like the two-day early youth portion, you can expect variability in the harvest total from year-to-year. This year’s harvest of about 15,600 deer puts us about in the middle of the range when compared to harvest totals from the past five years.”
Missouri’s deer archery season continues through Nov. 13 and resumes Nov. 25 through Jan. 15, 2021. The November portion of firearms deer season runs Nov. 14-24 followed by the late youth portion Nov. 27-29. The antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs Dec. 4-6 followed by the alternative methods portion Dec. 26 through Jan. 5, 2021.
Additional harvest numbers for the 2020 early youth portion are available online.
For past season deer harvests information, click here.
MDC encourages hunters who will have their deer professionally processed to check with meat processors about their availability to process deer this fall. Some meat processors around the state are reporting higher-than-normal business and may not be accepting deer for processing or will have significant delays in processing deer.
The Department of Conservation continues to offer statewide voluntary sampling and testing of harvested deer for chronic wasting disease during the entire deer season at select locations throughout the state, including participating MDC offices, cooperating taxidermists, and new freezer head-drop locations.
Sampling and test results are free. MDC reminds deer hunters to follow carcass movement restrictions that are in effect to slow the spread of CWD.
Get more information on CWD, sampling station locations, and related regulations online.