By: NATHAN STUEDLE
Missouri hunters harvested fewer deer during this year's early antlerless firearms season, with unusually warm weather contributing to the decline. The Missouri Department of Conservation reports a preliminary harvest of 6,524 deer during the three-day season, October ninth through eleventh. That's down from 8,494 deer harvested during the same period last year, a decline of approximately 23 percent. Franklin County led the state with 203 deer harvested, followed by Howell County with 181 and Jefferson County with 177. Conservation officials say record or near-record high temperatures likely contributed to reduced hunting activity.
Missouri's deer hunting season continues with the early youth firearms portion October twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth. The regular November firearms season runs November fourteenth through the twenty-fourth. Additional hunting opportunities continue into January, with the overall deer season ending January fifteenth, 2027. County-by-county harvest totals are available through the Missouri Department of Conservation website.