Opening Weekend Deer Firearms Season Down Over 8,000

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 80,525 deer during the opening weekend of the November portion of the fall firearms deer season Nov. 14 and 15. Of the 80,525 deer harvested, 48,695 were antlered bucks, 6,867 were button bucks, and 24,963 were does.

Top harvest counties for opening weekend were Howell with 1,499 deer harvested, Bollinger with 1,453, and Franklin with 1,446.

Last year, hunters checked 88,760 deer during the opening weekend of the 2019 November portion of firearms deer season.

Here are the numbers for Pettis County:

Antlered Bucks-620

Button Bucks-83

Does-300

County Total-1003

(These are not the official final numbers. Official numbers come out after the seasons are over and the data has been cleaned to remove duplicates and incorrect entries.)

For current ongoing preliminary harvest totals by season, county, and type of deer, you can visit the MDC website at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/.

The Missouri Department Conservation noted that poor weather during much of the weekend affected this year’s harvest total. In many areas of the state, hunters dealt with rainy conditions on Saturday, particularly during the morning. Although rain moved out by Sunday, hunters were greeted by strong, gusty winds for most of the day.

The November portion of firearms deer season continues through Nov. 24. Archery season resumes Nov. 25 through Jan. 15, 2021. The late youth portion runs. 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.

Find more information on deer hunting from MDC’s 2020 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where hunting permits are sold and online at short.mdc.mo.gov/ZXv.