Recent content by 356

My early adult years were spent in the northwoods of Minnesota. A decade later I moved to California and dreamed of returning to Minnesota for the hunting, fishing and culture. However, when I returned to the midwest, the glory days of deer hunting (at least in St. Louis and Itasca counties)...

Rekindling this thread for the encouragement if nothing else. I announced my plans to retire in December to our board. October 15th is the "planned date" and I have a month of vacation that will bump my final day on the job to September 14 (just in time for the September 15th deer season...

In an attempt to steer this discussion back to the question, “Are the glory days of deer hunting over?” I decided to look at something more concrete than nostalgia or perception—my hunting logs from the past three seasons. Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but they do give a grounded place to...

I had opportunity to hunt 56 times over 47 days here in Missouri. 158 hours of actual hunting from the stand, on the ground or still hunting resulted in 79 deer sightings. 36 hours of hunting was on public, with 11 deer seen on public. This does not include the deer I heard, but didn't see...

MDC reports final deer harvest for season at 301,954 Top harvest counties were Franklin, Howell, and Callaway. Hunters harvested 275,656 deer during 2024-2025 deer season. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri's 2025-2026 deer-hunting season ended Jan. 15 with the Missouri Department of Conservation...

With the 2025-26 season under our belt, the season ended as follows: ' Kids and grandkids: One buck and two antlerless Me: One buck, one button buck and three antlerless FORECASTOUTCOME * Early bow season: I am after "Spinster" an old nanny doe that has busted me way too many times. She...

Last sit of the 2025-26 deer season. I have not seen too many deer on the farm cameras, but when I do, they are either on the south end by the water, which does not have a good wind for today, or in a food plot on the north side of the property. Lord willing, the next time I go deer hunting, I...

Our chamber sealer was one of the best investments (along with a quality grinder). Given $185 for basic processing per deer in our area, the initial investment of a grinder, chamber sealer, good knives and a some other processing tools (under $800) has provided great meat and cost savings—along...

Thanks for sharing your insights from experience. ML season is late in Missouri, and is always one of my favorite times to be in the woods. The drill bit idea is great.

We just finished up processing days 2026, with seven deer contributing to the freezers, tables and snack bags for our tribe! My son contributed three deer (two by my granddaughter, the story of her hunt is here) and one from a mentored hunt--the meat going to a first time hunter and his family...

Getting a last hour archery sit with my son before processing our venison into sausage and ground.

He is majoring in primary & secondary education. They have programs ranging from engineering to nursing and most things in between. His roommate is a US/France citizen (American parents, but he has lived there all of his life). When my grandson told him about our deer hunt, he became all...

John, Where would the small piece of foam go? I'd be happy to try that before sending it in. I am on 3.3.0/9.3.0 so the firmware should be good.

Chaded, I am running into the same issue. My daylight pictures are fine, but night is much like yours, even on what I consider to be a clear night. To test this, I guess I need to walk in front of the cameras on a clear, low humidity evening to test things out. I hope we can both get this fixed...

While not that many (there are three), the water tank is the only place I am seeing deer.