Missouri Deer Hunting Seasons 2023-24

[356]

The 2023-24 Deer and Turkey Seasons have been set for Missouri.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I believe the firearm opener will be the latest that it "can" be based on when the dates fall next year. As a non-resident landowner, I absolutely wouldn't mind a later firearm season, but I doubt the MDC would be willing to move it.

 

[356]

I believe the firearm opener will be the latest that it "can" be based on when the dates fall next year. As a non-resident landowner, I absolutely wouldn't mind a later firearm season, but I doubt the MDC would be willing to move it.

I've spoken with Missouri's deer specialist and this is a topic of conversation, but as you said, it is not likely to move unless the herd balance changes. Currently, the age structure continues to move upward in non-CWD counties. Button buck harvest continues to decline--it is now 8.3% compared to 10.2% during the 2018-19 season. Doe harvest is now 44%, up from 42% in 2018-19.

I'd like to see a late August, early September "one weekend" velvet season (archery), but that is also unlikely, although it too has been discussed. The early and late antler less seasons are being used to help manage numbers, and those counties will not be announced until later in the season, along with any changes in CWD county.

 

[Bill]

I absolutely hate the early firearm and late CWD firearm portions. Late antlerless season was bad enough for adding to the road hunter days in the truck. MDC just gave 8 more days in the truck. Don't believe they road hunt in MO, just take the first weekend of rifle season off and sit on the road. I've sat out several opening weekends to just patrol the roads in my neighborhood and its a slow parade of the usual subjects.

 

[bwoods11]

Too many gun days overall ! I’m from Minnesota and I do have land in Missouri, more as investment., but overall I don’t like the added seasons.

It looks like Missouri is focusing on killing a lot of deer. No shortage of opportunities, which can drag down quality !

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I absolutely hate the early firearm and late CWD firearm portions. Late antlerless season was bad enough for adding to the road hunter days in the truck. MDC just gave 8 more days in the truck. Don't believe they road hunt in MO, just take the first weekend of rifle season off and sit on the road. I've sat out several opening weekends to just patrol the roads in my neighborhood and its a slow parade of the usual subjects.

Hence the need for the miscanthus. My parents farm is on a *very* remote gravel road that almost no one would use if they didn't live there. I can't tell you how many run-ins we or our neighbors have had with road hunters. The first several nights of the firearm season several people reported shots from this road in the middle of the night. One of our neighbors filmed people at 3 am out spotlighting across his fields. Unfortunately, road hunting is absolutely an issue and not one that is easily solvable with the current MDC. Fortunately, the guys that are doing it seem to be aging out or are finding other areas. It has slowed down in the last few years as more people move into the area.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I've spoken with Missouri's deer specialist and this is a topic of conversation, but as you said, it is not likely to move unless the herd balance changes. Currently, the age structure continues to move upward in non-CWD counties. Button buck harvest continues to decline--it is now 8.3% compared to 10.2% during the 2018-19 season. Doe harvest is now 44%, up from 42% in 2018-19.

I'd like to see a late August, early September "one weekend" velvet season (archery), but that is also unlikely, although it too has been discussed. The early and late antler less seasons are being used to help manage numbers, and those counties will not be announced until later in the season, along with any changes in CWD county.

That is somewhat encouraging to hear. I always mean to dig deeper into the numbers but get distracted. I would love to see MO compared to WI. Both are rifle and crossbow states but WI has a one week later season with about 20% more hunters. I would think this could be interesting when discussing season length and timing.

 

[MN Slick]

Too many gun days. I'd love to see a later gun season but it will never happen due to CWD. The new extended CWD rifle season effectively takes away 5 days from bowhunters. The only way you can bowhunt those days is with an open rifle tag. How about adding them to the front end of bow season.

 

[MN Slick]

I don't see many road hunters but am not out looking for them. What I do see is guys leasing wide open pasture with a few trees as long as it's next to big blocks of cover. The rely completely on random rut movement then fire away. No offense to the southern guys on this board, unless your one of them, lol, but a lot of them seem to be from down south.

 

[356]

...Currently, the age structure continues to move upward in non-CWD counties. Button buck harvest continues to decline--it is now 8.3% compared to 10.2% during the 2018-19 season. Doe harvest is now 44%, up from 42% in 2018-19.

Missouri's total harvest is now 306,774, ensuring 2023-24 will be a record harvest for our state. Does are 45% of the total, which is encouraging. Button bucks are 8.7% of this number, meaning, a lot were harvested in the late antlerless season. Archery season continues through January 15, and the Firearms Alternative Methods Portion (primarily muzzleloaders and handguns) runs from Dec. 23 – Jan. 2, 2024. Last year, 8724 deer were harvest during the alternative season.

Despite Crossbows being added as a permissible means during archery season, Missouri's bow harvest numbers appear to be stable. In 2015 (the last year crossbows were NOT allowed) was 49759, and since adding crossbows has averaged 52,000. Currently, 47,738 deer have been harvested by archery methods. Based on previous years, that will go up another 4000-6000 by the end of the season, which will be close to normal.

 

[swat1018]

Too many gun days. I'd love to see a later gun season but it will never happen due to CWD. The new extended CWD rifle season effectively takes away 5 days from bowhunters. The only way you can bowhunt those days is with an open rifle tag. How about adding them to the front end of bow season.

I don't believe that is correct. CWD rifle season is in, but archery season also resumed Nov 22. Same with the early rifle doe season, archery coincides with the season.

 

[MN Slick]

I don't believe that is correct. CWD rifle season is in, but archery season also resumed Nov 22. Same with the early rifle doe season, archery coincides with the season.

I emailed the MDC and that was the answer I got.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I don't see many road hunters but am not out looking for them. What I do see is guys leasing wide open pasture with a few trees as long as it's next to big blocks of cover. The rely completely on random rut movement then fire away. No offense to the southern guys on this board, unless your one of them, lol, but a lot of them seem to be from down south.

That is too funny because that is exactly who leases all of the big ag ground around us. Guys from Alabama lease probably less than 10 acres of cover for around 500 acres of ag. Their solution is to put up tripods with burlap near the dead center of some of the bigger fields. They still end up killing a few bucks each year.

 

[MN Slick]

That is too funny because that is exactly who leases all of the big ag ground around us. Guys from Alabama lease probably less than 10 acres of cover for around 500 acres of ag. Their solution is to put up tripods with burlap near the dead center of some of the bigger fields. They still end up killing a few bucks each year.

Yes, they kill quite a few bucks. A guy I know ran into one of them in full camo actually hunting in Iowa during MO rifle.