Deer harvest up more than 11 percent in firearm season’s opening weekend

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Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 89,861 deer during opening weekend of the November portion of firearms deer season Nov. 13 and 14. Of the 89,861 deer harvested, 54,415 were antlered bucks, 7,187 were button bucks, and 28,259 were does.
Top harvest counties for opening weekend were Franklin with 1,968 deer harvested, Texas with 1,814, and Benton with 1,654.
The total for the opening weekend was up 9,117 deer, or about 11.29 percent from the 2020 season’s first two days. Last year, hunters checked 80,744 deer during opening weekend of the November portion of firearms deer season, according to the MDC.
“Thankfully, the weather cooperated this weekend and hunters were treated to some good conditions,” said MDC Cervid Program Supervisor, Jason Isabelle. “Given the rain and gusty winds across much of the state during opening weekend last year, it isn’t surprising that we saw an increase in harvest this year.” The November portion of firearms deer season continues through Nov. 23. Missouri’s archery deer and turkey season resumes Nov. 24 through Jan. 15, 2022. The late youth portion of firearms season runs Nov. 26-28. The antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs Dec. 4-12 followed by the alternative methods portion Dec. 25 through Jan. 4, 2022.
As of Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 10 p.m. the total deer harvested in Perry County for the firearm season had climbed to 1,120, which was 43rd among Missouri counties. This total included 613 antlered bucks, 101 button bucks and 406 does.

Bollinger County reported a harvested deer count of 1,773 as of Nov. 16, which was seventh among the state’s 114 counties.
Madison County had 1,205 deer taken, Cape Girardeau County reported 1,129 deer harvested, Saint Francis recorded 1,024 deer harvested while Sainte Genevieve had 938 harvested.
Franklin (2,438), Texas (2,376) and Benton (2,050) counties all surpassed 2,000 deer taken in the season’s first four days and were the top three in the state.
For an interactive statewide map with deer harvest summaries by county, visit mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-reports/deer-harvest-map
For harvest summaries from past years, visit mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-reports/deer-harvest-summaries.
To view the most up to date, ongoing preliminary harvest totals by season, county, and type of deer, visit the MDC website at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/.