Nearly 95K deer harvested first weekend

November 14, 2017 at 6:05 a.m. | Updated November 14, 2017 at 2:27 p.m.

by News Tribune

At left, Mark Raithel takes a lymph node from the neck of a deer that was shot on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016 during the opening of Missouri's firearms deer season, while Sarah Crocker holds out a bag for him to put it in. Both are employees of the Missouri Conservation, which, for the first time in 2016, made it mandatory for hunters to bring their deer to chronic wasting disease sampling stations for testing. This station was at Russellville High School.
At left, Mark Raithel takes a lymph node from the neck of a deer that was shot on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016 during the opening of Missouri's firearms deer season, while Sarah Crocker holds out a bag for him to put it in. Both are employees of the Missouri Conservation, which, for the first time in 2016, made it mandatory for hunters to bring their deer to chronic wasting disease sampling stations for testing. This station was at Russellville High School.

Deer hunters in Missouri killed 94,977 deer during the opening weekend of the November portion of the fall firearms deer season Nov. 11-12, according to preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Of that total, 54,027 were antlered bucks, 9,535 were button bucks, and 31,415 were does.

Top harvest counties for opening weekend were Howell with 2,095 deer checked, Franklin with 2,060 and Texas with 1,855.

As of Monday, Cole County had 579 deer killed during the opening weekend, with 344 of those antlered bucks, 68 button bucks and 167 does.

Callaway County had 1,091 deer killed, Osage County 949 deer killed, Boone County 649, Miller County 636, Maries County 461 and Moniteau County 370, as of Monday.

Last year hunters killed 96,131 deer during the opening weekend of firearms deer season.

The November portion of fall firearms deer seasons continues through Nov. 21. Archery deer season opens again Nov. 22 through Jan. 15. The late youth portion of firearms deer season runs Nov. 24-26. The antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs Dec. 1-3, and the alternative methods portion will run Dec. 23 through Jan. 2.

For ongoing preliminary deer kill totals by season, county and type of deer, visit the MDC website at mo.gov/1jjz7Ew.