Young hunters harvest 18,158

Zachary Bieri, of California, with his first deer, a 7-point buck, on Nov. 2, 2019.
Zachary Bieri, of California, with his first deer, a 7-point buck, on Nov. 2, 2019.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation states young hunters ages 6-15 harvested 18,158 deer during Missouri's early youth portion of the 2019 deer hunting season, Nov. 2-3.

In Moniteau County, 128 deer were harvested. In nearby counties, 202 were harvested in Boone, 136 in Cole and 245 in Morgan. Top harvest counties statewide were Osage with young hunters harvesting 381 deer, Howell with 355 and Franklin with 351.

Last year's harvest total for the early youth portion was 13,645. Get more information on past-season deer harvests at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-harvest-reports/deer-harvest-summaries.

"We had great weekend weather for deer hunting," MDC deer biologist Kevyn Wiskirchen said. "It was chilly, but not freezing, which is good for deer movement."

Archery deer hunting continues through Nov. 15 and resumes Nov. 27-Jan. 15, 2020. The November portion of firearms deer season runs Nov. 16-26 followed by the late youth portion Nov. 29-Dec. 1. The antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs Dec. 6-8 followed by the alternative methods portion Dec. 28-Jan. 7, 2020.

Get more information about deer hunting from MDC's 2019 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where hunting permits are sold and online at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/downloads/2019FDT.pdf.