Missouri’s youngest deer hunters have been waiting all summer for this weekend, and it’s finally almost here.
Saturday and Sunday will be the dates of the first segment of the youth deer season.
The youth season is open for any hunter age 6 to 15 as of opening day. The big catch is the hunter must be able to hold, aim and shoot their weapon themselves.
A firearms any-deer permit is required to hunt during the season.
Young hunters who have been hunter-education certified can hunt by themselves, but those who haven’t must hunt in the immediate presence of an adult who has been certified or is exempt because of age. In the past, the adult also had to be in possession of an unfilled deer hunting permit, but that requirement was rescinded this year.
All youth-season hunters and mentors must wear a hunter orange hat and shirt, vest or jacket for safety reasons. There are few exceptions, so be sure to double check the regulations.
Young hunters can take one deer during the youth season, so if they have additional permits, they must wait until the November firearms season opens to use them.
As always, hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset.
Anyone taking a deer also needs to remember it must be Telechecked by 10 p.m. on the day it is taken.
The weekend forecast looks fantastic for hunting, and if the youngsters can tolerate the cold temperatures, they should have a good season.
The next firearms deer season to open will be the November portion, which runs from Nov. 16-26. The second segment of the youth season will open Nov. 29 and run through Dec. 1.
Missouri’s quail season is a time-honored tradition for many, but sadly, huge losses in habitat have resulted in drastic downturns in bird numbers and, in turn, hunters.
With that said, the season opens Friday and will continue through Jan. 15.
The daily limit is eight quail.
Friday also is the opener for the statewide pheasant season, and it also runs through mid-January.
Hunters can take two male pheasants daily.
While the most common place to find pheasants is in the northwestern portion of the state, there still may be a few remaining from stocking efforts long ago in Stoddard, Dunklin and Pemiscot counties.
Just like finding quail, plan on getting into the thick stuff and covering a lot of ground to have any chance of success with pheasants.
For those with a flair for something a little different, Missouri’s crow season also kicks off Friday.
Hunters can take any number of the noisy birds.
Crows can be decoyed and taken with a shotgun, just like ducks, but I think most folks just snipe them from long range with small-caliber rifles.
If you don’t mind some traveling to kill some ducks, Missouri’s North Zone duck season opens Saturday.
That season, unlike the other two zones, runs 60 consecutive days without any splits and continues through Dec. 31.
If you plan on visiting the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge this weekend, you’ll need to be aware of some area and road closures because of a managed youth deer hunt.
On Saturday and Sunday, all areas of the refuge west of Ditch 4 will be closed to public entry.
That also means the Rabbit Ridge entrance off County Road 518 and the Job Corps entrance off Highway T also will be closed, as will Bluff Road west of the boardwalk.
The boardwalk nature trail and Red Mill Drive areas will remain open, as will the public bowhunting area.
Also, on Thursday and Friday, the refuge will host a managed deer hunt for those with disabilities.
The number of hunters during this event will be much lower than the youth hunt, so less of the area is likely to be restricted on those dates. Regardless, it’s probably a good idea to contact the refuge visitor center at 573-222-3589 for the latest information.
Despite rainy weather on Saturday, which likely kept some hunters out of the woods, the managed archery hunt at the Peck Ranch Conservation Area was a success.
According to area manager Preston Mabry, hunters took 33 deer during the three-day hunt.
“We had several nice bucks, with most of those being 10 points or better,” he said.
The next hunt at Peck Ranch will be a managed muzzleloader deer hunt on Dec. 7-8.
Deer movement continues to pick up, and bowhunters are capitalizing on it.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the statewide archery harvest was 27,304 deer, of which 33.5 percent have been antlered bucks. The total is slightly behind last year at this point, but the buck percentage this year is a bit higher.
Locally, hunters in Butler County have taken 310 deer, and in Stoddard County, the total is 345.
In Dunklin County, 46 deer have been arrowed, and in Wayne County, 521 have been tagged.
Ripley County bowhunters have taken 331 deer, and in Carter County, the tally is 347.
Bucks have been pushing does pretty hard lately, and that trend should continue for another week or more until breeding actually kicks in and the chasing slows.
Bowhunters need to remember they also must wear hunter orange during this weekend’s youth deer season.