Deer movement, for whatever reason, sure seemed a lot slower on opening day of the firearms season than it had been lately. I heard less shots during the entire opening day than I heard in the first hour last year, but even so, hunters statewide still managed to take almost 100,000 deer in the first two days.
Surprisingly, the 99,567-deer total was a little above last year's opening-weekend take of 94,886.
"Hunting pressure was moderate during the opening weekend," said Butler County Conservation Agent Frank Campa, "but I heard very few shots.
"The deer did not move well early Saturday, but they did by mid-morning and that afternoon. They did move well early Sunday, and not as much by Sunday afternoon."
As of Wednesday afternoon, the statewide harvest was up to 127,651, with more than 55 percent of those being antlered bucks.
Locally, hunters in Carter County have taken 1,133 deer so far, and those in Ripley County have killed 1,862.
In Butler County, 950 deer have been tagged, and in Stoddard County, the total so far is 791.
Dunklin County hunters have tagged 188 deer, and Wayne County, unsurprisingly, is one of the top counties in the state with 2,269 deer taken so far.
Three fatal incidents were reported over the weekend, though two weren't during the act of hunting. They involved hunters being shot while at home or in camp. The other involved a high school coach who stumbled and took a self-inflicted shot while hunting in Greene County.
There have been some common violations, but for some reason, an abnormally high number of hunters have tried to check deer from Butler County on antlerless permits, which is a big no-no.
A quick look on page 19 of the regulations booklet will show you antlerless firearms permits are not legal in Butler County except for landowners.
Antlerless deer permits are available in Butler County for the archery season only, as referenced on page 22.
Remember, you alone are responsible for knowing the regulations to avoid trouble.
"People have been bad about not picking up a copy of the regulations and reading them," said Campa.
The firearms deer season continues through Tuesday.
Open Again
Missouri's Middle Zone duck season reopened today after a short, five-day hiatus, and the big cool-down we've seen recently did wonders to push more migrant birds into the region.
Biologist Kevin Brunke said Otter Slough picked up quite a few new birds, and now there are almost 37,000 on the area.
"Duck Creek got a push and we are holding about 46,000," added biologist Nicky Walker, who conducted a survey on the area Monday.
At the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, which has limited water at this point because it is in a drawdown year for Monopoly Marsh, 16,000-plus ducks, about half of which were mallards, were counted Tuesday.
With today's cold front, those numbers stand a good chance of going much higher.
Youth Weekend
For waterfowlers age 15 and younger, Missouri's South Zone youth duck season will take place this weekend, Nov. 17-18.
Youth hunters need no license or stamps, but they must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older, and that adult is not allowed to hunt themselves, serving only as a mentor and guide.
Daily limits are the same as the regular season, so refer to the booklet for a refresher.
South Zone Opens
Duck hunters in Missouri's South Zone can start hitting the water on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, when the first split of the regular waterfowl season opens there.
The first split is only four days long, lasting through Nov. 25. After a brief closure, the second, longer split will open on Dec. 3 and run through Jan. 27.
Public lands in the South Zone include the Coon Island Conservation Area in Butler County, Ten Mile Pond Conservation Area in Mississippi County, Little River Conservation Area in Dunklin County and a few other small ones which aren't really managed specifically for waterfowl.
Ten Mile Pond will open the season with 11 or 12 hunting positions available, and the morning draw there will be at 4 a.m.
At Coon Island, there is no draw, so it's a bit if a free-for-all. Unfortunately, that means there's a good chance you'll get crowded by other hunters.
Habitat-wise, Brunke reports Coon Island looks pretty good, and Conservation Agent Frank Campa said there is plenty of corn to provide food and cover. Water levels still are a bit low in places, but that should improve.
Already, Brunke noted, there are a few thousand ducks using the area.
Arkansas Opener
The first split of Arkansas' statewide duck season opens Saturday and will continue through Nov. 25.
Unlike Missouri, Arkansas doesn't divide the state into zones, but rather it uses a statewide season broken into three segments, or splits as most folks call them.
Arkansas' daily limit allows for six ducks, of which no more than four can be mallards (only two females), three scaup, three wood ducks, twopintails, two redheads and one mottled duck. Unlike in Missouri, only one canvasback and one black duck can be taken daily. Other species not listed can make up your entire six-bird limit.
Furbearer Seasons
For those who want to pursue furbearers, like gray or red fox, raccoons, skunks, bobcats or badgers, the hunting season on those critters opens today. Coyotes, on the other hand, are open to hunting year-round with a couple minor restrictions.
Today also marks the opening of the trapping season for those species already listed, plus mink, rabbits, beavers, river otters and muskrats.
There are no limits on furbearers taken by hunting or trapping methods, except rabbits, in which case you're limited to six daily.
Anyone who takes a bobcat or otter is reminded they must have the animal tagged by a conservation agent before they can sell, transfer or mount it. The deadline to do so is April 10.
To make such tagging easy, conservation agents generally are available on select dates at Poplar Bluff's Sale Barn during the season, when fur buyer Marc Romine visits the area. As of yet, those dates have not been announced.
Given that it hasn't been very cold for any length of time yet, furbearers probably won't get a whole lot of attention, but once winter sets in and the pelts thicken up, pursuing them actually is quite popular.