Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows young hunters ages 6-15 harvested 3,574 deer during Missouri’s late youth portion of the 2023 firearms deer hunting season, Nov. 24-26. Of the 3,574 deer harvested, 1,697 were antlered bucks, 361 were button bucks, and 1,516 were does.
Local numbers were (county, antlered bucks, button bucks, does, county total):
• Butler, 13, 5, 10, 28
• Carter, 13, 3, 13, 29
• Dunklin, 4, 2, 7, 13
• Reynolds, 18, 11, 18, 47
• Ripley, 11, 1, 10, 22
• Stoddard, 11, 6, 18, 35
• Wayne, 16, 9, 19, 44
Top counties for the late youth portion were Texas with 77 deer harvested, Pike with 62, and Callaway and Morgan, each with 61.
Last year’s harvest total for the late youth portion was 2,870 deer.
Archery deer hunting continues through Jan. 15. The late antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs Dec. 2-10 in open counties and the alternative methods portion will occur Dec. 23 through Jan. 2.
Get more information on Missouri deer hunting from MDC’s 2023 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where hunting permits are sold and online at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer.