Missouri Department of Conservation

On January 14th, 2011 at 8:53pm Anonymous said:

An aquaintance told me bears don't hibernate in Missouri. Is that true?

On January 7th, 2011 at 3:57pm Anonymous said:

Everyone is an expert!

On January 3rd, 2011 at 10:08pm gary ellis said:

The youth season should have the same antler restricton as regular fire arm season just go back and look at the buck to doe harvest for the youth season

On January 3rd, 2011 at 10:00pm gary ellis said:

MDC has too mamy special seasons it should be archery Sept. 15 thru Nov. fire armes then archery again till Jan. 15 if ur deer hunting weapon goes bang then its a firearm

On January 2nd, 2011 at 11:05pm jeff bowling said:

longer dove seasons or another one in december would be great

On December 30th, 2010 at 7:37pm keith v said:

maybe the reason harvest numbers are is because there are simply fewer deer, i think the doe harvest has done its job but maybe enough have been taken out, i dont think a seperate antlerless season is necessary when you can already shoot as many does as you want in those counties during every other season, being the weekend warrior like most when i go hunting i would like to see more deer, i know the numbers need to be below carrying capacity of the land but when i get way more pics of bucks than does, something is wrong, i own property in northeast mo and also hunt in southeast mo, i hear the same from hunters in both areas, doe numbers are way down, and a 12 day gun season followed by another gun season during the rut doesnt make much sense to me

On December 28th, 2010 at 10:34pm Advanced Elements said:

Lovely pictures of the wildlife. I believe that buck killing should be stopped for couple of years since it doesn't make any sense to keep killing these animals whether for profit margin or endangering a species. Also, public awareness of deer and turkey regulations should be increased so that these species can be avoided any undue abuse.

On December 23rd, 2010 at 10:07am Anonymous said:

I agree that the seasons need to change. If we want bigger bucks for the money spending hunters we should just shut down any buck killing for a couple of years. The real hunters that hunt for food will not mind.(joke) I think we need to make a early muzzle loader hunt like the last week of Sept or something like that. By the time that season gets here the deer could have lost some racks and have been hunted hard and are only moving at night. I think you should let the Land Owners manage thier property as they wish. This would help stop crop damage and such and help some farms grow bigger deer. I think we need more public forums that are well known to the public not just the people who make money off of the deer seasons so we can all come and voice our opions. I my self do not like the point restriction because one man woman or childs trophy is not the same as others and and some people who are real hunters not sportsmen hunt to eat and not fill the wall

On December 22nd, 2010 at 5:33pm smitht2 said:

Thanks to all for the comments. As you can see from the postings, we receive comments on all sides of most issues. If you have specific questions, I recommend that you send them to ombudsman@mdc.mo.gov rather than incorporate them into blog comments. Ombudsman e-mail is monitored more closely and comments and responses can be shared with other staff, such as our Regulations Committee. Public input on deer and turkey regulations is taken into account every year when the previous season is evaluated and decisions and recommendations are made for the Conservation Commission for the next season. Public meetings will be scheduled when public input is needed on significant changes being considered and multiple options are available. That doesn't happen every year but feedback from our constituents is welcomed at any time. We do have biologists whose primary duties are managing deer or turkey populations for sustainable harvest and healthy populations. There aren't many wildlife management options that have not been considered. Some wildlife populations (turkeys, quail) are a result of poor reproduction in recent years, which is due to inclement weather during the nesting period. Even with a single year of better reproduction, populations can rebound significantly, overshadowing any harvest regulation changes.

On December 22nd, 2010 at 12:57pm Drew said:

Are there going to be any public forums to take into consideration what we the hunters would like to see in the form of changes to the deer seasons and restrictions? I know they had them when the antler restriction was put in place, I often wonder how much input the public had on that implimentation. I think that the Department does a very good and sometimes thankless job in the management of our wildlife. There are a lot of good ideas outside the department think tank and then again there are some not so good ideas too. Its hard to please everyone. Good job, Keep on keeping on!

On December 22nd, 2010 at 9:13am Casey said:

I lived in Kentucky for a few years. Their deer muzzleloader season was split between mid-October and the first weekend in December. It was excellent. I was really impressed with their conservation program in Kentucky. The December portion of the muzzleloader season was particularly exciting b/c it was usually close to 30 days from the does' first estrus cycle. Therefore, if there was a second rut, it usually fell in the first weekend in December. Overall, Missouri could use some flexibility/adjustment in their seasons to help remedy the lower number of deer harvests.

On December 22nd, 2010 at 7:13am Anonymous said:

I agree with Phil Pilgram, it does need to be considered. We all know hunting mid to late December is a challenge to see quality deer alone, most of the time they are bunched up. I don't think crossbows allowed for all is a good thing as it takes the challenge away from the "hunt" and with bow season being lucrative in length before any gun season gives the hunter the "edge". And yes don't have youth seasons during Halloween or New Years eve and day it just takes away the excitement of our youth as they are exicited about the holidays.

On December 22nd, 2010 at 12:04am Ralph said:

I think it's great that MDC is allowing deer hunting with atlatls, but why only during firearms season? What is the reasoning to include atlatls during firearms season instead of archery season. The challenge to take a deer by atlatl would be far greater than taking a deer with a compound bow. Any chance MDC will reconsider this to include it in archery instead of firearms? I also wanted to thank you for including big bore air rifles as being legal for hunting deer. This is another challenge I've been wanting to try.

On December 21st, 2010 at 3:21pm Anonymous said:

I would like to see the turkey harvest regulation changed to one bird per day for the length of the season(2 bird limit)instead of having it just during the 2nd and 3rd weeks.

On December 21st, 2010 at 3:18pm Anonymous said:

I think the antlerless season needs to be shortened or eliminated.Would also like to see the regular firearms season start later to move it farther away from the rut.If people are wanting more and bigger bucks I believe the season needs to be farther away from the rut.

On December 21st, 2010 at 2:12pm John Wheeler said:

I would like to comment in support of open hunting seasons during the holidays. While it may conflict with travel plans for some who spend their holidays in Florida, open hunting seasons during the holidays is a family tradition for many resident land owners - like my family. If you want to accommodate the snow birds, please do not do it at the expense of resident family farm owners who combine trick-or-treating for the kids, Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas at the family farm with hunting our great outdoors. Kids, hunting and holidays is a combination we need to promote, not compromise for those who would rather ski in Colorado vs. hunt with their family in Missouri. JW

On December 21st, 2010 at 12:44pm JD-SL said:

I would like to see a change in the turkey hunting seasons for the simple fact that the turkey numbers are way down.I think the solution to this would be to drop the fall season for a least two years and possibly cut the spring season to one bird instead of two or make the season one week shorter. lets try something the numbers come back.

On December 20th, 2010 at 10:19pm said:

I want some insight as to why the Missouri Department of Conservation continues to abuse the states Whitetail deer population? The season needs to start the saturday after Thanksgiving for a number of reasons. 1. It is the best thing for the deer herd. (If you don't believe me just ask some top biologists in some states besides Missouri.) 2. It allows more people an opportunity to hunt because most people are off or in from college. 3. Protection would love to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving with their families before a million people declare war on the woods. 4. It would allow for more flexibility with the other seasons.(i.e. early muzzleloader season) 5. Not that this is a reason, but I will no longer hunt deer in Missouri until the firearms season is moved out of the rut. I am fed up with MDC and am tired of seeing my 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old deer get slaughtered before they reach maturity.

On December 20th, 2010 at 4:16pm Anonymous said:

I agree with the first comment. Overlapping muzzleloader season with Christmas weekend, just does not work for most people. Would also like to see more muzzleloader only areas. I currently drive 3-1/2 hours from STL to I think the best one in the Eastern half of the state. Too far for a single day trip.

On December 20th, 2010 at 12:13pm Anonymous said:

I would like to know why it is legal for a felon to hunt with a muzzel loader but not a finger relese for a bow my own thoughts are they should not be alloud to hunt at all some of us work hard to keep our rights to the outdoors and its not fair to us if you the gov find ways for ppl with out there scond amendment to bare any arms

On December 20th, 2010 at 12:08pm Michael Burr said:

With the guns we have now muzzleloader season lost its challange we should look at single shot or iron sights during this season

On December 20th, 2010 at 10:28am phil pilgram said:

If the season pattern remains the same, the muzzleloader season will start on the 17th of December much like this year. This will again run the season through a Christmas weekend cutting the season short for many hunters. With the exception of the antlerless and archery seasons I hunt exclusively with a sidelock muzzleloader, and have done so since 1984. When the season started after Thanksgiving you could count on renewed rut activity from bucks chasing the does that weren't bred in November. That possibility is no longer an opption. How about considering a split muzzleloader season say 5-6 days in late October or early November and 5-6 days in late December or early January. I would also like to see at least one state conservation area in as many counties as possible be open to muzzleloader only hunting throughout all of the firearms seasons. I think this could lead to some good QUALITY HUNTS. I live in Franklin Co. and the Long Ridge C A would be a good choice. Other good choices would be in Phelps Co. Woodson K Woods C A, Washington Co Pea Ridge C A, Crawford Co. Huzzah C A. These choices all have additional public ground either state or federal to allow regular firearms hunting. I would appreciate a response to this E-mail as none of my other correspondence attemps have been answered.

On December 19th, 2010 at 12:27pm Anonymous said:

please dont make a youth deer or turkey hunt on a date that kids are not interested in. like halloween. or new years. just makes no sense to me why you would do that?

On December 17th, 2010 at 7:04pm Anonymous said:

I was curious if Missoui was concidering allowing the use of crossbows during the archery season. It seems lately that more states are allowing crossbow use and was wondering if the topic has even been discussed

On December 17th, 2010 at 4:30pm dwayne said:

i would love to see the date alittle earlier. i think we missed the rut by weeks. even you was seeing the deer hit on the highway sooner . i think the season needs to be moved up even bow season. i would like to know how the judge the rut by when you place the season. every buck i seen this yr didnt have a swollen neck. after the first week of season i was seeing bucks running in groups . now thats not right