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Missouri deer-hunting season ends with slight harvest increase over previous year
REVISED HARVEST NUMBERS FOR ARCHERY AND TOTAL HARVEST UPDATED IN MARCH FROM ORIGINAL JANUARY RELEASE.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri's 2014-2015 deer-hunting closed Jan. 15 with the conclusion of the state's archery season. In early March, the Missouri Department of Conservation updated its total deer harvest for the current season from 260,552 (initially reported in January) to 256,753, an increase of about two percent over the previous year total of 252,574. Initial Telecheck harvest numbers determined the original initial total. Initial total numbers showed an increase in the archery harvest from the previous year by 7,978. Corrected numbers show a decrease in the archery harvest of three percent from the previous year for a corrected total of 48,449 for the current season.
Top archery-season counties were Jefferson and St. Louis tied with 1,045 deer harvested, and Franklin with 981.
The 2014-2015 archery turkey season also closed Jan. 15 with a total of 2,587 birds checked compared to the previous year of 2,546 birds checked. Top counties were Greene with 64, Franklin with 60, and Callaway with 54.
For more information on the 2014-2015 deer harvest, and past-year deer harvest summaries, go online to mdc.mo.gov/node/29442.
MDC also reported 14 hunting incidents during the 2014-2015 deer hunting season. Four were fatal and involved a fall from a tree stand, a heater explosion in a deer blind, a gunshot wound from another hunter, and a heart attack while hunting.
Dates for the 2015-2016 firearms deer season are:
- Urban portion – Oct. 9 through 12
- Early youth portion – Oct. 31 and Nov. 1
- November portion – Nov. 14 through 24
- Antlerless portion – Nov. 25 through Dec. 6
- Alternative-methods portion – Dec. 19 through 29
- Late youth portion – Jan. 2 and 3
The 2015-2016 archery deer and turkey season will run Sept. 15 through Jan. 15, excluding the November portion of deer season, Nov. 14 through 24.
Conservation makes Missouri a great place to hunt deer and turkey. For more information, go online to mdc.mo.gov.