Missouri’s deer firearm season starts Saturday

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Saturday marks the opening of this year’s November portion of the firearms deer season, which runs through Nov. 23.

According to Missouri Department of Conservation, the opening weekend of the November portion of firearms deer season is the most popular two days for most deer hunters in Missouri. 

Hunters harvested a total of 297,214 deer during the 2020-21 deer season. Of that total, 80,744 were taken during opening weekend of the November portion.

The Department of Conservation says this season’s harvest should be higher than average due to increasing deer numbers across most of the state coupled with increased firearms antlerless permit availability in a number of counties and an extension of the antlerless portion.

By law, Missouri requires a hunting education course for any hunter born on or after Jan. 1, 1967. Since hunting education became mandatory in 1987, hunting accidents and deaths have decreased by more than 70 percent.

MU Health Care released a list of tips to make sure hunters are staying safe this year.

• Wear hunter orange when in the woods. Use hunter orange to identify your hunting location.
• Dress defensively. Never wear red, white, blue or black while hunting turkey.
• Know the effective range of your gun.
• Always identify your target before putting your finger on the trigger.
• Never shoot at sound or movement. Assume it is another hunter until you can clearly see the animal.
• Stay aware of other hunters.
• Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it.
• Make sure your equipment is in good working condition and your firearm is properly sighted in.
• If you hunt on private land, know where the boundaries, houses, roads, fences and livestock are located on the property.
• Report observed violations of the law to a conservation agent or local sheriff.
• Know and obey all wildlife laws and gun safety.
• When using a camouflage blind, other hunters cannot see you even if you are wearing hunter orange. Tie hunter orange on each side of the blind so it can be seen from all sides.
• If you are an inexperienced hunter, seek out experienced hunters that you can learn from.
• If you are involved in a firearms-related hunting incident, identify yourself and render assistance. Failure to do so is a Class A misdemeanor.

The antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs Dec. 4-12 followed by the alternative methods portion Dec. 25 through Jan. 4, 2022.