Missouri’s 2017-18 deer-hunting season ended on January 15, and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has reported a preliminary total harvest of 283,940 deer. Hunters harvested 263,834 deer during the 2016-2017 deer hunting season.
Top counties this year were Howell with 6,182 deer harvested, Franklin with 5,957 and Texas with 5,619. In the KMMO listening area, Cooper reported the most deer harvested with 2,311; followed by Howard with 2,209, Pettis with 2,015, Carroll with 2,001, Chariton with 1,908, Saline with 1,730 and Lafayette with 1,215.
Deer hunting ended with the close of the archery season, and preliminary data shows hunters checked 51,722 deer during that season. Hunters checked 47,552 deer during the 2016-2017 archery season. Top counties this year were Jefferson with 1,169 deer harvested, St. Louis with 1,021 and Franklin with 1,000. In the area, Cooper was the top county with 366 deer checked; followed by Howard with 348, Pettis with 310, Carroll with 308, Saline with 273, Chariton with 235 and Lafayette with 193.
Fall archery turkey hunting also ended on January 15, and preliminary data from MDC shows 2,426 turkeys were harvested. For the previous year, hunters harvested 2,304 turkeys. This year, top counties were Phelps with 73 birds harvested, Texas with 63 and Laclede with 58. Among area counties, Pettis led the way with 29 birds checked; followed by Chariton and Lafayette with 23 each, Howard with 22, Carroll and Cooper with 11 each and Saline with 10.
You can find out more information at https://extra.mdc.mo.gov.