Special to McDonald County Press
JEFFERSON CITY -- Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 97,171 deer during the opening weekend of the November portion of fall firearms deer season, Nov. 14-15. Of the deer harvested, 53,359 were antlered bucks, 10,320 were button bucks and 33,492 were does.
Top harvest counties for opening weekend were Texas County with 2,184 deer checked, Howell County with 1,959 and Franklin County with 1,899.
Last year, hunters checked 91,460 deer during the opening weekend.
In McDonald County last weekend, hunters checked 571 deer: 368 bucks, 41 button bucks, and 162 doe.
The November portion of the fall firearms deer season continues through Nov. 24. Archery deer hunting opens again from Nov. 25 through Jan. 15, 2016. The firearms antlerless portion will run Nov. 25 through Dec. 6.
The firearms alternative methods portion will run Dec. 19-29 followed by the firearms late youth portion Jan. 2-3, 2016. Missouri's early youth weekend ran Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. The firearms deer urban zone portion ran Oct. 9 -- 12.
Missouri offers some of the best deer hunting in the country and deer hunting is an important part of many Missourians' lives and family traditions. Deer hunting is also an important economic driver in Missouri and gives a $1 billion annual boost to the state and local economies.
For current, ongoing preliminary harvest totals by season, county, and type of deer, visit the MDC website at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/. For harvest summaries from past years, visit huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-harvest-reports/deer-harvest-summaries.
Sports on 11/19/2015