Missouri Deer Harvest Slightly less than Last Year-Up from 5 Year Average

Archery deer harvest was 60,834. Archery turkey harvest was 2,523.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri’s 2021-2022 deer-hunting season ended Jan. 15 with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reporting a preliminary total deer harvest for the season of 293,670. Of the deer harvested, 143,049 were antlered bucks, 26,599 were button bucks, and 124,022 were does.

Top harvest counties for the overall deer season were Franklin with 6,392 deer harvested, Texas with 5,478, and Callaway with 5,452.

Hunters harvested 297,214 deer during the 2020-2021 deer hunting season with 140,855 being antlered bucks, 28,652 being button bucks, and 127,707 being does.

“This year’s harvest total was slightly behind last year’s mark and about 3% above the previous five-year average,” said MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle. “We’ve seen an increasing trend in statewide deer harvest for about the past eight years,” said Isabelle. “The deer population has continued to increase across much of southern Missouri at the same time that we’ve seen a population recovery in most of the counties impacted by the severe hemorrhagic disease outbreak that occurred in 2012.”

ARCHERY DEER RESULTS

Deer hunting ended with the close of the archery season. Preliminary data from MDC showed that hunters checked 60,834 deer during the 2021-2022 archery deer season making it the third highest archery deer harvest on record. Top counties for the archery deer season were Jefferson with 1,563 deer harvested, St. Louis with 1,368, and Franklin with 1,274.

Hunters checked 67,487 deer during the 2020-2021 archery deer season. This year’s archery deer harvest total was 10% below last year’s record harvest and 8% higher than the previous five-year average.

For deer harvest totals by season, county, and type of deer, visit the MDC website at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/.

For deer harvest summaries from past years, visit mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-reports/deer-harvest-summaries.

For more information on deer hunting in Missouri, visit mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer.

ARCHERY TURKEY RESULTS

Fall archery turkey hunting also ended Jan. 15. Preliminary data from MDC showed 2,523 turkeys harvested. Top counties for the fall archery turkey season were Franklin with 69 turkeys harvested, Jefferson with 67, and Callaway with 61.

Hunters harvested 2,350 turkeys during the 2020-2021 fall archery turkey season.

For more turkey harvest information for the current season, go online to extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/.