Favorable weather and last year's lower-than-normal doe harvest helped
push the 2006 firearms deer kill to an unprecedented high.
JEFFERSON CITY-Good weather and an abundance of deer enabled hunters to
shoot a record number of deer during Missouri's regular firearms deer season
Nov. 11 through 21.
The Missouri Department of Conservation recorded 235,054 deer taken during
the November portion of the firearms deer season. That is up 29,594 (14.4
percent) from last year and 12,725 (5.7 percent) from the previous record,
set in 2004.
The record harvest was something of a surprise, because this year's opening
weekend harvest was down by 8,865 (6.7 percent) compared to 2004.
"It was a little bit of a slow start this year compared to 2004, but a lot
better than 2005," said Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen, the Conservation
Department's deer specialist. "However, we had good weather - not too cold
or too warm and not too much rain - for most of the season, and that kept
hunters in the woods."
Hansen also noted that Missouri probably started out with a
larger-than-normal number of deer this year. Hunters killed 11 percent fewer
does during the 2005 hunting season than they did in 2004. That left
approximately 10,000 extra female deer in the population. Most of those
would have produced two fawns, boosting the state's deer herd.
The record deer harvest is good news for several reasons, said Hansen. "We
needed a strong harvest to maintain deer numbers at optimum levels, and we
got it. A lot of deer hunters had the thrill of seeing deer and putting meat
in the freezer. The strong harvest will help out Share the Harvest, too."
Share the Harvest is a joint effort of the Conservation Department and the
Conservation Federation of Missouri to help hunters donate venison to
charities. The program funneled 129 tons of venison into food pantries and
other charities statewide last year.
The top deer-harvest counties this year were Callaway, with 4,473 deer
checked, Benton with 4,411 and Pike with 4,216. The Conservation Department
recorded 10 firearms-related deer hunting accidents, including two
fatalities.
The 2006 November firearms deer harvest included 43 percent antlered deer,
43 percent does and 14 percent "button bucks" - young male deer with antlers
measuring less than 3 inches long.
Last year, hunters killed 81,712 antlered deer. This year's figure was
100,457 a 23 percent increase.
Approximately 475,000 people hunt deer with firearms in Missouri each year.
Following are the annual November firearms deer harvest figures for the past
15 years.
2005 - 205,460
2004 - 222,329
2003 - 207,516
2002 - 217,435
2001 - 205,867
2000 - 201,165
1996 - 180,395
1997 - 186,562
1998 - 194,670
1999 - 175,925
1995 - 187,406
1994 - 163,468
1993 - 156,704
1992 - 150,873
1991 - 149,112
-Jim Low-
