The Mark Twain National Forest just might be Missouri's best public bowhunt. The forest covers a million and a half acres with habitat suitable for any type of bowhunting. If you're looking for a wilderness experience with the chance at a big buck, the Mark Twain undoubtedly is the place for you.

United States Department of Agriculture wildlife biologist Larry Furniff keeps his finger on the pulse of the Mark Twain's deer herd. He knows the deer both from his on-duty wildlife management responsibilities and from the hunts he's made in pursuit of his own bucks.

The Ozarks produce some trophy animals every year, said Furniff, but as a rule, the racks in this part of the state aren't considered large. An 8-pointer is a nice buck, but the rack is usually smaller than what a similar-sized deer would sport above the Missouri River floodplains. The reason is that the region's soil quality is poor and not conducive to growing a lot of nutritious vegetation for the deer. Here, a 120-incher is considered a trophy.

But even with that said, the deer are healthy and weigh in well, and a big rack or two does come off the forest each year. The herd numbers are hard to determine, but they're usually on the high end. The mast crop last year was a good one and should have allowed huge numbers of button bucks to make it through the winter.

Are there real trophy deer on the forest? You bet there are.

According to Furniff, archers looking for the older bucks should start in the fertile river bottom hardwoods and along the streams running through the area. Last year's mast crop exploded, and the whitetails will be in among the hardwoods taking advantage if it happens again this fall.

The deer in these fertile sections tend to run larger than do those on the drier parts of the forest. In line with the theory that the whitetails follow their stomachs, the next spots to check are public spots bordered by corn fields and other crops. Bucks that frequent those fields tend to pick up more weight and antler size than those who don't. During years of good mast production, which has been the case the past few years, bucks tend to use the farm fields less than they do during years of poor acorn production.

Even though hunting the Mark Twain is a much quieter experience than hunting many of Missouri's other public properties, it still pays to get off the beaten path. Way off.