Photo by Kenny

Deer hunters today are number crunchers. They want to know how many deer were killed in a particular season, and which regions and counties had the highest harvest numbers. With limited numbers of days to hunt, hunters want to tilt the odds in their favor as much as they possibly can. Hunters can do a much better job of playing the odds if they know the numbers.

NORTHEAST REGION
This region ranks first place overall in total number of deer taken in 2006-07 during the six portions of Missouri's deer seasons that pertain to this region. Hunters in this region checked in a grand total of 57,419 last year. The top five counties were Pike with 6,310 deer checked in (second statewide), Macon 5,587 (fourth), Monroe 4,476 (13th), Adair (17th) and Shelby 3,936 (18th). This region's last place county is Schuyler with 2,163 deer taken, but it still ranked 77th out of Missouri's 114 counties.

The Northeast Region consists of 15 counties, making it the fourth largest of the eight regions in Missouri in terms of number of counties within its borders. These counties include Adair, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Pike, Putnam, Ralls, Randolph, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby and Sullivan.

This region's first place ranking is pretty darn impressive when you consider that there are three other regions with more counties within their borders. Here's how the 2006-07 deer seasons added up for the Northeast Region.

Firearms Deer Season: Statewide rank first place with 41,049 deer bagged. The top five counties were Pike with 4,211 deer harvested, Macon 3,942, Monroe 3,317, Adair 3,006 and Shelby 2,766.

In 1996, this region's top two counties were Macon with 4,122 deer killed and Adair with 2,558.

Archery Deer Season: Statewide rank second place with 6,584 deer harvested. The top five counties were Pike with 795, Macon 614, Adair 540, Putnam and Shelby with 505 each, and Scotland 497.

Muzzleloader Deer Season: Statewide rank third place with 1,282 deer taken. The top five counties were Pike with 148, Putnam 136, Adair 123, Macon 109 and Knox 102.

Antlerless Deer Season: Statewide rank first place with a total of 6,633 deer harvested. The top five counties were Pike with 930, Macon 720, Monroe 504, Shelby 489 and Randolph 475.

CENTRAL REGION
The Central Region came in at second place in terms of overall number of deer taken throughout the 2006-07 Missouri deer seasons with 53,252 deer killed. The top five counties were Callaway 6,529 (first statewide), Boone 4,975 (fifth), Osage 4,616 (12th), Morgan 4,461 (14th) and Camden 4,316 (16th). The Central Region's lowest ranked county, Moniteau, finished with 1,822 deer taken (88th statewide).

The Central Region is tied for fourth largest with the Northeast Region in terms of number of counties within its borders. These 15 counties include Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Cole, Cooper, Gasconade, Howard, Maries, Miller, Moniteau, Montgomery, Morgan, Osage and Saline. The Central Region has earned a name for itself over the past decade as one of the state's hottest deer-hunting regions.

Firearms Deer Season: Statewide rank second place with 37,609 deer taken. Top five counties were Callaway with 4,466, Osage 3,332, Morgan 3,316, Camden 3,087 and Boone 2,836.

In 1996, this region's top six counties were Boone 3,661, Callaway 3,032, Montgomery 2,591, Camden 2,362, Osage 2,306 and Gasconade 1,798.

Archery Deer Season: Statewide rank first place with 7,122 deer harvested. The top five counties were Callaway 966, Boone 929, Osage 744, Gasconade 532 and Howard 501.

Muzzleloader Deer Season: Statewide rank second place with 1,363 deer taken. The top five counties were Osage 218, Gasconade 159, Camden 134, Maries 119 and Callaway 114.

With limited numbers of days to hunt, hunters want to tilt the odds in their favor as much as they possibly can. Hunters can do a much better job of playing the odds if they know the numbers.

Antlerless Deer Season: Statewide rank third place with 4,417 deer checked in. The top five counties were Callaway 724, Boone 655, Howard 545, Camden 445 and Morgan 422.

Urban Deer Season: Statewide rank first place with 450 deer tagged in two counties -- Boone with 313 and Cole with 137.

NORTHWEST REGION
The Northwest Region ranked third statewide in terms of overall numbers of deer taken last year with a grand total of 47,247 whitetails. The top five counties were Carroll 3,732 (22nd), Nodaway 3,512 (28th), Chariton 3,493 (29th), Linn 3,422 (35th) and Harrison 3,353 (37th). This region's last place county is Worth with 1,220 deer taken (105th).