KANSAS CITY REGION
The Kansas City Region finished in sixth place in overall number of deer killed last year with 36,634. The top five counties in the region were Benton 5,881 (third statewide), St. Clair 4,705 (10th), Henry 4,359 (15th), Vernon 3,261 (41st) and Pettis 3,136 (45th). The last place county in this region was Clay with 1,494 (103rd).

The Kansas City Region's 12 counties tie it for sixth place in terms of number of counties with the Ozark Region. These counties include Bates, Benton, Cass, Clay, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis, Platte, St. Clair and Vernon.

Firearms Deer Season: Statewide rank sixth place with 26,140 deer killed. The top five counties include Benton 4,404, St. Clair 3,522, Henry 3,173, Vernon 2,428 and Pettis 2,368.

In 1996, the top three counties in this region were Benton with 3,159, St. Clair 2,921 and Henry 2,478. Compare the 2006 firearms top counties with 1996 and you will see that this region has had a good increase in deer harvest over the past decade.

Archery Deer Season: Statewide rank fifth place with 5,089 deer arrowed. The top five counties were Jackson with 964, Benton, 595, St. Clair 520, Henry 466 and Clay 416. Urban deer hunters in the KC metro area helped increase the archery harvest this past season.

Muzzleloader Deer Season: Statewide rank eighth place with 764 deer taken. The top five counties were Benton 104, St. Clair 91, Henry 88, Cass 76 and Bates 74.

Antlerless Deer Season: Statewide rank fourth place with 3,295 deer bagged. The top five counties were Benton 610, Henry 504, St. Clair 420, Pettis 300 and Vernon 276.

Urban Deer Season: Statewide rank third place with 296 deer checked in. The four counties included were Cass with 98, Clay 77, Jackson 66 and Platte 55.

ST. LOUIS REGION
The St. Louis Region finished in seventh place in overall numbers of deer taken in 2006 with 28,146 deer checked in. The top five counties were Lincoln 4,910 (6th statewide), Franklin 4,890 (7th), Crawford 3,777 (20th), Jefferson 3,764 (21st) and Warren 3,177 (44th). St. Louis County came in last in this region with 2,256 deer taken (74th).

The Central Region has earned a name for itself over the past decade as one of the state's hottest deer-hunting regions.

The St. Louis Region is the seventh largest of the eight regions in terms of number of counties. The eight counties in this region include Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis, Warren and Washington. Here's how the seasons broke down.

Firearms Deer Season: Statewide rank eighth (last) with 18,768 deer harvested. The top five counties were Franklin 3,601, Lincoln 3,271, Crawford 2,931, Jefferson 2,615 and Warren 2,214.

In 1996, Franklin County led the way in this region with 2,399 deer harvested. The increased number of deer taken in this region has certainly been dramatic over the past decade. This is owing to additional opportunities and increased bag limits in the region.

Archery Deer Season: Statewide rank third place with 5,719 deer taken. Top counties were St. Louis with 1,151, Jefferson 874, St. Charles 853, Franklin 845 and Lincoln 709. St. Louis County led the state in archery harvest last year, thanks to the efforts of organized urban archery deer hunters here.

Muzzleloader Deer Season: Statewide rank seventh place with 1,038 deer taken. Top five counties included Franklin 226, Crawford 172, Jefferson 160, Lincoln 127 and Washington 99.

Antlerless Deer Season: Statewide rank sixth place with 2,638 deer harvested. The four counties finished as follows: Lincoln 650, Warren 343, St. Charles 306 and St. Louis 215.

Urban Deer Season: Statewide rank fourth place out of four regions participating. The two counties included St. Charles 137 and St. Louis 76.

SOUTHEAST REGION
The Southeast Region finished in last place out of the eight regions in terms of overall deer harvest with 26,119 deer killed. The top five counties were Ste. Genevieve with 3,633 (23rd) statewide, Wayne 3,425 (34th), Bollinger 2,846 (51st), Perry 2,709 (57th) and Butler 1,992 (81st). However, this region also had the bottom five counties statewide, which were Scott 551, Dunklin 308, New Madrid 295, Mississippi 292 and Pemiscott 153. To be fair, the bottom four are located in the state's boot heel, and perhaps they should be in a region all by themselves.

Firearms Season: Statewide rank seventh place with 19,933 deer taken. The top five counties included Ste. Genevieve with 2,806, Wayne 2,655, Bollinger 2,269, Perry 2,187 and St. Francois 1,417.

In 1996, this region's top two counties were Wayne with 1,706 and Bollinger with 1,427.

Archery Season: Statewide rank eighth place with just 3,944 deer harvested. The top five counties were Wayne 536, Ste. Genevieve 482, Stoddard 444, Butler 401 and Bollinger 371.

Muzzleloader Season: Statewide rank fifth place with 1,187 deer taken. The top five counties included Ste. Genevieve with 212, Perry 126, Wayne 11, Bollinger 105 and Cape Girardeau 85.