If you're a veteran deer hunter, you know that the whitetails become different animals once the modern firearms portion of Missouri's deer season is over. After trying to avoid the nearly half-million hunters who've spent 11 November days roaming across most of the Show-Me State's fields and forest, our deer are more nervous than a dog trying to pass a peach pit!

Deer hunters in Missouri have a two-day break between the end of the November portion of the state's firearms deer season and the opening of the much anticipated muzzleloader portion. Smokepole enthusiasts have from Nov. 24 through Dec. 3 -- just 10 days -- to chase whitetails.

If you haven't already done so, the first step is finding a decent-quality place to hunt; then, you need to adjust your strategies to match the habitat. Read on to learn about where to go in each region in the state from Missouri Department of Conservation wildlife personnel, and about how to bag your muzzleloader buck this season from Missouri resident and outdoor celebrity Alex Rutledge of Hunter's Specialties.

REGIONAL ROUND-UP
Ozark: White River Trace CA
"I'd say that the deer population here is good," said MDC wildlife regional supervisor Larry Rieken of White River Trace Conservation Area. Owned and managed by the MDC, this 2,044-acre area in Dent County is open for deer hunting by blackpowder and archery methods only. The habitat is mostly open, with lots of early-succession grasslands punctuated by small blocks of timber and wooded draws.

"In a lot of ways, it may be easier to hunt deer in this area since it is mostly open," Rieken offered. "The vast open area and the fact that this area is not open for deer hunting at all during the November firearms portion of deer season provides a unique hunting opportunity here."

White River Trace lies eight miles west of Salem on County Route H. For a map or more information, contact the MDC's Ozark regional office at (417) 256-7161.

Southwest: Bushwhacker Lake CA
Lying in both Vernon and Barton counties, this 4,749-acre conservation area boasts varied topography comprising prairie (34 percent), old fields (18 percent), forest (17 percent), cropland (14 percent), grassland (8 percent), savannah (5 percent) and flat water suitable for fishing (4 percent). It's open for deer hunting by blackpowder and archery methods only; all other statewide deer seasons and limits apply.

This is another public area that isn't getting bombarded by the mainstream crowd from the November portion of the deer season. "We have good-quality deer hunting on this area," said MDC wildlife regional supervisor Tim Russell. "Since hunters are restricted to muzzleloader and archery deer hunting methods only, this area receives only moderate hunting pressure."

Bushwhacker Lake CA was selected by the MDC's Resource Science Division to participate in a three-year deer hunter satisfaction survey. "After just looking through the hunter survey cards, it seems to me that most hunters are pretty satisfied on the numbers of deer they see here," Russell noted. "It seems that the deer population is staying in reasonable check with the new archery and muzzleloader restrictions here."

According to Russell, the CA, always a honeyhole for archers, is one of those hidden gems that few know about. Now that muzzleloading weapons are allowed there, Bushwhacker Lake feels a little more pressure -- but that doesn't seem to have affected deer numbers there!