Photo by Troy Huffman.

You don't have to think back into history very far to remember the best days for deer hunting in Missouri with a muzzleloader. The good ol' days? They're now!

Smokepole hunters have their own season, which offers them 10 days of prime whitetail hunting in the Show-Me State. That Missouri's deer population is at an all-time high, and that many public hunting lands are open to archery and muzzleloading hunting only, can only mean a double dose of good fortune to the muzzleloader hunter.

BIOLOGICALLY SPEAKING
Lonnie Hansen is the Missouri Department of Conservation resource scientist whose main job focus is the management of Missouri's deer herd. "Late-season muzzleloader deer hunting is by no means easy," he said. "We get complaints from muzzleloader hunters that the season is too close to the end of the November portion of the firearms deer season and that the deer are still spooked."

Despite those complaints, Missouri muzzleloader deer hunters tele-checked 10,013 deer during the 2006 smokepole season. The top region in deer harvest during the muzzleloader season last year was the Ozark Region, with a total of 1,499 deer taken. The top five counties in the region were Oregon (197), Howell (185), Phelps (175), Texas (167), and Dent (147).

Statewide, the top 10 counties in deer harvest during the muzzleloader season last year were Franklin (226), Osage (218), Ste. Genevieve (212), Oregon (197), Howell (185), Phelps (175), Crawford (172), Texas (167), Jefferson (160), and Gasconade (159).

Interestingly, all of the top 10 counties are south of the Missouri River. Why? It could be because many of these areas are not open to hunting during the antlerless portion of the firearms deer season. Hunters in these southern counties know that the muzzleloader season is their last chance to kill a deer with a firearm.

"From a management standpoint, the muzzleloader deer season really is not adding a lot more deer to the harvest," Hansen said. "If they (deer) weren't taken during the muzzleloader season, they would probably be killed anyway during another portion of the season. A lot of times, I will pass on a deer during the regular firearms season knowing that I can still shoot one later during the muzzleloader portion of the season."

Blackpowder hunters will be happy to know that some public hunting areas allow only muzzleloader and archery methods as ways of taking deer. "We have several public-use areas scattered throughout the state that are open to deer hunting with archery and muzzleloader only," said Hansen. "These areas are off-limits to the big crowds of centerfire rifle hunters, and some of these areas have evolved into some really good deer hunting areas."

The MDC began micromanaging individual public use areas for whitetails in 2005. This practice was implemented to help maintain healthy populations of deer while providing high-quality hunting experiences. Biologists carefully evaluated the effects of deer hunting on all areas owned or managed by the MDC. The result of the evaluation led to many area regulation changes. Thus, many areas were closed to modern firearms deer hunting and were left open only to archery and muzzleloader hunting.

This practice ruffled a few firearms hunters' feathers at first, but was generally welcomed by deer hunters who frequently hunted public lands. The increased numbers of deer on these areas are already apparent.

WHERE TO GO
Here's a look at two of the best places to go to for blackpowder deer in Missouri, including details about habitat, deer numbers and more from the MDC wildlife biologists who manage these lands for deer.

Rocky Fork Lakes CA
This 2,199-acre conservation area in Boone County offers muzzleloader hunters some diverse habitat and a lot of room to roam while deer hunting.

"This is an area that has not been open to centerfire rifle deer hunting for some 20 years," said Jim Loveless, an MDC wildlife management biologist. "And, it has only been open to muzzleloader firearms hunting for the last five years or so."