"I am religious about keeping my human scent down to a minimum," Harrison said. "I use scent removers and wash my clothes with scent-proof soaps. I wear rubber boots and make sure I don't fuel up my truck in my hunting gear the morning or evening of the hunt."

Harrison is a master at game calling, and knows how to call deer during this late season period. "I like to grunt for deer during the late season," he said. "However, I keep my tending grunts soft and subtle and not overly aggressive at this time of year, because many of the deer have been called to a lot already."

When it comes to scents, Harrison uses a doe-in-estrus scent, sometimes accompanying it with a little dominant-buck lure. "In the cold weather and snow, I like to set a ground blind up on a sunny hillside or ridgetop," he said. "The rule of thumb is: The colder it gets, the later I start hunting in the morning."

Another favorite set-up site of Harrison's is near a known bedding area. The deer are generally spooked at this time of year, and by setting up near a bedding area he can catch deer moving to a feeding area or just getting up to stretch their legs and browse around.

"Missouri hunters have a great chance of killing a deer on public land with a muzzleloader," Harrison concluded. "Most folks think that every deer has been killed or chased off these areas by the time muzzleloader season rolls around, but that's just wrong. What you will find is that you will often have an entire public area all to yourself."

Missouri's muzzleloader season begins on Friday, Nov. 23, and lasts through Dec. 2.

Other good December blackpowder deer hotspots include Earthquake Hollow in Callaway County (85 acres), Hungry Mother in Howard County (274 acres), Big Creek in Adair County (1,199 acres) and DuPont in Pike County (1,320 acres).

For maps of these areas, contact the MDC at (573) 751-4115.

Find more about Missouri fishing and hunting at: MissouriGameandFish.com