Photo by BillKinney.com

By Gerald J. Scott

I mentally thumbed through my vocabulary in search of just the right word to describe the number of changes in this year's deer hunting regulations and finally decided the term "sackful" was, by far, the most accurate. Space doesn't permit more than a sketch of the highlights of what was available at press time. I highly recommend that all deer hunters including those who only participate in the regular firearms portion of the season obtain a copy of the regulations booklet as soon as possible.

The most significant statewide change is the elimination of the Deer Management Unit system.

Antlerless deer management will be handled on a county-by-county basis. Any hunter can purchase all the antlerless permits he wants, but the number of antlerless permits an individual hunter can use in some counties will be limited.

Another undoubtedly popular change: Deer hunters will have 24 hours to present their deer at any Wildlife Check Station. This change will open up portions of the Mark Twain National Forest that have been de facto off limits to firearms hunters owing to check-in time constraints.

Resident archers willing to forgo the opportunity to harvest turkeys and antlered deer may purchase Archery Antlerless Deer Hunting Permits without first purchasing an Archer's Hunting Permit.

Then there's the antler point restriction pilot program. Bucks must have at least four points at least one inch in length to be legal in a 29-county band stretching across most of far northern Missouri before swinging south across the Missouri River and into eastern Missouri. The antler restriction applies to all hunters except for youths hunting during the youth portion of the firearms season.

Last and least (unless you're feeling really lucky), two Missouri residents who purchase an Any-Deer Hunting Permits or a Youth Deer and Turkey Hunting Permit by Nov. 4 will be registered to win a lifetime permit good for fishing and small-game hunting. The permit includes trout and migratory birds.

That's enough (more than enough?) fussing over the rules of the game. We've bought an Any-Deer Permit and a pocketful of Antlerless-Only Permits, and we're itching to put them to use. Where should we go? As always, we'll pretend that we're free to hunt wherever we want and that our primary goal is to harvest one or more deer. With that thought in mind, here's a region-by-region and county-by-county look at how Missouri's deer hunters fared in 2003.

(Author's Note: The MDC made significant changes in its regional boundaries this year, and both the East Central and West Central regions were eliminated. The following discussion uses the new regional system. Unless otherwise noted, the figures quoted are for the firearms deer harvest.)

Putnam, Schuyler, Sullivan, Adair, Macon and Randolph counties are within this antler point restriction zone. While no one can say for certain, it seems likely that the Northeast's 2004 firearms deer harvest will include a higher percentage of antlerless deer with no decrease in the overall harvest.

Pike (2nd), Macon (4th), Monroe (10th), Adair (21st) and Randolph (22nd) made the statewide honor roll. Although Marion (60th) and Schuyler (62nd) technically were below average firearms deer producers, there really aren't any counties to avoid in this region. Lewis (53rd) gets my vote for the region's sleeper county.

Public land in this region gets a lot of hunting pressure early in the season but offers quality hunting during the muzzleloader portion of the season. Offering to harvest only antlerless deer is a good way to gain initial access to private land.

Callaway (3rd), Boone (5th), Morgan (7th), Camden (12th), Montgomery (23rd) and Osage (24th) were among the state's top firearms deer producers. Maries (63rd), Moniteau (81st) and Cole (94th) were the region's only below average counties. I'm going way out on a limb to pick Moniteau as the region's sleeper.

How will hunters react to the antler point restriction program? If significant numbers of the any-antlers-are-good-antlers set choose to hunt elsewhere, this region could be a good destination for those who prefer to harvest antlerless deer.

Chariton, (13th), Linn (15th), Carroll (18th) and Daviess (20th) were the region's top producers.

Don't be misled by the statistical fact that nine of this region's counties were below-average producers of firearms deer in 2003. Many of these region's counties are small in size, and, for some unexplainable reason, the northwest draws fewer hunters per acre of habitat than any of the other major deer regions.

It's no accident that Chariton and Carroll counties are among the Northwest's best. Both border the Missouri River. Adventurous, well-equipped hunters can find thousands of acres of public land along the big river, much of which is only accessible via boat.

Its 2003 firearms deer harvest totaled 31,008 animals, including 19,716 antlerless. This region should make an even better showing in 2004, because all of its counties will have a separate Antlerless-Only Season, some will have an additional Urban Season and none are within the antler restriction zone.

Benton (1st), Saint Clair (6th) and Henry (9th) ranked on the chart. The region's other rural counties were solid producers, with the exception of Lafayette (89th). The urban counties ranked near the bottom, but all of them produced more than 1,000 deer each. Cass (68th) is worthy of being named the region's sleeper.

I know I say this every year, but there are a lot of deer in Lafayette County, and a lot of them live along the banks of the Missouri River where they're vulnerable to public land hunters. I sure wish some of you guys would go shoot them, so I could harp on something else.

This region didn't have any counties among the state's top 24, but Laclede (25th), Cedar (30th), Hickory (36th) and Dallas (44th) were solid producers. Deer production dropped off dramatically from there, but only Christian (105th) and Stone (108th) failed to produce more than 1,200 deer. Barton is my choice for regional sleeper. Anyone willing to learn how to hunt deer on the prairie will find a reward for his efforts.

In this region, you need to take every opportunity to hunt. That includes entering the drawing for Managed Hunts and participating in every portion of the season.

Texas (8th), Oregon (11th) and Howell (17th) were among the state's best firearms deer counties.

Phelps (41st), Dent (50th), Wright (55th) and Wright (58th) were solid producers. None of the Southwest's counties ranked so low as to be worthy of being ignored. My money's on Shannon as the regional sleeper.

This is by far the best region in the state for a public-land hunter who's in reasonably good physical condition. This should be an especially good year for deer hunters in the Mark Twain National Forest, because both the 2003 and 2004 acorn crops were far above average.

Franklin is the only Saint Louis Region county within the antler-point restriction zone. Hunters in Franklin and Jefferson Counties will have to forgo the Antlerless-Only Season.

Franklin (16th) and Lincoln (19th) joined the state's elite firearms deer producers. Only Washington (90th) and Saint Louis (106th) made life extremely tough for those who chose to hunt them, and Washington produced 1,320 deer.

This region's residents form the hard core of Missouri bowhunting. One reason is that, in the suburbs, bowhunters can go where firearms hunters can't. Consider joining them. If you're determined to hunt here with firearms, start making arrangements for your 2005 hunt right after the Christmas holidays.

Sainte Genevieve (47th) is the Southeast's only above average firearms deer producer. Wayne (59th), Bollinger (74th) and Perry (85th) escaped total embarrassment. Butler ranked 96th. The region's other 11 counties ranked from Cape Girardeau's 100th down to Pemiscot's 114th, the worst possible finish. Relatively speaking at least, Bollinger is the region's sleeper.

An individual deer doesn't live in a county, much less a region; it lives in a section or less of suitable habitat. Isolated blocks of such habitat exist throughout the region, primarily on private land. Gain access to the right place, and you can have as good a hunt in the Southeast as you can anywhere else in Missouri.

Archers have access to some prime public hunting lands that are off limits to firearms hunters.

For example, it's impossible to overstress how much of a favor either a public-land hunter or an "unconnected" hunter who hopes to gain access to a stranger's property will do himself if he avoids hunting on opening weekend of the regular firearms portion of the season. Overall pressure drops at least 70 percent by the second weekend on most public areas, and the friends and families of many landowners have "tagged out."

Switching to a muzzleloader is an even better option for hunters in either of the above categories, but especially for those who hunt on public land. In 2003, 208,834 deer were taken during the November portion of the regular firearms season. Muzzleloaders shot 11,184, up 19 percent from 2002.

If you doubt that the only reason for the disparity in harvest numbers is an even greater disparity in hunter numbers, consider this. Missouri's total deer harvest equals, at most, 30 percent of the deer herd. Thus, if there are 10 deer in a given block of habitat on opening deer of the regular firearms season, seven will still be there on opening day of muzzleloader season.