Herron bags 8 point buck

Ryder Herron got a nice eight point buck during the opening weekend of firearms deer season.

Young hunter gets first buck

Jay Erdman helped his grandson, Beckett Erdman, take down his first buck, an eight point, over the weekend. Beckett is the son of Jayson and Caitlin Erdman, Cameron, Missouri.

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows deer hunters in Missouri harvested 90,334 deer during opening weekend of the November portion of firearms deer season November 11 and 12. Of the 90,334 deer harvested, 53,159 were antlered bucks, 7,163 were button bucks, and 30,012 were does.

Top harvest counties for opening weekend were Franklin with 2,114 deer harvested, Texas with 1,825, and Howell with 1,726.

According to MDC, this year’s opening weekend harvest was similar to the previous five-year average. Last year, hunters checked 93,355 deer during opening weekend of the November portion of firearms deer season.

The November portion of firearms deer season runs through November 21 followed by the CWD portion November 22-26 in open counties. Archery deer hunting resumes November 22 through January 15, 2024. The late youth portion runs November 24-26. The late antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs December 2-10 in open counties and the alternative methods portion will occur December 23 through January 2, 2024.

Get more information on Missouri deer hunting from MDC’s 2023 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where hunting permits are sold and online at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer.