Numbers up for early youth portion

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Fall firearms season opened this weekend for Missouri deer hunters, and according to preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation, it should be a good season.
Perry County conservation agent Chris Doran said that the number of deer checked in so far from both archery season and the early youth firearms weekend is very encouraging.
“Driving around, it seems like, you always see herds of anywhere from three to five deer in a field,” Doran said. “So I think it’s going to be a good year for us, probably about that same harvest we have about every year.”
So far this year, hunters have checked 66,029 deer, including 32,103 antlered bucks and 28,187 does.
In Perry County, hunters have checked 527 deer, including 173 antlered bucks. Neighboring Bollinger County reports the fifth highest total in the state with 1,088 deer checked so far this fall.
“They’re always high,” Doran said.
During the early youth portion earlier this month, young hunters from age 6-15 harvested 18,284 deer, including 11,665 antlered bucks and 5,078 does.
Top counties were Osage with 381 deer, Howell with 355, and Franklin with 351.
Last year’s harvest total for the early youth portion was 13,645.
“We had great weekend weather for deer hunting,” said MDC Deer Biologist Kevyn Wiskirchen. “It was chilly, but not freezing, which is good for deer movement.”
This year in Perry County, young hunters checked 180 deer, including 75 antlered bucks and 93 does, 51 more deer than last year.
Not surprisingly, Bollinger led the list of surrounding counties with 315 deer checked during the two-day youth hunt, including 157 antlered bucks and 119 does.
Madison County was next on the list with 165, followed by Cape Girardeau with 159, Ste. Genevieve with 155 and St. Francois with 137.

Last year, young hunters in Bollinger County checked 210 deer. Perry County reported 129.
The November portion of firearms deer season runs from Saturday through Nov. 26, followed by the late youth portion Nov. 29-Dec. 1.
Archery deer hunting continues through Nov. 15 and resumes Nov. 27 through Jan. 15, 2020. The antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs Dec. 6-8, followed by the alternative methods portion Dec. 28-Jan. 7.
Like last year, Perry County hunters who kill deer during the opening weekend will be required to participate in mandatory testing for chronic wasting disease.
CWD is a deadly, infectious disease in white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family that eventually kills all animals it infects. There is no vaccine or cure. CWD is spread from deer to deer and through the environment. MDC has found 116 cases of CWD in Missouri since 2012 out of more than 100,000 deer sampled so the disease remains relatively rare in the state.
Perry County is one of 29 counties designated as a CWD Management Zone, made up of counties in or near where CWD has been found. The list also includes St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve counties.
Since 2017, 13 deer in Ste. Genevieve County have tested positive for CWD. Only one has been found in Perry County, back in 2017, and Doran said there was some confusion about where it was actually killed.
Hunters who harvest deer in any counties of the CWD Management Zone during opening weekend are required to take their harvested deer — or the head with at least six inches of neck attached — on the day of harvest to one of MDC’s CWD sampling stations.
In Perry County, those stations will be the MDC office located at 2206 W St Joseph St. (Hwy. T) in Perryville or the Heartland Social Club on Hwy. A in Frohna.
Voluntary testing will also be available later in the season at two locations in Perryville, Stonie’s Sausage Shop located at 1507 Edgemont Blvd, and at Etzold Packing, located at 1702 S Kingshighway St.
As for deer season in general, Doran offered some general advice.
“I just always remind people to respect the private property boundaries, wear their hunter orange that’s required, and call the local agent or the Operation Game Thief hotline if you see anything,” Doran said.
The Operation Game Thief hotline may be reached by calling 1-800-392-1111.