October – with cooler temperatures and fall color – is the time of year that matters most for Missouri hunters.
The rest of the year is spent waiting, planning, hoping and remembering. This fall there is cause for more optimism.
The upcoming hunting season has all the ingredients of a season to remember.
Decades of hunter-financed conservation and wildlife restoration – along with agreeable weather, improvements in national farm set-aside policy and other favorable factors – have produced bumper crops of waterfowl, upland birds, small game, deer and turkeys.
The beneficiaries of this cornucopia include everyone who enjoys geese winging across a blue sky, deer in an early evening meadow or turkeys feeding an open field near timber. Sportsmen stand to gain the most from this wild abundance when they head afield of the fall hunting season.
Here is a rundown of what to expect this fall for hunters.
Starting off the month was the turkey season that continues all month. With the turkey population that numbers around a half million birds, fall hunters have plenty of targets. Unlike the spring hunt, birds of either sex may be taken and hunters have all day to search for birds. The season limit is two turkeys and both may be taken on the same day. There aren't nearly as many fall turkey enters as there are in the spring, but its a great time to be in the turkey woods.
Waterfowl season kicks off in the north zone on Oct. 25 and hunters should have one of the better seasons as the duck population is high and the more liberal season should cause more hunters to take to the fields and marshes this fall. Reports from the breeding grounds are encouraging for most species of waterfowl.
Although lightly hunted, snipe, woodcock and rail hunting in the state should be better this fall. Both the snipe and rail seasons opened on Sept. 1 and the woodcock season runs from Oct. 15 to Nov. 28.
These small migratory birds offer some good hunting for the hunters who take the time to seek them out.
Everyone knows how good the deer population is at present. Archery season opened on Sept. 15 and with the exception of the firearm deer season, bowhunters have from now to Jan. 15 to pursue that big buck. Archers who have been afield report seeing lots of deer.
This year there will be five different portions to deer hunting besides archery. Starting off with the early firearm youth portion statewide on the weekend of Nov. 1-2. Next is the regular firearm season Nov. 15-25, followed with the muzzleloader portion Nov.28-Dec. 7.
Next is the anterless portion Dec. 13-21 and a new late youth portion Jan, 3-4.
Many deer hunters are familiar with the four-point antler restriction in north and middle part of Missouri and since the restriction proved popular with hunters and produced more adult bucks and an increase in the doe harvest in central part of the state, the Conservation Commission added 36 more counties this year to the four-point restriction.
Even the rabbit population is on the increase this year. Hunters in the western section of the state report seeing more rabbits this year than in the last decade. The season on rabbits opened Oct. 1. Most rabbit hunters wait until the first snow to get serious about going after the cottontails.
Squirrel hunters have plenty of targets this fall. Both gray and red bushytails are doing very well and hunting should be excellent once again this fall.
Quail hunters have suffered over the past few years as the quail population continues a downward trend. There appear to be some bright spots as some farmers and hunters report hearing and seeing more birds this summer than in several years.
One of those farmer-hunters who is optimistic about the quail is Fred Barnes, Sedalia, who said, “I hunted quail for years and thought it would always be good. However, for the past six seasons, I never hunted, but I have heard more birds this summer and have seen several coveys on my farm that weren’t there last fall. More people and organizations are getting active in helping the quail habitat and maybe in the next few years we will see a big increase in the number of quail in the state … I hope so.”
All in all, Missouri hunters should have a good season this fall as the numbers of most species of game is up and with good hunting weather, it should be a season to remember.
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October – with cooler temperatures and fall color – is the time of year that matters most for Missouri hunters.
The rest of the year is spent waiting, planning, hoping and remembering. This fall there is cause for more optimism.
The upcoming hunting season has all the ingredients of a season to remember.
Decades of hunter-financed conservation and wildlife restoration – along with agreeable weather, improvements in national farm set-aside policy and other favorable factors – have produced bumper crops of waterfowl, upland birds, small game, deer and turkeys.
The beneficiaries of this cornucopia include everyone who enjoys geese winging across a blue sky, deer in an early evening meadow or turkeys feeding an open field near timber. Sportsmen stand to gain the most from this wild abundance when they head afield of the fall hunting season.
Here is a rundown of what to expect this fall for hunters.
Starting off the month was the turkey season that continues all month. With the turkey population that numbers around a half million birds, fall hunters have plenty of targets. Unlike the spring hunt, birds of either sex may be taken and hunters have all day to search for birds. The season limit is two turkeys and both may be taken on the same day. There aren't nearly as many fall turkey enters as there are in the spring, but its a great time to be in the turkey woods.
Waterfowl season kicks off in the north zone on Oct. 25 and hunters should have one of the better seasons as the duck population is high and the more liberal season should cause more hunters to take to the fields and marshes this fall. Reports from the breeding grounds are encouraging for most species of waterfowl.
Although lightly hunted, snipe, woodcock and rail hunting in the state should be better this fall. Both the snipe and rail seasons opened on Sept. 1 and the woodcock season runs from Oct. 15 to Nov. 28.
These small migratory birds offer some good hunting for the hunters who take the time to seek them out.
Everyone knows how good the deer population is at present. Archery season opened on Sept. 15 and with the exception of the firearm deer season, bowhunters have from now to Jan. 15 to pursue that big buck. Archers who have been afield report seeing lots of deer.
This year there will be five different portions to deer hunting besides archery. Starting off with the early firearm youth portion statewide on the weekend of Nov. 1-2. Next is the regular firearm season Nov. 15-25, followed with the muzzleloader portion Nov.28-Dec. 7.
Next is the anterless portion Dec. 13-21 and a new late youth portion Jan, 3-4.
Many deer hunters are familiar with the four-point antler restriction in north and middle part of Missouri and since the restriction proved popular with hunters and produced more adult bucks and an increase in the doe harvest in central part of the state, the Conservation Commission added 36 more counties this year to the four-point restriction.
Even the rabbit population is on the increase this year. Hunters in the western section of the state report seeing more rabbits this year than in the last decade. The season on rabbits opened Oct. 1. Most rabbit hunters wait until the first snow to get serious about going after the cottontails.
Squirrel hunters have plenty of targets this fall. Both gray and red bushytails are doing very well and hunting should be excellent once again this fall.
Quail hunters have suffered over the past few years as the quail population continues a downward trend. There appear to be some bright spots as some farmers and hunters report hearing and seeing more birds this summer than in several years.
One of those farmer-hunters who is optimistic about the quail is Fred Barnes, Sedalia, who said, “I hunted quail for years and thought it would always be good. However, for the past six seasons, I never hunted, but I have heard more birds this summer and have seen several coveys on my farm that weren’t there last fall. More people and organizations are getting active in helping the quail habitat and maybe in the next few years we will see a big increase in the number of quail in the state … I hope so.”
All in all, Missouri hunters should have a good season this fall as the numbers of most species of game is up and with good hunting weather, it should be a season to remember.
