JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 159,120 deer during the November portion of firearms deer season, Nov. 16 - 26. Of the 159,120 deer harvested, 82,613 were antlered bucks, 13,203 were button bucks, and 63,304 were does. 

Top harvest counties were Franklin with 3,530 deer harvested, Texas with 2,935, and Howell with 2,741. For current ongoing preliminary harvest totals by season, county, and type of deer, visit the MDC website at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/.

This year’s harvest total was lower than last year’s November portion harvest total of 193,885 deer and was about 15% below the five-year average. For more harvest information from past years, visit mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-reports/deer-harvest-summaries.

According to MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle, the drop in harvest this year was due to a combination of factors.

“The November portion started about a week later this year due to the calendar shift,” said Isabelle. “When this happens, we can expect a drop in harvest because the November portion occurs further from the peak of the rut which is about the tenth of November.”

Less than ideal hunting conditions throughout much of the November portion were another factor that contributed to this year’s lower opening weekend harvest total according to Isabelle. 

“We had a few nice days sprinkled throughout the November portion, but there a number of days with warm temperatures or high winds,” he said. “These conditions likely affected deer movement and also hunters’ desire to be in the woods.”

Another factor that Isabelle believes significantly affected this year’s harvest total is a bumper acorn crop.

“Throughout much of Missouri, there are a lot of acorns in the woods this year,” said Isabelle. “When that happens, deer don’t need to move as much to find food and they frequent fields and other open areas less often because of the abundance of food in the woods.”

He noted that the counties with the largest decline in harvest were in the more heavily forested portions of the state where acorn abundance has a more significant effect on deer movement.

“Many northern and western Missouri counties were either up from last year’s harvest total or were down slightly,” said Isabelle. “As would be expected, with the good acorn crop we have this year, harvest was down the most in the more heavily forested Ozark counties.”

Firearms deer hunting in Missouri continues with the CWD portion Nov. 27 – Dec. 1 in open counties. The Late Youth portion runs Nov. 29 – Dec. 1 followed by the Late Antlerless portion Dec. 7-15 in open counties and then the Alternative Methods portion Dec. 28 through Jan. 7, 2025. The archery deer season reopens Nov. 27 and runs through Jan. 15, 2025.

Get more information on Missouri deer hunting from MDC’s 2024 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.