MDC offers online firearms class for beginners July 29

Participants will learn the basics and proper loading of firearms with multiple types of actions during this free virtual program.

St. LOUIS, Mo.—Learning the safe and proper use of firearms can enable one to enjoy a full range of hunting and recreational shooting activities. There are several different types of actions used by a variety of firearms, and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed when just starting out with shooting sports.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) presents Semi-automatics and Other Actions: Loading 101, an online program to help new shooters sort out how different kinds of firearms work. This free virtual program will be held Wednesday, July 29 from 6-7 p.m.

This virtual class is for anyone just getting into hunting, considering shooting sports, or is simply curious about how to load a firearm. It will cover how to properly load and unload various handguns, rifles, and shotguns, including semi-automatics, revolvers, a bolt action, and more. The class will touch on the difference between magazines and clips as well as the main parts of a firearm.

At the end of the program, there will be a chance for participants to submit their questions via chat during a Q&A session.  

Semi-automatics and Other Actions: Loading 101 is a free program, but online pre-registration is required at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Z8H. An e-mail will be sent out to all registered participants prior to the program with the link to join in virtually.

MDC offers many free educational programs in the St. Louis region to help people discover nature, fishing, hunting, and the outdoors. Stay informed by going to the MDC St. Louis reginal events page at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZP6.

MDC hosts Hunter Education Skills Session at Perryville Elks Lodge

Register online for the July 29 course.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will host a Hunter Education Skills Session at the Perryville Elks Lodge, Friday, July 29, from 6 to 10 p.m.

Anyone born after Jan. 1, 1967 is required to have an approved hunter education card. The card is also required when purchasing any firearms hunting permit. Hunter education courses are for students 11 years of age and older.

“Hunter education courses are a great way to introduce prospective hunters or even refresh veteran hunters about shooting and hunting techniques, ethics, firearm safety and more,” said Dee Dee Dockins, a MDC outdoor skills specialist.

Dockins said the hunter education process underwent changes in 2013, making it more convenient for students to attend. The course consists of two parts; a knowledge portion and a skills session.

The knowledge portion focuses on hunting equipment, safety, and ethics, and can be completed in one of three different ways. Students can complete the section online, pick up a student manual at a MDC office, or register and attend for a four-hour instructor led classroom session.

The July 29 skills session is the second step in the process. These four-hour sessions are led by instructors with hands-on exercises designed to put the students’ knowledge into practice. After the skills session, students take a 35-question multiple choice exam.

Those who wish to attend the skills session must complete the first step of the process and register for the course at www.mdc.mo.gov. For more information, contact MDC’s Southeast Regional Office at (573)290-5730.

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MDC hosts basic muzzleloader skills class in Boone County

Discover nature with MDC by taking part in the muzzleloader skills class Sept. 22.

MISSOURI DEER HUNTING

Registration is required by Sept. 21.

BOONE COUNTY, Mo. – Discover nature with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) by taking part in a muzzleloader skills class. The class will be held Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 5:30-8 p.m., at Rocky Fork Conservation Area (CA) Shooting Range located north of Columbia off RT 63. Registration is required by Sept. 21.

"Muzzeloading can be a fun and exciting experience for the entire family," said MDC Outdoor Skills Specialist Brain Flowers.

Participants will learn the historic and unique experiences of hunting with a muzzleloader. From black powder safety to selecting the proper load, all aspects of historic muzzleloaders will be covered in the class. Also participants will have the opportunity to fire a variety of muzzleloading firearms.

"Black powder firearms provide a connection to the past while also allowing a hunter to harvest a variety of game," Flowers said.

Discover Nature programs are designed to help Missourians explore nature & master outdoor skills together. This program is open to adults and children 11 or older. Those ages 17 or younger must be accompanied by an adult.

Register online at http://goo.gl/forms/Hr3zfuee0K or contact Brain Flowers atbrian.flowers@mdc.mo.gov or by calling (573) 815-7901 ext. 3388.

MDC offers Youth Basic Rifle Marksmanship course

The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center will host a Youth Basic Rifle Marksmanship course for ages 8 and 9.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center will host a Youth Basic Rifle Marksmanship course for ages 11 to 15 June 8 and 9.

“This is a hands-on opportunity for these young hunters to expand their learning from the Hunter Education classroom to the range and the field,” said DeeDee Dockins, MDC Outdoor Skills Specialist.

Hunter Education certification is a prerequisite for anyone attending this course, she said.

“This comprehensive rifle basics course will zero in on learning the proper rifle shooting fundamentals from skilled instructors so novice shooters can improve their shot,” Dockins said.

The first night of the course will be held at the nature center and cover principles of rifle design, metallic ammunition, ballistics, shooting positions and field hunting. The second night will be held at Apple Creek Shooting Range where participants will shoot rimfire and centerfire rifles, learn how to sight in rifles and practice range safety. Dockins said each participant is required to have an adult guardian present with them at all times throughout the course. Firearms and ammunition will be provided.

“We’re excited to offer this further level of education to these young hunters,” Dockins said. “It’s an important part of our mission to help them discover nature through hunting and to continue the rich tradition of hunting.”

Registration is required by June 6 for this program by calling 573-290-5218. For information on this and other programs hosted by the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center, go online to mdc.mo.gov/capenaturecenter.

Hunters check 11,967 deer in alternative-methods hunt

The decrease in alternative-methods harvest is similar to those

of the November and antlerless portions of firearms deer season.

JEFFERSON CITY–Hunters checked 11,967 deer during the alternative-methods portion of Missouri’s firearms deer season Dec. 21 through 31. That figure is 20 percent fewer than in 2012.

Top counties for the alternative-methods portion were Oregon, with 437 deer checked, Howell with 360, and Shannon with 298.

Resource Scientist Emily Flinn with the Missouri Department of Conservation said the decrease was expected.

“The decrease in alternative-methods harvest is close to the declines in this years’ November and antlerless portions,” said Flinn. “The decrease in this year’s total harvest statewide is primarily a result of a reduction in deer numbers that resulted from continued doe harvest, last year’s widespread outbreak of hemorrhagic diseases, and record-low acorn production.”

Flinn said reduced deer numbers will be one factor considered by the Conservation Department’s Regulations Committee when developing recommendations for 2014 deer-hunting regulations.

“We continually consider regulation changes, including reducing the availability of antlerless permits and the antlerless portion of firearms deer season in places where regulation changes are necessary to allow the population to recover,” said Flinn.

The alternative methods portion replaced the muzzleloader portion of firearms deer season in 2012. Hunters are allowed to use muzzle-loading firearms, center-fire pistols, air-powered guns, bows, crossbows, or atlatls during the alternative-methods hunt.

The only remaining portion of firearms deer season is the late youth portion Jan. 4 and 5. Archery deer season runs through Jan. 15.

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Conservation Commission approves 2014 firearms deer, turkey season dates

Spring turkey season opens April 21. November portion of firearms deer season opens Nov. 16.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – At its regular meeting today in St. Charles, the Missouri Conservation

Commission set dates for the 2014 firearms turkey and deer hunting seasons.

Firearms turkey season dates are:

·         Youth season – April 12-13, 2014

·         Regular spring season – April 21-May 11, 2014

·         Fall firearms season – Oct. 1-31, 2014

Firearms deer season dates are:

·         Urban zones portion – Oct. 10-13, 2014

·         Early youth portion – Nov. 1-2, 2014

·         November portion – Nov. 15-25, 2014

·         Antlerless portion – Nov. 26-Dec. 7, 2014

·         Alternative methods portion – Dec. 20-30, 2014

·         Late youth portion – Jan. 3-4, 2015

Full details of 2014 deer and turkey hunting regulations will be published on the Conservation Department website atmdc.mo.gov, and in hunting regulation guides available from hunting permit vendors and MDC offices and nature centers statewide before the seasons.

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Opening-weekend deer harvest blown away

Numbers are down, but hunters have plenty of time to make up the difference.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Hunters checked 61,446 deer during the opening weekend of the November Portion of Firearms Deer Season, in spite of awful weather conditions. The Missouri Department of Conservation says the slow start doesn’t diminish prospects for a normal deer harvest.

The opening-weekend harvest was down 12 percent compared to 2012. Conservation Department biologists predicted that this year’s deer harvest would be smaller than last year’s, due to a smaller statewide deer population and acorn abundance.

Last year’s opening-weekend harvest of 69,614 was the smallest opening-weekend harvest in more than 20 years. Yet, in spite of that slow start, hunters shot enough deer during the remainder of the firearms deer season to post the third-largest total deer harvest in Missouri history.

“The distribution of our deer harvest over the course of the season has changed dramatically in the past 20 years,” says Conservation Department Resource Scientist Jason Sumners. “Back then, people only had nine days to hunt with modern firearms, so a significant reduction in the opening-weekend harvest was almost certain to result in a reduced deer harvest for the year. Today, Firearms Deer Season spans 42 days, so there is no rush to shoot a deer the first two days of the November Portion.”

That is not to say that hunters don’t want to shoot deer on opening weekend. But this year’s weather was challenging, even for highly motivated hunters.

“I didn’t think it could get any worse than last year,” says Sumners, “but it did.”

“Worse” included temperatures in the 70s, rain on Saturday and winds so gusty that the eastern third of Missouri was under a tornado watch on Sunday morning.

“Those conditions are guaranteed to reduce deer harvest,” says Sumners. “Deer are less active when the weather is warm or extremely windy, and rain keeps some hunters indoors. By noon on Sunday, I think a lot of hunters just gave up fighting the weather.”

All the same, Sumners is optimistic about prospects for the rest of the season. He said he expects hunters to persevere throughout the remainder of the November, Alternative Methods, Antlerless, and Late Youth portions of firearms deer season – 36 days in all.

Top harvest counties for the opening weekend were Howell with 1,278 deer checked, Texas with 1,275, and Oregon with 1,109. The fact that three adjoining counties in the heart of the Ozarks had the highest harvest totals probably is no coincidence. The Ozarks’ rugged terrain creates sheltered refuges from wind, making deer easier for hunters to find. Also, the Ozarks had the lowest acorn production of any region in the state, further concentrating deer around available food.

The Conservation Department recorded two nonfatal, firearms-related hunting incidents during the opening weekend.

-Jim Low-

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Youngsters check 18,676 deer during early hunt

Expert attributes the strong harvest to favorable weather

and growing awareness of the youth portions of firearms deer season.

JEFFERSON CITY-Fair weather helped participants in the Early Youth Portion of

Missouri’s Firearms Deer Season post the second-largest harvest on record.

Hunters ages 6 through 15 checked 18,676 deer during the hunt Nov. 2 and 3. Top counties for the early youth hunt were Franklin with 424, Osage with 421, and Howell with 409 deer checked.

Emily Flinn, the resource scientist in charge of deer management for the Missouri Department of Conservation, says two factors – weather and increasing participation – contributed to the strong harvest.

“We had great weather for this year’s early youth hunt,” says Flinn. “The temperatures were cool but not cold, and it didn’t rain. Hunters tend to stay in the woods longer under those conditions.”

Equally important, says Flinn, is the long-term growth of participation. Traditions like those associated with the November firearms deer season take time to develop. Now in its 13^th year, the youth season is developing its own traditions as experienced hunters discover the rewards of mentoring youths during a season set aside especially for that purpose. When Missouri held its first youth hunt in 2001, the Show-Me State had approximately 40,000 deer hunters under age 16. By 2012 they numbered more than 70,000.

Youth seasons are one facet of ongoing efforts to recruit new hunters. The Conservation Department also uses low-cost permits, partnerships with private mentoring programs, an Apprentice Hunter Authorization, and outdoor-skills training to encourage Missourians to take up hunting.

Missouri’s $17 Resident Firearms Any-Deer Permit is a bargain compared to the average of $46.63 for equivalent privileges in surrounding states. Missouri charges only $8.50 for a resident any-deer permit for hunters under age 16. Resident youths pay just $3.50 for antlerless-deer permits.

The Apprentice Hunter Authorization costs $10 per year and allows people 16 and older to buy hunting permits for two years without having to complete hunter-education training first. Authorization users must buy the appropriate hunting permits. They also must hunt in the immediate presence of a properly licensed hunter 18 years or older who is hunter-education certified or exempt from the hunter-education requirement due to age.

Missouri’s hunting tradition is essential to managing the state’s deer herd. It also contributes substantially to the state’s economy. Deer hunters spend approximately $700 million on their sport annually in Missouri, generating $1.1 billion in business activity and supporting 11,000 jobs.

The Conservation Department makes it easy to create a lasting reminder of a young hunter’s first deer. An official First Deer Certificate, complete with congratulations and signature by Conservation Department Director Robert L. Ziehmer, is available at mdc.mo.gov/node/10469. To create a certificate suitable for framing, you need only fill in the hunter’s information, print the form and add a photo.

Next on Missouri’s deer-hunting calendar is the November portion of firearms deer season Nov. 16 through 26. This portion normally accounts for approximately 80 percent of the state’s firearms deer harvest.

-Jim Low-

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Hunters check 5,929 turkeys in fall firearms season

This year’s harvest is the third-smallest since the season began in 1978.

JEFFERSON CITY–Hunters checked 5,929 turkeys during Missouri’s fall firearms turkey season Oct. 1 through 31, continuing a long-term decline in participation in the fall hunt.

Top harvest counties were Greene with 208 turkeys checked, Webster with 158, and Laclede with 152. Harvest numbers were down statewide. The decline was smallest in northeastern Missouri (11 percent from 2012) and greatest in the St. Louis (50 percent), central (41 percent), and Kansas City (32 percent) regions. The declines in harvest were approximately 25 percent in the northwest, southeast, southwest, and Ozark regions.

This year’s fall firearms turkey harvest is the third-smallest on record. The smallest was in 1978, when hunters checked 4,389 turkeys during the fall firearms season. The fall harvest increased dramatically for the first nine years after it began, building to 28,139 in 1987. It has declined steadily ever since.

A parallel decline in sales of fall firearms turkey hunting permits indicates that the harvest decrease is largely the result of waning hunter interest. Further evidence is the fact that the fall archery turkey harvest increased steadily during the same period. Archers checked 108 turkeys in 1978 and 3,217 last year.

“Fall turkey hunting had a brief period of increasing popularity early on,” says Jason Isabelle, a resource scientist with the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Over time, I think that fall turkey hunters have gradually been drawn away to archery deer hunting and all the other hunting opportunities available in October. Fewer and fewer people have hunted turkeys in the fall each year, even throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, when the state’s turkey flock was growing rapidly and when our spring harvest continued to increase.”

The Conservation Department sold 14,898 fall firearms turkey permits this year, which is a decrease of 9 percent from 2012 and well-below the 115,020 permits sold for this year’s spring season. Isabelle says he expected the decrease, because turkey nesting success was down compared to the previous two years.

“For the last several years, fall firearms turkey permit sales have tended to track the hatch,” he says. “When hunters see fewer birds in the woods they generally buy fewer permits.”

Isabelle notes that in spite of the downward trend, the fall firearms turkey season remains popular with some hunters. These turkey fanatics enjoy the extra month of hunting opportunity.

Fifty-three percent of the turkeys checked during the fall firearms turkey harvest were hatched earlier this year. That is in line with the juvenile-adult ratios of other years. Population models and more than 30 years of experience show that the current level of fall harvest has no effect on the potential for wild turkey population growth.

For county-by-county combined fall firearms and archery turkey harvest figures, visit mdc.mo.gov/node/264.

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Hunters check 600 deer in urban hunt

Five portions of the firearms deer season remain.

JEFFERSON CITY–Hunters checked 600 deer during the Urban Portion of Missouri’s Firearms Deer Season.

County harvest totals during the urban portion were: Boone, 77; Cass, 39; Christian, 9; Clay, 30; Cole, 33; Franklin, 57; Greene, 104; Jackson, 33; Jefferson, 64; Platte, 9; St. Charles, 98; and St. Louis, 47.

Female deer made up 83 percent of this year’s urban portion harvest. Hunters are only allowed to shoot antlerless deer during the Urban Portion. This focus on harvesting female deer is designed to control deer numbers in urban and suburban areas, where hunting pressure is lighter and the potential for deer-vehicle accidents and property damage is greater.

This year’s harvest was below average for the urban portion, which became part of the firearms deer season in 2003. Over the urban hunt’s 11-year history, smaller harvests have been associated with warm weather. For instance, hunters shot fewer than 600 deer per year in 2007, 2010, and 2011, when high temperatures averaged 83.7 degrees during the urban hunt. In 2004, 2005, and 2009, when daytime highs averaged 61.9 degrees, the harvest averaged 1,719 deer. This year’s temperature averaged 72.2 degrees.

Missouri’s six portions of firearms deer season total 42 days. The remaining portions of Missouri’s firearms deer season are: Early Youth (Nov. 2-3), November (Nov. 16-26), Antlerless (Nov. 27-Dec. 8), Alternative Methods (Dec. 21-31), and Late Youth (Jan. 4-5).

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Firearms deer harvest just shy of 239,000

Image via Wikipedia

Total firearms harvest up 7,408 from last year’s 231,513.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo – Hunters age 6 through 15 checked 2,193 deer during the late youth hunt Jan. 7 and 8, bringing the total harvest for the 2011-2012 firearms deer season to 238,921 compared to last year’s total of 231,513.

The harvest total for last year’s late youth weekend was 1,292. This year’s combined early and late youth season harvests total 18,585 compared to 14,555 last year. Top counties during the late youth hunt were Macon with 52 deer checked, Franklin with 51 and Lincoln with 45.

Of the 238,921 firearms season total, hunters checked 570 deer during the urban portion, 16,392 during the early youth portion, 190,089 during the November portion, 14,439 during the antlerless portion and 15,238 during the muzzleloader portion.

Missouri had a record firearms deer harvest of 280,856 in 2006. The 10-year average firearms deer harvest is 252,029.

According to Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Resource Science Deer Biologist Jason Sumners, the reduction in firearms harvest is indicative of reduced deer numbers in many parts of rural central and northern Missouri that have resulted from increased harvest pressure on does through the liberalization of hunting regulations and implementation of antler-point restrictions. 

“There are simply fewer does in the population today than there were six or eight years ago,” Sumners said. “This means that the doe harvest doesn’t need to be as high to manage population numbers as it was several years ago when deer populations in many parts of Missouri where growing rapidly.” 

He added that MDC has been trying for the better part of a decade to stabilize deer numbers in many parts of Missouri.

“We have been working to bring down deer populations to reduce crop damage, deer-vehicle accidents, and other deer nuisance problems, and we’ve made good progress in those areas,” Sumners said. “Now our challenge is finding ways to fine-tune deer numbers and hunting pressure at the local level, which means that future reductions in the availability of firearms antlerless permits may be necessary.” 

In contrast to central and northern Missouri, deer numbers in southern Missouri continue to slowly increase and opportunities to harvest antlerless deer are likely to increase over time.  

“Regardless of your location in the state, the combination of hunter numbers, hunter access, and regulations drives the size of the local deer population,” said Sumners.  “Landowners and hunters throughout the state have a tremendous effect on the deer population and ultimately determine local deer numbers. Additionally, the availability of antlerless permits for a specific county doesn’t mean that MDC feels there are too many deer.  They are a simply a tool available to hunters and landowners to manage deer numbers if they need to harvest additional antlerless deer.”

He added that 93 percent of Missouri’s land is in private ownership so private landowners and cooperative efforts by neighboring landowners to manage for deer and other wildlife can be very beneficial. 

MDC staff work with tens-of-thousands of private landowners around the state to help them improve wildlife habitat on their property. MDC encourages landowners to contact local MDC staff to learn more. To find local MDC staff, visit www.mdc.mo.gov and search under “Who’s My Local Contact.”

More than 500,000 hunters spend more than $690 million directly related to deer hunting in Missouri each year. Deer hunting in Missouri annually generates more than $1 billion of overall business activity and supports more than 11,000 jobs.

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Hunters check 14,000 deer during antlerless season

Image via Wikipedia

Two portions of Missouri’s firearms deer season remain.

JEFFERSON CITY–Hunters checked 14,439 deer during Missouri’s antlerless deer season Nov. 23 through Dec. 4.

This year’s antlerless harvest is 789 fewer than last year. Top harvest counties for the 12-day antlerless season were Benton with 394 deer checked, Pike with 390 and Macon with 378.

So far this year, firearms deer hunters have killed 221,490 deer. That is up 4,209 from the same time last year.

Two portions of Missouri’s firearms deer season remain. The muzzleloader portion runs from Dec. 17 through 27, and the late youth portion is Jan. 7 and 8.

Besides increasing hunting opportunities, the antlerless season gives landowners a way of regulating local deer numbers by allowing hunters to remove female deer from the population.

Missouri’s estimated population of 1.4 million whitetails enables hunters to shoot more than 250,000 deer each year. That yields approximately 10 million pounds of venison. Hunters consume most of this meat. However, hunters donate more than 250,000 pounds of venison annually to local food banks and other charities through the Share the Harvest program.

Wild venison has less fat than organic, free range beef, which sells for anywhere from $7 a pound for ground meat, to $30 for steaks. That puts the food value of Missouri’s white-tailed deer resource in the neighborhood of $200 million per year. Missouri’s deer resource also supports 11,000-plus jobs and generates more than $1 billion in business activity annually.

Economic value aside, deer hunting is a cherished tradition that draws thousands of Missouri natives back home to share healthful outdoor recreation with family and friends.

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Young deer hunters have a good weekend

Image via Wikipedia

Pushing back this year’s early

youth hunt boosted harvest figures. 

JEFFERSON CITY– Hunters age 6 through 15 checked 16,392 deer during the first weekend of Missouri’s youth deer hunt Nov. 5 and 6, a 13-percent increase from last year’s figure.

Top harvest counties for the early portion of the youth hunt were Osage with 369 deer checked, Franklin with 331 and Howell with 316. 

Resource Scientist Jason Sumners with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) said the main reason for the harvest increase was the fact that the early youth season occurred a week later than usual.

“In response to hunter requests, we pushed the youth hunt back to avoid conflicts with Halloween,” said Sumners. “That meant kids were hunting closer to the peak of deer rutting activity. Your chances of shooting a deer are better when bucks are on the move, chasing does.”

Missouri held its first youth hunt in 2001. The season was two days long, and the harvest that year was 6,277.  For the first seven years, the youth hunt consisted of a Saturday and Sunday before the main firearms deer season, and the harvest averaged around 10,000 deer.

Starting with the 2008-2009 hunting season, MDC doubled the length of the youth season by adding a two-day late portion in January. For the past three seasons, the early youth harvest has averaged a little more than 13,000. This year’s early youth harvest is larger than the total youth harvest for any previous year.

MDC recorded one firearms-related hunting incident during the early youth hunt. It did not involve a youth hunter, however. The father of a youth hunter fired at what he thought was a wounded deer and injured the youth hunter’s uncle.

The Conservation Department makes it easy to create a lasting reminder of a young hunter’s first deer. An official First Deer Certificate, complete with congratulations and signature by Conservation Department Director Bob Ziehmer, is available at http://bit.ly/9bmk38. To create a certificate suitable for framing, you need only fill in the hunter’s information, print the form and add a photo.

Next on Missouri’s deer-hunting calendar is the November portion of firearms deer season Nov. 12 through 22. This portion normally accounts for approximately 80 percent of the state’s firearms deer harvest.

Three other portions follow the November hunt. The antlerless portion runs from Nov. 23 through Dec. 4. The muzzleloader portion is Dec. 17 through 27. The final portion of the firearms season is the late youth hunt Jan. 7 and 8.

Missouri also has an archery deer season that opens Sept. 15 and closes Jan. 15, with an 11-day hiatus during the November firearms deer season.

Hunters spend more than 5.7 million days pursuing deer in Missouri each year. The approximately $700 million they spend on their sport annually generates $1.1 billion in business activity and supports 11,000 jobs.

-Jim Low-

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