Hunting Seasons Set by Conservation Commission for 2012-2013

Blue-winged Teal(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seasons were set at the May 24th and 25th  hunting seasons in Missouri by the Conservation Commission for a number of species.  Some of the seasons are set as dates specific, where some of the seasons are set according to population thresholds. For specifics on any of these seasons, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation website.  As always, they are the final authority on seasons, and they do on occasion change.

Sora and Virginia rails seasons, doves (Mourning, Eurasian collared, and white-winged), as well as Wilson's (common) snipe seasons will begin on September 1, 2012.  The season for doves and rails will end on November 9th, whereas the season for snipe will run until December 16th. That amounts to a 70 day season for doves and rails and a 107 day season for snipe.

If you are interested in woodcock, that season will in 2012 run from October 15th through November 28th.  This is a 45 day season.

For blue-winged teal, the seasons are based on the breeding population index in August.  Below are the thresholds that will determine the seasons (if there is one):

• If the breeding population index is below 3.3 million, no season
• If the breeding population index is between 3.3 million and 4.7 million, the season will be September 8th through 16th
• If the breeding population index is over 4.7 million, the season will be September 8th through the 23rd.

In addition to these early migratory bird seasons, the seasons were also set for archery turkey as well as the various deer seasons.


Archery turkey seasons will be split between September 15th through November 9th and November 21st through January 15th of 2013. Archery deer seasons will run concurrently with the archery turkey seasons.

Firearm deer seasons, as is normally true, are split into segments.  These are:

• Urban Zones from October 5th through 8th
• Early Youth Season on November 3rd and 4th
• November Rifle Season November 10th through 20th
• Antlerless Portion November 21st through December 2nd
• Alternative Methods December 15th through 25th
• Late Youth Season on December 29th and 30th.

Other seasons will be announced later.  Again, consult with the MDC for specifics on all of these seasons, limits, and other regulations before planning or going on your hunting trip.

We hope you are as excited as are we to get to start placing these seasons on your calendar for next Fall!

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Emergency closure of hunting season not the end of Missouri’s ruffed grouse story

Image via Wikipedia

Emergency closure of hunting season

not the end of Missouri’s ruffed grouse story 

The Conservation Department and the Ruffed Grouse Society are still

working to establish sustainable numbers of grouse and habitat to support them.

JEFFERSON CITY–Missouri will not have a ruffed grouse hunting season this year for the first time in more than 25 years. However, the Missouri Department of Conservation says that does not necessarily mean ruffed-grouse hunting is gone from the Show-Me State forever.

Acting on a recommendation from its staff, the Conservation Commission voted earlier this year for an emergency closure of the grouse season, which was to run from Oct. 15 through Jan. 15. Low grouse population numbers were cited as the reason for the emergency closure. The action supersedes information printed in the 2010 Summary of Hunting and Trapping Regulations, which were printed before the decision to close grouse season.

Ruffed grouse are native to Missouri, although the Show-Me State is near the southwestern edge of the species’ historic range. Habitat destruction and unregulated market hunting largely eliminated them from Missouri forests by the 1930s.

The Conservation Department launched a successful ruffed-grouse restoration program in 1959, and Missouri had its first modern hunting season in 1983. Earlier this year, the agency’s Regulations Committee recommended closing the season. This was partly because grouse numbers remain low in spite of repeated attempts to reintroduce grouse in areas with suitable habitat as late as 1994. Closing the season also made sense because the Conservation Department and the Ruffed Grouse Society are seeking a source of grouse to resume reintroduction work.

“It didn’t make sense to have people hunting grouse if we were going to be bringing them in from other states to try to build the population,” said Wildlife Division Chief DeeCee Darrow. “Our grouse numbers are so low right now that very few hunters pursue them, and very few are taken each year. This is probably a good time to pause and regroup.”

 Ruffed grouse are ground-nesting birds closely related to quail. They are much larger, however, with adults averaging more than a pound compared to five or six ounces for adult bobwhite quail. Bobwhites favor habitat with large amounts of pasture, row crops and other open land interspersed with shrubby cover. In contrast, ruffed grouse are adapted to a patchwork of forest and the dense vegetation that develops on land where timber harvests have occurred.

MISSOURI HUNTING, FISHING, AND CAMPING INFORMATION