Mo. Dept. of Conservation reports final deer harvest numbers: nearly 300K

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KFVS) - The 2021-2022 deer hunting season ended January 15 with the Missouri Department of Conservation reported a preliminary total deer harvest of 293,670.

Of the deer harvested, 143,049 were antlered deer, 26,599 were button bucks and 124,022 were does.

The top harvest counties for the overall deer season were Franklin with 6,392 deer harvested, Texas with 5,478 and Callaway with 5,452.

During the last season, hunters harvested 297,214 deer with 140,855 being antlered bucks, 28,652 being button bucks and 127,707 being does.

“This year’s harvest total was slightly behind last year’s mark and about 3% above the previous five-year average,” said MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle.

“We’ve seen an increasing trend in statewide deer harvest for about the past eight years,” said Isabelle. “The deer population has continued to increase across much of southern Missouri at the same time that we’ve seen a population recovery in most of the counties impacted by the severe hemorrhagic disease outbreak that occurred in 2012.”

Archery deer results

According to preliminary data with from MDC, hunters checked 60,834 deer during the 2021-2022 archery deer season making it the third highest archery deer harvest on record.

Top counties for the archery deer season were Jefferson County with 1,563 deer harvested, St. Louis with 1,368 and Franklin with 1,274.

Deer hunting ended with the close of archery season.

Archery turkey results

According to preliminary data from MDC, 2,523 turkeys were harvested.

Top counties for the fall archery turkey season were Franklin with 69 turkeys harvested, Jefferson with 67 and Callaway with 61.

Fall archery turkey hunting also ended Jan. 15.

Hunting incidents

The Missouri Department of Conservation reported four firearms-related hunting incidents during deer season with all being self-inflicted and three non-fatal with one fatal.

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