The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is reminding hunters about important regulation changes for the upcoming deer and turkey hunting seasons. Key updates include the introduction of a new fall turkey permit, additional counties added to the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zone, removal of the antler-point restriction (APR) in some areas, the use of drones for tracking wounded animals, and other changes.
Changes for Fall Turkey Hunting
The fall turkey season will now be split into archery and firearms portions, and the combined harvest limit for both seasons has been reduced from four to two birds, either male or female.
Archery turkey season opens on September 15 and runs through November 15, then reopens on November 27 and runs until January 15, 2025. The fall firearms turkey season runs from October 1 to 31 in counties where it is allowed.
Hunters should note that turkey permits are no longer included with archery deer permits. All hunters, whether participating in the firearms or archery turkey season, must purchase the new fall turkey-hunting permit.
Deer Hunting Seasons and Portions
The archery deer season mirrors the turkey season, opening on September 15 and running until November 15, before reopening on November 27 through January 15, 2025.
Firearms deer season begins with the Early Antlerless Portion from October 11 to 13 in selected counties, followed by the Early Youth Portion on November 2 and 3. The main November Portion runs from November 16 to 26, followed by the CWD Portion from November 27 to December 1 in counties within the CWD Management Zone. The Late Youth Portion is scheduled from November 29 to December 1, the Late Antlerless Portion from December 7 to 15, and the Alternative Methods Portion from December 28 to January 7, 2025.
New Deer Regulations
New this year, the antler-point restriction (APR) has been lifted in several counties that are now part of the CWD Management Zone. These counties include Audrain, Boone, Cole, Howard, Lewis, Maries, Monroe, Osage, Phelps, Randolph, Saline, Scotland, and Shelby. The APR, which requires antlered deer to have at least four points on one side to be harvested, was removed to help slow the spread of CWD, as young bucks are more likely to disperse and introduce the disease to new areas.
Additionally, hunters are now permitted to use four firearms antlerless permits in Dent, Douglas, Maries, Newton, and Phelps counties. Archery antlerless permits can also be used in Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, and Pemiscot counties.
One notable change this year is that hunters are now allowed to use drones to track wounded deer and turkeys.
Deer hunting permit prices have increased to account for rising costs in goods and services provided by MDC.
Expansion of the CWD Management Zone
The CWD Management Zone has expanded to include several new counties: Audrain, Boone, Cole, Dent, Douglas, Howard, Lewis, Maries, Monroe, Newton, Osage, Phelps, Randolph, Saline, Scotland, Shannon, Shelby, and Webster. In these counties, the use of grain, salt, minerals, and other attractants to lure deer is prohibited year-round.
MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle explained that feeding deer in close proximity increases the risk of spreading CWD. The disease can spread through direct contact between deer or through environmental contamination from infected deer.
Isabelle emphasized that while deer naturally engage in social behaviors that facilitate disease spread, regulations like banning attractants help reduce the human-caused congregation of deer, which can exacerbate the spread of CWD.
Hunters in CWD Management Zone counties must also follow carcass transportation regulations designed to prevent the accidental introduction of CWD to new areas. Proper disposal methods include placing remains in trash bags for collection, burying remains near the harvest site, or leaving them on the property where the deer was taken.
All counties in the CWD Management Zone will be open during the CWD portion of the deer season. Hunters who harvest a deer in these counties during the Firearms November Portion, from November 16-17, must take the deer or its head to a mandatory CWD sampling station on the day of harvest.
For more information on CWD regulations and requirements, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation website.
