Hunting

There are many great public places to hunt in our area! So check back here often for updated hunting calendars helpful hints, and other great hunting information!

2011 Hunting Calendar

HUNTING                    OPEN      CLOSE
Deer
  Firearms: November       11/12/11       TBA
Furbearers                    11/15/11      1/31/12
Groundhog                     5/09/11     12/15/11
Pheasant
North Zone                  11/01/11       1/15/12
Southeast Zone          12/01/11     12/12/11
Quail                             11/01/11       1/15/12
Rabbits                         10/01/11       1/15/12
Squirrels                        5/28/11        2/15/12
Turkey
Spring                          4/18/11        5/08/11
Fall                            10/01/11      10/31/11
Waterfowl
     Please see the Waterfowl Hunting Digest or
      see www.MissouriConservation.org/7573

For complete information about seasons, limits, methods and restrictions, consult the Wildlife Code or the current summaries of Missouri Hunting and Trapping Regulations and Missouri Fishing Regulations, The Spring Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information, the Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information, the Waterfowl Hunting Digest and the Migratory Bird Hunting Digest. For more information visit www.MissouriConservation.org/8707 or permit vendors.

Changes to Deer, Turkey Tagging

This year's deer and turkey tagging procedures in a nutshell: bag it; notch it; tag it; check it. Hunters will now receive non-adhesive game tags that will replace the self-adhesive versions they received when buying permits in the past. In addition, hunters can buy permits online and print them on home printers instead of going to vendors. However, these changes will mean that hunters need to have a way of attaching permits to game. Those hunters who print their own permits will also need a way to protect those paper permits from moisture and other damage. Zipper-type plastic bags are perfect for protecting the tags in the "bag it" part of the process. string, bailing wire, twist ties, or adhesive tape are good ways to attach to tags to game. Hunters can use a sharp pocketknife to notch permits so they show the month and day the animal was taken. Be sure to place home-printed paper permits inside some sort of plastic bag (a zipper-type bag works best) or other protective cover before attaching it to the turkey or deer. Then "check it" by completing the Telecheck procedure online or by phone.

Information courtesy of Missouri Conservationist magazine, October 2011 issue, p. 4.

Duck Season Announced

This year, Missouri duck hunters can plan their fall duck hunting a little further in advance, thanks for a recent decision by the Conservation Commission to use formulas to set duck season dates. In previous years, hunters had to wait until late August to find out the duck season dates. Now, with the new system, duck season dates will be announced in late July, as soon as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces what type of season the upcoming season will be. There are three types of seasons: Liberal (60 days), Moderate (45 days), and Restrictive (30 days). Hunters will be able to apply the appropriate formula to determine season dates, once they know what type of season the USFWS is offering. The Commission has established the following formulas:

                    60-day           45-day          30-day
North Zone:    Last Sat.         1st Sat.        2nd Sat.
                         in Oct.               in Nov.         in Nov.
Middle Zone:  1st Sat.       2nd Sat.    3rd Sat.
                          in Nov.         in Nov.      in Nov.
South Zone: Thanksgiving   1st Sat.        2nd Sat.
                                                   in Dec.         in Dec.

In 2011-2012, the USFWS is offering a 60-day season for the 15th consecutive year. The 2011-12 duck season dates will be as follows, based on the formulas approved by the Commission:

  North Zone: October 29th-December 27th
Middle Zone: November 5th-January 3rd
South Zone: November 24th-January 22nd

Share the Harvest 2011

Even one pound of venison can help feed thousands of hungry Missourians when donated by a hunter. Share the Harvest is a citizen-led program coordinated by the Conservation Federation of Missouri that has been enlisting the help of deer hunters to help stamp out hunger in Missouri since 1992.
Most of the donations made by hunters consist of whole deer that they drop off at participating meat processors. Cash donations to local Share the Harvest efforts, combined with contributions from statewide corporate sponsors, pay the full cost of processing about 3/4 of the total deer donated. Hunters donated more than 5,000 whole deer last year, which yielded 350,000 pounds of ground venison.
Missouri deer hunters checked more than 274,000 deer last year, according to Murphy, and they donated a little more than 5,000 whole deer to Share the Harvest. According to Murphy, "That's wonderful, but just think how much more of a difference we could make if hunters donated just one pound of ground venison from each of the other 270,000 deer. We could double the number of hungry people we help."
Call 573-634-2322 to learn where and how to donate deer through Share the Harvest, or email mofed@socket.net or visit mdc.mo.gov/node/2544. Check pages 46 and 47 of the 2011 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regultaions and Information boooklet for a list of participating meat processors, which is available wherever hunting permits are sold or as a PDF to download at mdc.mo.gov/node/3656.

Information courtesy of Missouri Conservationist magazine, October 2011 issue, p. 4.

Have You Sighted in Your Deer Rifle Yet?

Now is the time to check the sights on those deer rifles, and the Missouri Department of Conservation shooting ranges are the places to do it. Target shooting is permitted on conservation areas on approved shooting ranges only. MDC offers more than 70 unstaffed shooting ranges throughout the state, which provide Missouri citizens with convenient and safe places to shoot. There are also five staffed shooting ranges, managed by MDC, which offer a variety of shooting opportunities and outdoor programs. Many MDC shooting ranges have multiple shooting stations with target holders, shooting benches, and pit privies. Some are even accessible to those with mobility impairments. Visit mdc.mo.gov/node/6209 to find one near you.

Information courtesy of Missouri Conservationist magazine, November 2011 issue, p. 4.

App Happy

Well, I'll admit it--I'm officially addicted to my smart phone.

I have an app for just about everything...weather, recipes, traffic--even a handy little flashlight app (works great--uses your camera flash, so it's really bright!).

So I was really excited when I read about the Field & Stream Rut Reporters app in the September 2011 issue (it's free!), I had to check it out. You can download it from the Field and Stream website at fieldandstream.com/rut-report or directly from iTunes (downside--it's only available for the iPhone at this time). It's rather handy...it lets you track the rut across the U.S. with a nice map, and it allows you to help keep the map updated by sending in your own reports. You can also read daily analysis and reports on what the deer are doing, written by seven "expert" hunter-reporters located in each whitetail region of the U.S. There are also photos of the largest bucks taken this season, and a library of how-to articles detailing the best tactics for each phase of the rut. All in all, not a bad little free app.

So that got me thinking, what else is out there for all those who are gadget-addicted like I am? So I went searching, and I found iSolunar, another great app ($4.99 on iTunes--couldn't tell if it's available for Android or not). This app allows you to either enter your location OR it will use the GPS on your phone to "locate" you. Then it will give ou best hunting and fishing times for the day and also "rate" the quality of the hunting and fishing for that day.It also gives crrent weather conditions, has a "trophy room" where you can add your pictures and descriptions of your trophy catch or bag of the day. You can e-mail your results to your friends right from the app--no more waiting to tell them in person at the bar! Not bad... And iSolunar also makes several more apps...one with deer calls, one with special "flashlight" capabilities that help you follow a game blood trail, and much more!

Now, if I can just stop shopping for apps long enough to hunt this year...

www.whitetaildeer-management-and-hunting.com was created by a hunting family. It has great information on food plots--they describe both their successes and failures using various types of seed and equipment. It also has deer camera reviews, and you can sign up for e-mail updates to their journal.

www.americanbear.org was created by the American Bear Association. It has great information about the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary, near Orr, MN. In an interesting twist, at this sanctuary the people are in the "cage," and the bears are free to come and go. A great place to visit!

www.cookingwildmagazine.com is a cooking magazine for hunters and fishermen. It is loaded with fish, wild game, and even foraged plants recipes--and it is issued quarterly. Some of the recipes are available on the website, or you can subscribe to the magazine.

Hunting There are many great public places to hunt in our area! So check back here often for updated hunting calendars helpful hints, and other great hunting information!

Hunting

There are many great public places to hunt in our area! So check back here often for updated hunting calendars helpful hints, and other great hunting information!