Fall turkey hunters will experience the biggest regulation change as the seasons open this autumn. Already affected are those who have enjoyed a combined deer and turkey archery hunting opportunity.
For the first time in decades, bow-and-arrow hunters are not being issued two permits for deer and two for turkeys. Rather than continuing to include the most popular game animals together, this year the species are separated with a fall turkey hunting season that combines firearms and archery in a single permit.
Both archery deer and turkey seasons have the same start and end dates, with a pause during the November portion of firearms season, but archery deer hunters no longer have the option to shoot a turkey while waiting for a buck or doe, unless they also purchase the separate turkey hunting permit.
The reality is that very few archers exclusively hunted for turkeys. Most arrow harvests of the birds in the fall were the result of chance encounters. Resident hunters who relish that accidental opportunity will be required to buy the $14 turkey permit, which will also allow them to hunt for turkeys with a shotgun from October 1 through 31.
The season limit for turkeys in the fall is two in the archery and firearms seasons combined. That is half as many as a turkey hunter could shoot last year, but it’s about two more than most hunters have taken annually in the fall. In 2023, when about 150,000 archery permits were issued, hunters took fewer than 3,000 turkeys.
Archery deer and turkey hunting seasons opened Sept. 15 and continue until Jan. 15, with the aforementioned break from Nov. 15 through 25. Deer hunters are issued two any-deer permits for $20.50, but can take only one antlered deer prior to Nov. 15, and hunters may harvest only two antlered deer in the archery and firearms seasons combined.
Missouri resident hunters may take any number of antlerless deer using archery methods with antlerless-only permits, which are available for $7.50 each. Shooting hours are one half hour before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset. A sunrise and sunset table for Jefferson City is printed in the 2025 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet.
As usual, that book includes a summary of “What’s New for 2025?” on its back cover, but surprisingly, the change for archery turkey hunters is not included among the 11 bullet points on the list.
Highlighted changes include the elimination of a restriction against moving deer carcasses from the county of harvest. The rule now says that carcasses must be placed in a trash service that is delivered to a sanitary landfill, or left on the property where the deer was harvested.
Hunters must report their harvests through the Telecheck system before the deer is transported out of the county where it was killed, or before 10 p.m. on the day of harvest, whichever is earlier.
Youth hunters may now take more than one deer (only one antlered deer) during the early youth portion of the firearms season, which is the weekend of Nov. 1 and 2.
Twelve counties have been added to the chronic wasting disease management zone throughout the state, bringing the total to 82 of the state’s 114 counties. The counties included this year are St. Louis, Callaway, Cape Girardeau, Daviess, Harrison, Henry, Marion, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Ralls and Texas. Hunters in those counties may now participate in the CWD portion of the firearms season Nov. 26 through 30.
The 76-page annual booklet is available where permits are sold and through the conservation department website at mdc.mo.gov.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.