The 2021 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet is now available at Department of Conservation offices, all locations where hunting and fishing permits are sold and are available as a downloadable pdf from the mdc.mo.gov website.
None of the changes are specific to Jefferson County, which has been in a CWD management zone since 2016. But one change will triple the length of a portion of the deer hunting season in Jefferson County and all but 15 other counties in the state.
The antlerless portion of the firearms season has been a long three-day weekend in the past, but this year will be extended to include two weekends and the five days in between for a nine-day hunt from Dec. 4 through 12.
The mandatory CWD testing on opening weekend of the November portion will return after a hiatus in 2020 because of COVID-19. Hunters who harvest deer on Nov. 13 or 14 this year in one of the 34 counties included in a CWD management zone must take the deer to one of the sampling stations on the day of harvest. The three Jefferson County locations, which will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on both days, are the VFW Post in Cedar Hill, the state Department of Transportation facility on Highway 110 in De Soto, or the parking lot across Riverview Drive from the Buchheit store in Herculaneum.
Prior to taking deer to the sampling station, hunters should be sure to field dress and Telecheck their harvest. Hunters must appear in person and should position the deer in their vehicle so the head and neck are easily accessible. They also will be asked to identify the location of their hunt on a map.
Most of the other changes for this fall are the result of new cases of CWD discovered in 2020-2021. A case in Pulaski County created a new zone in south central Missouri that includes Pulaski, along with Camden and Laclede counties. Antler-point restrictions have been removed in Camden and Pulaski counties. Growing numbers of reported cases in Arkansas have led to the addition of McDonald County on the state border.
Other surrounding areas are not in the zone but will see changes like the availability of additional antlerless deer hunting permits. Hunters may fill out additional antlerless permits in 17 counties, including Reynolds and Stoddard counties, where they had not been available in the past.
In addition to the changes highlighted in the 76-page booklet, the standards that are familiar in the publication are still handy. The sunrise/sunset table is important because most hunting regulations regarding shooting hours are based on 30 minutes before or after sunrise and sunset.
Telephone numbers for conservation agents are available by county and it has a seasons-at-a-glance chart on the back cover. Archery hunting begins Sept. 15, and the first firearms season is the early youth portion on Oct. 30-31.
A three-page County Quick Reference chart provides easy-to-find details for each county on CWD zone, antler-point restrictions, firearms antlerless permits, resident landowner antlerless permits, archery antlerless permits, antlerless portion and fall turkey hunting.
John Winkelman is Marketing Director for Liguori Publications near Barnhart, Mo., and the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas to share for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can follow John on Twitter at @johnjwink99.