The printed version of the “2022 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information” booklet is due any day from local permit vendors, but the digital version is already available online at the state Department of Conservation’s website.
There are few changes from prior years. Most adjustments are based on the expanded areas where chronic wasting disease has been detected in Missouri. Additional counties now have more access to extra antlerless-only permits.
The July release date of the booklet coincides with the application period for managed hunts. There are none in Jefferson County, but a few in surrounding counties will offer opportunities for local hunters to help control the population in local parks and other public areas. Hunters can apply from July 1-31 for one of the managed hunts.
Most interesting on this year’s list for me is the addition of Spanish Lake County Park in north St. Louis County. I’m not suggesting it as a great place to hunt, but it is where I grew up. My Jefferson County heritage is about 165 years strong, but my formative years included countless hours in the woods and around the water at Spanish Lake and its companion ponds, Christian, Sunfish and North lakes.
There, 50 years ago, there were no deer in the forest. The adjacent pipefitters union’s fenced compound had a small herd of big deer, but they were more than rare on the public side of the wire-topped, eight-foot chain-link. As is the case with many urban parks, the situation is opposite now, and the place is overcrowded with deer.
For the past two years, the St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department has worked with the state to allow managed archery hunts at Creve Coeur, Greensfelder, Jefferson Barracks and Queeny parks. For the fall of 2022, my old stomping grounds will be added to the list.
Thirty hunters will be selected by random drawing to hunt at each of the original four parks. Because it is a smaller property than the others, only 12 hunters will be picked for bow-and- arrow hunting at Spanish Lake Park. Hunters are required to shoot only from an elevated stand, and everyone must attend a preseason orientation program.
The parks will remain open for other visitors during the managed hunting season from Oct. 15 through Nov. 11. Each hunter will have the opportunity to shoot three deer, but only one can have antlers and one antlerless deer must be taken and checked in before an antlered deer can be harvested.
Other interesting St. Louis region hunts include events at Busch, Columbia Bottoms, Forest 44, and Weldon Spring conservation areas. Babler and Robertsville state parks have scheduled hunts for muzzleloader and cap and ball firearms scheduled Nov. 5-6. Seventy-five hunters will be selected for Babler and 35 at Robertsville. St. Francois State Park will host a managed hunt Dec. 3-4 for 30 hunters who can use center-fire rifles or shotguns with slugs.
In total, the state is holding 131 managed hunts for deer season this year, including events specifically for youth and hunters with disabilities. Options vary by hunt with categories for archery, shotguns, muzzleloaders, historic methods and center-fire rifles.
The booklet includes all the details for each opportunity, requirements for applications and information about the results of the drawings. Also available online is an analysis on managed hunt results over the past several years, including data on how many hunters applied for each location and how many deer those hunters took home each year.
I keep the booklet at the mdc.mo.gov website handy in a browser window on my phone, but I still like to have a printed copy in my truck and will be looking for one soon at my favorite sporting goods store.
John Winkelman is marketing director for Liguori Publications near Barnhart and 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 find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.