Local Numbers for Alternative Deer Hunt in Missouri

(Farmington) The Missouri Department of Conservation says hunters harvested 12,465 deer during the alternative methods portion of deer season which wrapped up on Tuesday. 3,130 were bucks, 1,450 were button bucks and 7,885 were does.

Top harvest counties were Callaway with 296 deer harvested, Franklin had 250 and Macon County 228.

Last year’s alternative methods hunt had 8,724 deer checked with this year’s total 8-percent higher than the previous five-year average.

Locally in this years’ alternative deer hunt, Dent County led the way with 184 deer harvested.

Jefferson County had 181, followed by Crawford with 160, Wayne 156, Ste. Genevieve County had 143 deer checked, Washington 136, Bollinger 135, Reynolds 124, Perry 120, St. Francois County alternative deer hunters harvested 112 deer, Madison had 91 and Iron County alternative hunters brought down 72 deer.

Legal methods during the alternative season included muzzle loading cap and ball firearms, centerfire pistols or revolvers using expanding-type bullets, high powered air guns, longbows, compound bows and recurve bows, crossbows and probably the most challenging of all deer hunting methods…the Native American style atlatl.