Fall Deer 2 015& Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION NOPPADOL PAOTHONG NOPPADOL Conservation Department Offices Putnam Atchison Worth Schuyler Scotland Mercer Clark Nodaway Harrison Gentry Sullivan Adair Holt Knox Grundy Lewis Andrew Daviess DeKalb Linn Macon Shelby Marion Buchanan Caldwell Livingston Clinton Ralls Chariton Monroe Platte Carroll Randolph Clay Ray Pike Audrain Howard Saline Lafayette Lincoln Jackson Boone Mont- gomery Cooper Callaway Warren St. Charles Johnson Pettis Cass Director, Moniteau St. Louis Cole Osage Department of Conservation Henry Morgan onade Franklin Bates Benton Gasc Jefferson Miller Robert L. Ziehmer Maries St. Clair Washington Camden Hickory Crawford The Conservation Commission Phelps Ste. Vernon Pulaski Genevieve Perry Don C. Bedell Cedar St. Francois Dallas Laclede Dent Polk Iron Barton Madison Cape James T. Blair, IV Dade Girardeau Reynolds Webster Texas Wright Bollinger Marilynn J. Bradford Jasper Greene Shannon Wayne David W. Murphy Lawrence Scott Christian Douglas Carter Miss- Newton Stoddard issippi Howell Missouri Department of Barry Stone Butler Oregon Taney Ozark Ripley McDonald New Conservation Madrid PO Box 180 Pemiscot Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180 Dunklin 573-751-4115 Central Region Northwest Region Southwest Region mdc.mo.gov 3500 East Gans Road 701 James McCarthy Drive 2630 N. Mayfair Equal opportunity to participate in Columbia, MO 65201 St. Joseph, MO 64507 Springfield, MO 65803 and benefit from programs of the 573-815-7900 816-271-3100 417-895-6880 Missouri Department of Conservation is available to all individuals without Kansas City Region Ozark Region St. Louis Region regard to their race, color, national 12405 SE Ranson Road 551 Joe Jones Blvd. 2360 Highway D origin, sex, age, or disability. Questions Lee’s Summit, MO 64082 West Plains, MO 65775 St. Charles, MO 63304 should be directed to the Department 816-622-0900 417-256-7161 636-441-4554 of Conservation, PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102, 573-751-4115 (voice) Northeast Region Southeast Region or 800-735-2966 (TTY), or to the U.S. 3500 S. Baltimore 2302 County Park Drive Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Kirksville, MO 63501 Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 Federal Assistance, 4401 N. Fairfax 660-785-2420 573-290-5730 Drive, Mail Stop: MBSP-4020, Arlington, VA 22203. To report poaching or game-law violations, call Operation Game Thief 800-392-1111 Rewards are available for information leading to the arrest of game-law violators. You can remain anonymous. NOPPADOL PAOTHONG NOPPADOL Table of Contents 4 General Information 20 Archery Deer and Turkey Season 4 Hunter-Orange Requirement 22 Fall Firearms Turkey Season 4 Methods Prohibited 4 Baiting Regulations 24 Firearms Deer Season 6 Chronic Wasting Disease Information 24 Urban Zones Portion 10 Hunting Other Game 26 Youth Portions 11 Feral Hogs 27 November Portion 12 Antler-Point Restriction 28 Antlerless Portion 14 Permits 30 Alternative Methods Portion 14 Hunter-Education Requirement 32 Managed Deer Hunts 14 Youth Permits 40 Conservation Area Regulations 14 Apprentice Hunter Authorization Wildlife Code of Missouri 15 Purchasing Permits 50 16 Resident Permits 56 After the Harvest 16 Nonresident Permits 58 Telecheck 17 Firearms Antlerless Permits 60 Share the Harvest 18 Landowner Permits 62 Conservation Agent Phone Numbers 63 Sunrise/Sunset Table 64 Seasons at a Glance/What’s New mdc.mo.gov 2015 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information 3 General Information Definitions Methods Prohibited Deer: White-tailed deer and mule deer. ◾ Electronic calls and electronically activated calls may not be Antlered Deer: A deer with at least one antler a minimum used or possessed while hunting deer or turkeys. of 3 inches long, except that special antler-point restrictions ◾ Dogs may not be used to take deer or turkeys. apply in many counties. See Page 12. ◾ Artificial lights may not be used to spot, locate, or take deer Take: To hunt, pursue, wound, capture, or kill any wildlife in or turkeys. GENERAL INFORMATION any manner. Also includes acts of assistance to other people ◾ Night vision equipment and thermal imagery devices may attempting to take wildlife. not be used or possessed while hunting. Taker: A person who takes or attempts to take wildlife. ◾ Poisons and tranquilizing drugs may not be used. Arrows, bolts, and darts must not contain any chemical Hunter-Orange Requirement or explosive. ◾ Slingshots may not be used to take deer or turkeys. You must wear hunter orange if: ◾ Wildlife may not be taken from or across a public roadway ◾ You are hunting any species of game during firearms deer with a firearm, bow, or crossbow. season. Some exceptions are allowed. See below. ◾ Deer and turkeys may not be taken from or with the aid of ◾ You are hunting on an area that is having a managed fire- motor-driven vehicles. arms deer hunt. ◾ Live decoys may not be used or possessed while ◾ You are serving as a mentor to another hunter during fire- hunting turkeys. arms deer season or on an area that is having a managed ◾ Deer may not be taken while they are in a stream or other firearms deer hunt. body of water, or from any boat with a motor attached, To satisfy this rule, you must wear both a hunter-orange hat regardless of whether the motor is running or not. and a hunter-orange shirt, vest, or coat. The hunter-orange ◾ Deer may not be taken within any area enclosed by a color must be plainly visible from all sides. Camouflage fence greater than 7 feet in height, except in licensed orange does not satisfy this rule. hunting preserves. You don’t have to wear hunter orange if: ◾ You are hunting migratory game birds. Baiting Regulations ◾ You are archery hunting within municipal boundaries ◾ Use of bait — which includes grain or other feed placed or where the discharge of firearms is prohibited. scattered so as to attract deer or turkeys — while hunting ◾ You are hunting on federal or state land where deer hunt- is illegal. ing is restricted to archery or crossbow methods. ◾ An area is considered baited for 10 days after complete ◾ You are archery hunting during the alternative removal of the bait. methods portion. ◾ A hunter can be in violation if they take or attempt to take a ◾ You are hunting in a county that is closed during the urban deer or turkey by the aid of bait where the hunter knows or zones and antlerless portions. reasonably should know that the area is or has been baited. ◾ You are hunting small game or furbearers during the alter- ◾ It is illegal to place bait in a way that causes others to be in native methods portion. violation of the baiting rule. Assisting Other Deer and Turkey Hunters ◾ Doe urine and other scents, such as apple, acorn, and persimmon, may be used to attract deer while hunting, as You must have a filled or unfilled turkey hunting permit to call long as the scents are not used on or with grain and other turkeys for another hunter. You must have a filled or unfilled food products. deer hunting permit to assist others in taking deer, which ◾ Mineral blocks, including salt, are not considered bait. includes participating in deer drives or enticing deer with calls However, mineral blocks that contain grain or other food or rattling antlers. It is illegal to shoot or take a deer or turkey additives are prohibited. for another hunter. Party hunting where hunters pool their ◾ It is legal to hunt over a harvested crop field, but it is not permits is prohibited. legal to add grain or other crops, such as apples, to the field after it has been harvested. ◾ Manipulating crops, such as mowing or knocking them down, is not considered baiting for deer and turkeys; how- ever, it is illegal to hunt waterfowl over manipulated crops. ◾ Additional rules apply in the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zones. See pages 6–9. 4 2015 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information Firearms Deer Hunting Season a conservation agent, (3) do not possess firearms or bows during dog-tracking activities, and (4) maintain control of the The firearms deer hunting season is made up of five leashed dog at all times. Using dogs to recover game does not portions: authorize trespass. ◾ Urban zones: Oct. 9–12, 2015, only in certain areas (see pages 24–25) Keep Carcasses Out of Streams and Lakes ◾ Youth: Oct. 31–Nov. 1, 2015, and Jan. 2–3, 2016, statewide It is illegal to place a deer carcass or any of its parts into any GENERAL INFORMATION (see Page 26) well, spring, brook, branch, creek, stream, pond, or lake. ◾ November: Nov. 14–24, 2015, statewide (see Page 27) ◾ Antlerless: Nov. 25–Dec. 6, 2015, only in certain areas Giving Away Deer and Turkeys (see pages 28–29) You may give your deer or turkey to another person, but the ◾ Alternative methods: Dec. 19–29, 2015, statewide game counts toward your season limit. Deer and turkeys that (see Page 30) are given away must be labeled with the taker’s full name, The November portion typically opens on the Saturday address, date taken, and Telecheck confirmation number. 12 days before Thanksgiving. The early youth portion typi- cally opens two weeks prior to the November portion. These Possession, Storage, and Sale formulas are provided for reference only and are subject to Properly checked deer and turkeys may be possessed by any- change. Dates for each portion are set annually by the Conser- one if labeled with the taker’s full name, address, date taken, vation Commission. To allow hunters time to plan, the Com- and Telecheck confirmation number. The Telecheck confirma- mission announces firearms deer season dates in December tion number must remain attached to the carcass until a meat of the previous year.