NOPPADOL PAOTHONG Missouri Department ofConservation Information and Regulations Hunting Turkey Deerand 2021 Fall Conservation Department Offices Director, Department of Conservation Sara Parker Pauley The Conservation Commission Don C. Bedell Steven D. Harrison Mark L. McHenry Wm. L. (Barry) Orscheln Missouri Department of Conservation PO Box 180 Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180 573-751-4115 mdc.mo.gov Central Region Northwest Region Southwest Region Equal opportunity to participate in 3500 East Gans Road 701 James McCarthy Drive 2630 N. Mayfair and benefit from programs of the Columbia, MO 65201 St. Joseph, MO 64507 Springfield, MO 65803 Missouri Department of Conservation 573-815-7900 816-271-3100 417-895-6880 is available to all individuals without regard to their race, color, religion, Kansas City Region Ozark Region St. Louis Region national origin, sex, ancestry, age, 12405 SE Ranson Road 551 Joe Jones Blvd. 2360 Highway D sexual orientation, veteran status, or Lee’s Summit, MO 64082 West Plains, MO 65775 St. Charles, MO 63304 disability. Questions should be directed 816-622-0900 417-256-7161 636-441-4554 to the Department of Conservation, PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102, Northeast Region Southeast Region 573-751-4115 (voice) or 800-735-2966 3500 S. Baltimore 2302 County Park Drive (TTY), or to Chief, Public Civil Rights, Kirksville, MO 63501 Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department 660-785-2420 573-290-5730 of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240. 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. Table of Contents STONNER DAVID 4 General Information 26 Archery Deer and Turkey Season 4 Hunter-Orange Requirement 28 Fall Firearms Turkey Season 4 Methods Prohibited 4 Baiting Regulations 30 Firearms Deer Season 6 Chronic Wasting Disease Information 30 Youth Portions 13 Antler-Point Restriction 31 November Portion 14 Hunting Other Game 32 Antlerless Portion 15 Feral Hogs 34 Alternative Methods Portion 16 County Regulations Quick Reference 36 Managed Deer Hunts 20 Permits 44 Conservation Area Regulations 20 Hunter-Education Requirement 20 Youth Permits 58 Wildlife Code of Missouri 20 Apprentice Hunter Authorization 68 After the Harvest 21 Purchasing Permits 70 Telecheck 22 Resident Permits 72 Share the Harvest 22 Nonresident Permits 74 Conservation Agent Phone Numbers 23 Firearms Antlerless Permits 75 Sunrise/Sunset Table 24 Landowner Permits 76 Seasons at a Glance/What’s New 2021 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information 3 General Information for Deer and Turkey Seasons Definitions Methods Prohibited Deer: White-tailed deer and mule deer. ◾ Electronic calls and electronically activated calls may not be INFORMATION 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 some counties. See Page 13. ◾ Artificial lights may not be used to spot, locate, or take deer or turkeys. GENERAL Take: To hunt, pursue, wound, capture, or kill any wildlife in any manner. This includes acts of assistance to other people ◾ Night vision equipment and thermal imagery devices may who are attempting to take wildlife. not be used or possessed while hunting. ◾ Poisons and tranquilizing drugs may not be used. Arrows, Hunter-Orange Requirement bolts, and darts must not contain chemicals or explosives. ◾ You must wear hunter orange if: Slingshots may not be used to take deer or turkeys. ◾ ◾ You are hunting any species of game during firearms deer Wildlife may not be taken from or across a public roadway season. Some exceptions are allowed. See below. with a firearm, bow, or crossbow. ◾ ◾ You are hunting on an area that is having a managed fire- Deer and turkeys may not be taken from or with the aid of a arms deer hunt. motor-driven land conveyance or aircraft. ◾ ◾ You are serving as a mentor to another hunter during Live decoys may not be used or possessed while firearms deer season or while on an area that is having a hunting turkeys. ◾ Deer may not be taken while they are in a stream or other managed firearms deer hunt. body of water, or from any boat with a motor attached, You must wear both a hunter-orange hat and a hunter-orange regardless of whether the motor is running or not. shirt, vest, or coat. The color must be visible from all sides. ◾ Deer may not be taken within any area enclosed by a Camouflage orange does not satisfy this rule. fence greater than 7 feet in height, except in licensed You don’t have to wear hunter orange if: hunting preserves. ◾ You are hunting migratory game birds. ◾ You are archery hunting within municipal boundaries Baiting Regulations where the discharge of firearms is prohibited. ◾ Use of bait while hunting is illegal. Bait includes grain or ◾ You are hunting on federal or state land where deer hunt- feed placed or scattered to attract deer or turkeys. ing is restricted to archery methods. ◾ An area is considered baited for 10 days after complete ◾ You are using an archery permit 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 archery or small game hunting in a closed county deer or turkey by the aid of bait where the hunter knows or during the antlerless portion. 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 may be used to attract deer while hunting, as long as the scents are not used on or with During the youth portions of firearms deer season, adults who grain or other food products. accompany youth hunters do not need a deer hunting permit. ◾ Mineral blocks, including salt, are not considered bait. The adult must be 18 or older and hunter-education certified However, mineral blocks that contain grain or other food or born before January 1, 1967. At all other times, you must additives are prohibited. have a filled or unfilled deer hunting permit to assist others ◾ The use of mineral blocks and salt is not allowed on conser- in taking deer, which includes participating in deer drives or vation areas. enticing deer with calls or rattling antlers. You must have a ◾ It is legal to hunt over a harvested crop field, but it is not filled or unfilled turkey hunting permit to assist others in tak- legal to add grain or other crops, such as apples, to the field ing turkeys, which includes calling. It is illegal to shoot a deer after it has been harvested. or turkey for another hunter. Party hunting where hunters ◾ Manipulating crops, such as mowing or knocking them pool their permits is prohibited. 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 Zone. See pages 6–12. 4 2021 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information General Information for Deer and Turkey Seasons (3) do not possess firearms or bows while using dogs, and (4) Hunting Near Floodwaters or Fire maintain control of the leashed dog at all times. Using dogs to Wildlife, except waterfowl, may not be pursued or taken while recover game does not authorize trespass. trapped or surrounded by floodwaters or while fleeing from INFORMATION floodwaters or fire. Flood-prone areas in southeast Missouri Giving Away Deer and Turkeys are closed to all hunting, except for waterfowl, during the fall You may give your deer or turkey to another person, but the deer and turkey hunting seasons when river levels exceed game counts toward your season limit. Deer and turkeys that GENERAL certain limits on local river gauges. To see if an area is open or are given away must be labeled with the taker’s full name, closed for hunting, visit mdc.mo.gov/semofloods. address, date taken, and Telecheck confirmation number. Antlered Deer Limits Possession, Storage, and Sale ◾ You may take only two antlered deer during the archery Properly checked deer and turkeys may be possessed by any- and firearms deer hunting seasons combined. one if labeled with the taker’s full name, address, date taken, ◾ Hunters using an archery permit may take only one ant- and Telecheck confirmation number. The Telecheck confirma- lered deer before the November portion of firearms deer tion number must remain attached to the carcass until a meat hunting season. processor begins working on the animal. ◾ Only one antlered deer may be taken during firearms deer Deer left at commercial processing or cold storage plants hunting season (all portions combined). must be claimed by May 1 following the season taken. Turkeys ◾ Deer taken at a managed hunt do not count toward your may not be possessed after Feb. 15 following the season firearms or archery season limits. taken. Tree Stands on Conservation Areas Legally obtained turkey feathers, beards, heads, bones, feet, spurs, wings, tails or tail fans, and skins (including skins Portable tree stands may be placed only between Sept. 1 with the feathers, wings, and legs attached) and deer heads, and Jan. 31 on Conservation Department areas. Unattended antlers, hides, and feet may be sold by the taker as long as the stands must be plainly labeled with your full name and taker provides a bill of sale that shows: address, or Conservation Number.