This is a big weekend for a lot of youngsters in Missouri. It’s the first of two-weekend deer hunts for kids aged 6 to 15. News First spoke to Madison County Conservation Agent Alan Lamb. He says the deer are not as visible this year, compared to the past few previous years.
“We have a pretty good acorn crop this year, which will keep a lot of the deer off the roads and out of the fields. Of course, anytime there’s a heavy mass crop like that, you know, it keeps the deer kind of bunched up and a little harder to find, but they’re just going to be in the woods,” Lamb says.
We asked Lamb if the deer herd is looking good in Madison County.
“Yeah, I believe so. I don’t know the exact numbers off the top of my head, but I don’t hear too many hunters complaining about the lack of deer. Of course, a lot of landowners will comment about, you know, seeing deer in the fields or just deer on their property in general. We have the D-MAP program now, the Deer Management Assistance Program, that larger landowners can sign up for and get additional permits. And there are several landowners in the county that have signed up for that program to help manage their deer herd,” he adds.
We also asked Lamb if he expects a lot of young hunters to be participating in this weekend’s deer hunt.
“I have a couple of young hunters at home that have wore me out wanting to go deer hunting this year. So I can speak for myself and say that yes, there will be a number of youth that take to the field this weekend. Of course with the weather looking like it’s going to be about the same as it is now, I think it’ll all be real conducive for getting the young ones out,” he states.
This weekend’s youth deer hunting season in Missouri takes place on Saturday and Sunday. Young hunters can take only one deer of either sex for the early youth hunt. This weekend’s hunting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. The late youth deer hunting season will be for three days, November 29th through December 1st.
