Missouri hunters harvested nearly 2,000 fewer deer during this year’s early antlerless firearms season compared with last year.

Preliminary numbers from the Missouri Department of Conservation show hunters harvested 6,524 deer during the Early Antlerless Portion, held Oct. 9-11. That compares with 8,494 deer last year.

MDC spokesperson Maddie Est said record to near-record high temperatures during the three-day hunt contributed to the decline.

“In total, preliminary results are showing 6,524 deer were harvested during that time,” Est said. “And that is down a little bit from last year’s early antlerless portion harvest total. The numbers last year were 8,494.”

Est said hot weather can change deer movement and make conditions less appealing for hunters.

“Those deer are going to be moving a little bit differently,” Est said. “They’re going to be moving when it’s cooler, which oftentimes is at night, which is not a time that you are allowed to hunt. But then also hunters don’t want to sit in the heat, or they’re worried about being able to process their deer.”

Another factor may be Missouri’s plentiful acorn crop this fall. Est said abundant food means deer do not have to move as far to find something to eat.

“So, acorns are very plentiful right now, which is a great food source for deer,” Est said. “And so they don’t have to go very far to find food in a lot of places around the state right now. And so that’s also going to limit their movement compared to some previous years where maybe that acorn crop wasn’t nearly as good.”

Franklin County in eastern Missouri led the early antlerless harvest with 203 deer.

There are several opportunities still ahead for Missouri deer hunters. The early youth firearms portion is Oct. 24-25, followed by the main November firearms portion Nov. 14-24 and the late youth portion Nov. 27-29.

The late antlerless firearms portion runs Dec. 5-13 in open counties. The archery season resumes Nov. 25 and continues through Jan. 15, 2027.

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