It was a successful year for hunters in the alternative-methods portion of the firearms deer season, officials say, as the number of deer taken increased by more than 20 percent year-to-year.
Missouri Department of Conservation said preliminary data showed that hunters harvested 14,555 deer between Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. Top harvest counties were Franklin with 318 deer harvested, Callaway with 317 and Osage with 298.
The harvest total for 2019 alternative-methods portion was 12,024, MDC said.
The archery deer and turkey season is now through Jan. 15.
For current ongoing preliminary harvest totals by season, county, and type of deer, visit the MDC website at extra.