Young hunters harvested high numbers for the early youth portion of deer season.
Missouri Department of Conservation released preliminary data that showed hunters 6 to 15 years old harvested 15,608 deer Oct. 30-31.
Top counties were Osage with youth hunters harvesting 359 deer, Franklin with 329, and Howell with 310. Youth hunters harvested 15,854 deer during last year’s early youth portion.
“Weather can have a big impact on harvest totals during our shorter season portions,” said MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle via news release. “Thankfully, the rain we experienced across much of the state late last week moved out just in time for our youth hunters to have some great conditions over the weekend.