Last Saturday, more than 400,000 deer hunters armed in orange began the firearm shooting season in November 2018 in search of this trophy or a beautiful doe, and many of them were the only ones in the world. among them were rewarded because their weekend harvest was considerable. day season.

This firearms season is once again forcing hunters who harvest deer in any of the 31 counties in the MDC Management Zone to present their deer, or the head with at least 6 inches of attached collar, to the deer. one of 61 MDC free picking stations in 31 counties. .

Chronic debilitating disease (CDD) is an infectious and deadly disease that affects white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family, known as cervids. To date, there have been no known cases of MDC infecting humans, but Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommend that deer be tested for CWD if harvested in a known area. to have cases of this disease. They also recommend not eating meat from deer that has tested positive for this deadly disease. MDC cases are relatively rare in Missouri, with 76 confirmed cases in wild deer since the discovery of the disease in wild deer in 2012.

The Missouri Department of Conservation will continue to provide voluntary sampling and testing of cervids collected from cervids captured anywhere in the state during the deer season. Hunters can also get free test results for their deer online. To find locations and more information on mdc.mo.gov/cwd under DMC, sampling all seasons.

Nick Burrell, Lamar, who worked at one of the checkpoints, said, "We saw a lot of deer over the weekend, including very high sums. I think there have been more big deer imported this year than last year at the opening weekend of the season. The Department of Conservation attracts people from all over the state and trains them to control deer brought to the checkpoint. On the day of the inauguration, at this station, about 225 deer were brought. The day was calm, with busy peak hours. "

Brian Cox, Stockton, was among the best hunters of the opening day. He fired a shot and said he saw a lot of other deer in the same area that he opened the season for several years.

"I started to hunt at the age of 10 and I'm now 29. So it was my 19th season." I was there up to the sunrise. Sun and it was very cold, I was happy not to have to wait a long time for this man to walk in. I was coming out of the forest and I had my deer in. One year, while I was hunting in the same region, I shot 10 points and I hunted the same area most of the time because there are still deer. "

On Sunday, Jared Swearngin, Clever, scored a nine-point gap at 140 yards. It was the first time that he was hunting the area. Swearngin said: "On Saturday, I saw several deer, but they were about 500 meters away. I returned to the same neighborhood on Sunday and around 6:30, the male came out of the woods. After I shot, another 10-point deer came out near the fallen goat, then left. It was a cold morning and the deer was moving. "

The Missouri Federation of Nature Conservation and the Department of Conservation encourage high-performance hunters across the state to share their crop through the Share the Harvest program run by MDC and CFM. They coordinate the efforts of thousands of deer hunters, many participating meat processors, many local support organizations and sponsors throughout the state to help feed the hungry Missourians.

The program works by deer hunters donating their extra venison – from several pounds to a whole deer – to meat processors throughout the state who grind and pack deer meat. The packaged meat is then donated to local food banks and pantry for distribution to Missourians in need of food assistance. Processing fees are fully or partially covered by many program sponsors.

Deer given to the program must be tested for CWD if they are harvested in any of the 12 counties where CWD has been discovered. These counties are: Adair, Cedar, Cole, Franklin, Jefferson, Macon, Linn, Oregon, Perry, Polk, St. Clair and Ste. Genevieve. These deer can only be donated through processors participating in the Share the Harvest CWD testing program and located in or near one of the 12 CDW positive counties. You can learn more at mdc.mo.govvicwd under Share Harvest.

The firearm deer season runs until November 20.

Ken White writes about hunting and fishing for News-Leader. Contact him at [email protected].