Top harvest counties were Howell, Franklin, and Texas.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that young hunters ages 6 through 15 harvested 11,878 deer during Missouri’s early youth portion of the 2026 deer hunting season, Oct. 24 and 25.
Top counties were Howell with 303 deer harvested, Franklin with 276, and Texas with 226. Of the deer harvested, 7,234 were antlered bucks, 3,721 were does, and 923 were button bucks.
Get more harvest information on the 2026 early youth portion at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/.
Youth hunters have harvested an average of about 14,600 deer during the early youth portion in recent years. Get more information on past seasons at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-reports/deer-harvest-summaries.
According to MDC, above-average temperatures affected this year’s harvest total.
“Unfortunately, the abnormally warm fall we’ve been experiencing so far continued through last weekend,” said MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle. “Although not as warm as the early antlerless portion, highs in the 80s during the early youth portion undoubtedly suppressed daytime deer movement.”
Isabelle notes that cooler temperatures are in in the forecast for early November -- peak time for Missouri’s archery deer hunters.
Deer hunting in Missouri continues through Jan. 15. Archery season opened Sept. 15 and runs through Nov. 13. It reopens Nov. 25 and runs through Jan. 15, 2027. The November Firearms Portion runs Nov. 14-24. The Late Youth Portion runs Nov. 27 - 29 followed by the Late Antlerless Portion Dec. 5 – 13 in select counties. The Alternative Methods Portion Dec. 26 through Jan. 5, 2027.
Get more information on Missouri deer hunting from MDC’s 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where hunting permits are sold and online at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer.
