Missouri Deer Hunting
Missouri deer hunting has long been enjoyed by residents. They know full well the value of the four point one side zone, large whitetail density and more overall deer habitat. Its reputation as a pass by state to non-residents thinking that an OTC deer tag state has lower quality whitetail deer is changing.
Average deer hunters seeking more land to hunt than through any other private land deer lease resource.
As a self guided deer hunter organization every picture is sent in as a courtesy of that deer hunter. The Association partners view that as the hunter's report card on the staff's performance.
How Missouri fits into the self guided Mid-America Hunting Association deer hunter is its offset seasons from that of Iowa and Kansas. It is the common that most Association deer hunters hunt two of the Association's three states each season. It is an Iowa and Missouri then a Kansas and Missouri rotation from year to year. That is for those that hunt strictly one method or tag type such as modern gun and archery.
For those deer hunters that have both gun and archery capability the long Missouri deer season starting September 15 through January 15 allows for easy scheduling.
Deer tags are available over the counter. Tags are state wide. Each deer hunter may have an archery and gun tag the same season.
Mid-America Hunting Association brings to the deer hunter the ability to hunt private land. This is as a self guided hunter. It is throughout the entire season. This time flexibility along with the availability of more than one spot to hunt makes for a great deal of good hunts.
A Deer Quality Management State
An older and more recent four point one size minimum for harvest zone. This has made for plenty of good eight point racks and more importantly more 10 and 12's.
Older zone to the left, newer zone to the right.
2011 Association Missouri Deer Hunting Lease Land
Archery
Bow season offers the longest single whitetail season of our three state area. Missouri also has the most bow friendly habitat.
The archery tag is good for two deer and two turkey both ether sex.
All have the same opportunity of hunting on their schedule. Any time during the season. Pre season scouting is encouraged. All may hunt several farms. A means of hunting quality where the hunter can seek out the buck of choice. This is contrasted with a small private acreage lease where it is hoped a buck will show.
Firearms Season
Modern firearms season is during the peak rut in middle November.
This is before both Iowa's and Kansas modern gun season. For those that have the time, Missouri along with either Kansas or Iowa makes for a long gun season.
Muzzleloader
Muzzleloader season is centered between that of Kansas and Iowa. This allows the muzzleloader hunter to hunt Missouri, Iowa and Kansas without overlapping season.
Missouri Deer Habitat
Missouri has the moniker of the "Rivers State". This is due to large coverage watersheds. This brings tree lined drainage's and many small wood patches into large grain crop fields mostly of corn and soybean. Or, the right hunting combination of cover and food within a small area that is repeated many times over.
Whitetail habitat is tough to illustrate with ground level pictures. Interior to the woods pictures show lots of trees. Exterior panoramic shots offer lots of trees without detail. Aerials miss out on low to head high cover quality. So we do the best we can. Here are some examples.
These pictures showing two sides of a field cut by a wooded dry drainage.
A creek bottom connecting to another creating a good sized wood patch.
This lease also has tall grass CRP. The reminder is large grain crop fields.
Experienced central mid-west hunters know the tall grass fields are prime bedding spots. Many traveling hunters have not experienced tall grass fields. They are often seen no different than weed fields or minimal deer bedding areas. Soon those gaining experience with grass bedding areas distinguish between tall and short grass. Then the quality of the tall grass in terms of holding potential.
Average Missouri Deer Lease Land
Average Missouri lease land is more crop land than wooded. A food first, cover second approach for where the deer prefer to loaf. The huntable acreage is the sw 55 acres or so of this 1/4 section of 160 acre spot. It is that sw corner that is isolated from road and farm yard observation. This is good for one hunter.
Mid-America Hunting Association Value To Missouri Deer Hunting
The value MAHA brings to the average whitetail deer hunter is do it yourself hunts. They are at less cost of time, effort and money than any other private land options to be found.
Missouri Deer in Pictures
We spend most of the entire year in the field working leases.
These Missouri deer pictures are of late summer/fall trophy bucks in velvet. Having an idea where trophy quality whitetail bucks are is one means by which we select land for lease or renew a lease and recommend hunts.
Picture quality reflects a pocket sized camera.
Notice these are long range hand held camera pictures and not motion detector game camera pictures. We captured them from walking the ground. We are not professional wildlife photographers and make the best use of we can with our pocket cameras.
The low light appearance is as much from the early morning overcast conditions as the long range.
Such summertime activity of relaxed behavior in the open well before dark and after first light makes glassing an effective scouting technique.
Roger
After the first hunt what brings our hunters back for years of hunts to come is not our prices. It is our hunt quality. That being non-competitive, the right habitat, the right region of Missouri. Part of this includes the MAHA partners Jon Nee and John Wenzel. They are deer hunters that understand the nuance and subtly that makes for the better hunts. That intangible aspect can be discovered by anyone that talks to them. Any hunter can detected that they know what it means to spend hours/days/weeks in stand.
While a good many doe and scrap racked bucks are present. The food, cover, genetic stock and sheer deer numbers mean more trophy whitetail racks. It is a numbers game and as such seeing more deer per day in Missouri is the rule.
Most bucks seen are non shooters. For those with hunting skill and patience there will come to pass a wallhanger in time. That wallhanger is not just based on deer numbers. It is also that our Missouri hunting lease land is within the food rich agricultural region.
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