Dear Emery,

I would like to comment on the specific change of moving the antlerless portion around to replace the portion of the muzzle loading season. I don’t understand completely what the switch of these two portions of the deer season accomplish?

For years now the MDC has tried to gear the season toward the harvest of more does than bucks, I kind of understand that. Problem is that some of those areas that have unlimited amount of doe tags available, in reality are not overrun with deer anymore. By moving the muzzle loading portion to the extreme late date of Dec. 18-28, the department has effectively cut out a huge percentage of one’s chance at taking a nice buck. By the time Dec. 18 rolls around, the deer are no longer in rut, the does have been bred, and the bucks are very close to shedding their antlers. I have found sheds in late December and a few years back, a friend found both sides of a huge 12 point right around the third week in December.

Then there’s all that hubub about a second rut. It’s a farce. Scientific studies on deer herds have shown that any second rut (if at all noticeable) is spotty at best, and depends on the social structure of the deer herd in your area. It never happens on a widely-spread basis throughout an entire state or even an entire county. It can and will be restricted to much smaller areas, maybe no larger than a doe group’s home area.

I read some studies conducted by John Ozoga, a well-respected whitetail deer biologist, and Charles Alsheimer, who is an expert in rut predictions. Sometimes I really have to wonder: where exactly do Missouri’s biologists get their information?

Do they conduct studies themselves, do they just go by the same old data that was performed who knows how long ago, or are they just taking a trial and error/hit and miss approach?

Or quite possibly, does it just come right down to gearing the seasons, limits, permits, and availability to selling the most permits, and making the state’s animal crop the most attractive to out of state hunters?

Here’s an excerpt that I pulled directly from a study conducted by John Ozoga:

“Based upon the breeding records of more than 500 supplementally-fed does, most (70 percent) does 3½ years of age and older raised in the square-mile Cusino enclosure bred between Nov. 8 and Nov. 23, annually. Ninety-four percent of them bred during November. They maintained this strict breeding schedule regardless of herd density or buck age structure — even with more than four does per buck, or when all bucks were of yearling age. Only 4 percent bred during December or later.”

Myself along with others I have spoken to feel exactly the same way. Lots of them are selling their favorite black powder rifles, as I have thought about doing. I guess it might make a nice fancy boat paddle or a tomato stake?

I have sent many an email to MDC regarding such issues and always get a textbook response. It seems that nobody in the department is going to sympathize with, nor agree with anything I say. Because what do I know? I’m just a redneck from Park Hills. Falling on deaf ears is an understatement.

Basically, what it ultimately comes down to is the department isn’t actually basing their season changes on fact, or scientific and biological studies. Exactly what are they basing their decisions on? The Telecheck system? Like that’s an extremely reliable source of information! Anybody can lie over a telephone, and it happens more than they could possibly imagine.

So, I’m writing this to you in hopes that maybe you will run it in your publication, to offer some perspective from a hunter’s view from real life experience in the woods during December. I’m sure that others will agree and have the same views as myself, but just didn’t know where their voices could  be heard? Since it seems that nobody at the Department of Conservation is listening, maybe a few of them will read it here?

I think it’s time to stop the unlimited killing of does and do away with that Antlerless Portion altogether. Then put the Muzzle Loading Portion back where it was. If the doe numbers start to increase, simply up the number of antlerless tags in that particular county.

Chris Banks
Park Hills, MO