[buck12]

I have heard so many conflicting statements regarding deer hunting in Southern Mo. I would love to know the truth of what kind of deer are produced down there and what to expect as for deer numbers. Some say its good hunting and others say don't waste your time. Just curious because I would love do some public land bowhunting in Southwest MO. I love that part of the state. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[macon county boy]

well i remember when my dad and his friends all went south to hunt deer cuz there were very few in north mo. i have friends at the lake that kill the heck out of em down there down by camdenton

 

[Bass Fishin]

:welcome: to MissouriWhitetails. Well I would always hunt if I had a chance. Go for it. Killed deer numbers may be lower down there in some counties -

but Douglas, Oregon, Howell, and Ozark county still got a very high number of deer brought down. Go for it man :2thumbsup:

 

[Reflex]

The deer popultion is greater in Northern MO. Plus, with all the grain and such up there, there is a really good chance of seeing some buisers. While the popluation is a little lower in Southern MO, I believe the hunting is still worthwhile, and every once in a while some really niced bucks are taken out of the southern counties. The hunting in southern MO, is a lot different than in the norther part of the state. Hunting the Ozarks is a completely different game.

 

[macon county boy]

ya my buddy down there killed a 156 thats his best down there but he has a tree of antlers of 120s 130s 140s

 

[ALMOST NORMAL]

[rquote=1523450&tid=106183&author=Reflex]The deer popultion is greater in Northern MO. Plus, with all the grain and such up there, there is a really good chance of seeing some buisers. While the popluation is a little lower in Southern MO, I believe the hunting is still worthwhile, and every once in a while some really niced bucks are taken out of the southern counties. The hunting in southern MO, is a lot different than in the norther part of the state. Hunting the Ozarks is a completely different game.[/rquote]

true dat. There are hills and stuff down south:rof2:
which isn't very funny when you find yourself having to climb one of them:mad2:
The biggest thing is scouting no matter what part of the state you are in. There are plenty of deer to be had in the south, do your homework & good luck

 

[Heavyhitter]

My brother has a condo at the lake on the gravois arm, and coming out of his condo Sunday night within a half mile we saw 19 deer. One was a nice buck, I wish i could find the owner of the property. Because this isnt the first time ive seen this many deer in that same stretch of land.

 

[TCFRENZEL]

[rquote=1523442&tid=106183&author=Viper Sniper]:welcome: to MissouriWhitetails. Well I would always hunt if I had a chance. Go for it. Killed deer numbers may be lower down there in some counties -

but Douglas, Oregon, Howell, and Ozark county still got a very high number of deer brought down. Go for it man :2thumbsup:[/rquote]
Draw a line through the center of the state and look at all those numbers.... The only problem I have is that it is so much woods. Up north all the deer are crammed into a confined area and it makes for a little easier hunt. Plus they get larger faster. There are plenty of southern stud deer but they get old and smart due to all that area to roam.
And I am willing to bet that if you took deer harvested per square mile over the state that the actual deer population down south is larger.....They just aren't as visible.

[Edited on 12-24-2009 by TCFRENZEL]

 

[RznShooter]

a lot of people over look stone county but there are a lot of good deer here we found a 180 inch+ deer dead last year and killed a nice buck this year you wont see a lot of deer but there here you just have to know where to hunt

 

[buck12]

Thanks for the info. I'm thinking about hunting near Bull Shoals. I like that area. Good people and a lot of public land. I fished that lake and said I would love to go back during the fall to try my hand at a Missouri Buck.

 

[hollercaller]

To kill big deer down here with any regularity, you must hunt IN the woods.

 

[oneshot 1]

I've hunted North and South.The Deer up North are far easier to hunt because of cover.You will find bigger Bodied Deer up North because of Grain.

But there is plenty of Deer on the most part in the South plus some nice Racks.

Here is one I got in my back yard

[file]86412[/file]

Here is one I killed last season on Goverment Land in Southern Missouri

[file]86413[/file]

Here is a nice size 8 I got on my property
[file]86414[/file]

oneshot
The Big Grin likes them Dear Big Grins.

 

[cardiackiller]

our farms are in texas county, and in the past three years, we and our neighbors have killed 5 bucks over 130

 

[MOGC]

The deer population is much less in the Ozarks. There is no such thing as unlimited antlerless tags down south. If you see more than a dozen deer in a season in much of the public ground in the Ozarks you’ve had a good year, remember, I said season not day. Many counties only allow one deer of either sex on the gun tag. That smaller deer population has mile upon mile of unlimited cover, and rough, steep country to roam and hide in. You'll work a lot harder at it in the Ozark hills. The terrain is much, much, tougher and with the damage from the ice storm a few years ago and last summers tornado the timber is really difficult to get around in now. It’s a jumbled maze of downed trees in much of the Ozarks timber lands. You are constantly detouring around downed logs and tops. Walking a straight line through the woods is impossible and visibility is down to handgun ranges in many areas. There aren't many food plots or crops in the hills, what fields there are is cattle pasture and that isn't great deer habitat. You also have the problem of getting one out once it is down. You can’t drive the truck through a field and throw it in the back like a lot of the north country guys do. ATV use is illegal off roadways so you are relegated to the old time method – drag! And a “drag†it is when you down a decent size deer a mile or more from the truck and have to get it up and down those steep brushy hollers and ridges by sweat alone. If you are used to hunting in crop fields, food plots, and small woodlots of northern Missouri you’d best be prepared for a shocker in the south.

 

[letemgrow]

Big deer are killed south, but far fewer. When I used to go to Gainesville, MO to get my coondogs, I would see a ton of deer along the way. Very small bodied as opposed to what I was used to in Mercer County, but there were a ton of em!!! :cheers:

 

[hollercaller]

[rquote=1523749&tid=106183&author=MOGC]The deer population is much less in the Ozarks. There is no such thing as unlimited antlerless tags down south. If you see more than a dozen deer in a season in much of the public ground in the Ozarks you’ve had a good year, remember, I said season not day. Many counties only allow one deer of either sex on the gun tag. That smaller deer population has mile upon mile of unlimited cover, and rough, steep country to roam and hide in. You'll work a lot harder at it in the Ozark hills. The terrain is much, much, tougher and with the damage from the ice storm a few years ago and last summers tornado the timber is really difficult to get around in now. It’s a jumbled maze of downed trees in much of the Ozarks timber lands. You are constantly detouring around downed logs and tops. Walking a straight line through the woods is impossible and visibility is down to handgun ranges in many areas. There aren't many food plots or crops in the hills, what fields there are is cattle pasture and that isn't great deer habitat. You also have the problem of getting one out once it is down. You can’t drive the truck through a field and throw it in the back like a lot of the north country guys do. ATV use is illegal off roadways so you are relegated to the old time method â€" drag! And a “drag†it is when you down a decent size deer a mile or more from the truck and have to get it up and down those steep brushy hollers and ridges by sweat alone. If you are used to hunting in crop fields, food plots, and small woodlots of northern Missouri you’d best be prepared for a shocker in the south. [/rquote]
What he said

 

[TCFRENZEL]

Hmmm. Is texas county in south missouri? How about Howell county and Oregon county? Hmmmm. 5446 in texas county yep none there..4855 in Howell county nope must just be really good hunters down here.Oregon county 4219?? Low population huh. Laclede 4060. Wayne county 4268 hmmm where actually does south Missouri start? Cause there is also Dent Crawford and Camden county. If we are killin all these deer where there are none. And finding them in 1000's of acres of woods instead of 10 acre woodlots in a 400 acre corn field we just must be great hunters down south!

Here is one of our small southern bucks

[file]86471[/file]

 

[TCFRENZEL]

Darn large files

 

[Rg176bnc]

It looks to me like theres more counties in the south w/ 3.5k kills than up north.!??

 

[Bass Fishin]

[rquote=1523943&tid=106183&author=TCFRENZEL] And finding them in 1000's of acres of woods instead of 10 acre woodlots in a 400 acre corn field we just must be great hunters down south!

[/rquote]

Ok dont freak out. We have quiet a bit of woods up north. And not many people kill deer in 400 acre corn fields. You can look on the edge of a field but you dont sit and wait for a deer to show 400 yards away. We gots lots of heavy cover and pine trees so the deer got plenty of places to hide.
Yea yea I know the numbers show that southern Mo HAS shot more deer...maybe down south they got "if it's brown it's down hunters". Even though I do know there are great hunters down there.