White-Tailed deer (photo courtesy; Missouri Department of Conservation/Noppadol Paothong)

Missouri’s deer hunting season has ended with preliminary total harvest of more than 283,000 deer – an increase of about 20,000 deer checked from the previous season.

Top counties for the overall season were Howell with 6,182 deer harvested, Franklin with 5,957, and Texas with 5,619. Of the deer harvested, 135,891 were antlered bucks, 30,538 were button bucks, and 117,511 were does.

The past season was the second in which the Missouri Department of Conservation began allowing crossbows as a legal method during the deer and turkey archery season. Of the 51,722 deer harvested under archery methods, 19,691 were with crossbows.

MDC reported five firearms-related hunting incidents during the fall deer and turkey hunting seasons. All were non-fatal. Three involved self-inflicted wounds. Two involved one hunter shooting another.