Missouri Hunting.

[Gweb85]

Recently moved to Missouri from Idaho for work. Just wondering if anyone has any advice for public land archery deer hunting in this state. Scouted a little bit but I feel a little out of my element with how thick it is out here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Focus]

Corp land around the big lakes is where I’d start if I moved back there to my home state. Look for funnel areas which are aplenty between the water and the ag fields that are typically on Corp land. Set up a tree stand and trail watch. Truman would be my first stop. Stockton would be my second stop.

 

[Dl1969]

You’ll have the place pretty much to yourself especially mid-week,week b4 rifle will be your best bet to shoot a mature animal

 

[Bowfisher]

If you want to truly learn how to hunt public land whitetails, watch as much of "the hunting public" as you can on youtube, and read as much as you can on thehuntingbeast.com Go to the deer huntingforum, and there is a thread called "all time best tactical threads" and start reading!! dan infalt started that website, and it is where the hunting public learned much of what they know now. From a die hard whitetail hunter, trust me, there is no better resources for public land whitetails.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Welcome to the Midwest. I've hunted most of the Iowa counties along the MO border. What part of the state are you in? Also - it was a very wet spring this year so it's a much thicker jungle than I've ever seen it before.

 

[3855WIN]

Biggest bucks typically come from north of I-70. Missouri has one of the most well funded wildlife depts in the US.
A while back, I was in a “club” that leased land in Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa. I found my own Kansas place at a great price, so I dropped the club. If I lived up there and planned to hunt turkey, duck, and deer in more than one state, I’d be back in that club.

 

[bcar]

Yep lets hear what part of the state you're living in, I might have some insight depending on where you're living/wanting to hunt.

 

[Gweb85]

If you want to truly learn how to hunt public land whitetails, watch as much of "the hunting public" as you can on youtube, and read as much as you can on thehuntingbeast.com Go to the deer huntingforum, and there is a thread called "all time best tactical threads" and start reading!! dan infalt started that website, and it is where the hunting public learned much of what they know now. From a die hard whitetail hunter, trust me, there is no better resources for public land whitetails.

Ill be watching and reading, thanks for all the good info.

 

[Gweb85]

I'm in Warrensburg, I've checked out a couple consecration areas around here and think I just need to spend some more time out there and scout a little harder. Thanks again everyone for all the help.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Deer trails will give you an idea of where they travel, but not what time of day or time of year. Look for some promising looking trails leading to open fields then try to spot deer there at dawn or dusk. Even better, set out some trail cams, but risk is they get stolen or vandalized. Also, once the plants die and leaves fall you'll be able to see much better. Keep this in mind for what conditions will be like when hunting later in the season.

 

[MEG2]

I don't know the total number of acres that MDC owns, but it is a lot. There are many conservation areas throughout Missouri that are available to hunt. A guy can find several near the Iowa boarder all way down into the Ozarks. Some are small 40 acre pieces and some are 5000 acres or more. You can find the map on the website that shows locations and provides the info on each. Some of these areas will be open to archery and firearm hunting, some will be primitive weapon only. During rifle season, you will definitely see more people, but during archery season, you might have the place all to yourself. A guy can definitely get away from everyone else on the larger pieces as they are all walk-in areas. I won't say it will be easy hunting, but there are plenty of deer and opportunities.

 

[Focus]

I don't know the total number of acres that MDC owns, but it is a lot. There are many conservation areas throughout Missouri that are available to hunt. A guy can find several near the Iowa boarder all way down into the Ozarks. Some are small 40 acre pieces and some are 5000 acres or more. You can find the map on the website that shows locations and provides the info on each. Some of these areas will be open to archery and firearm hunting, some will be primitive weapon only. During rifle season, you will definitely see more people, but during archery season, you might have the place all to yourself. A guy can definitely get away from everyone else on the larger pieces as they are all walk-in areas. I won't say it will be easy hunting, but there are plenty of deer and opportunities.

Not sure if MDC still publishes a hard-copy atlas of all their hunt areas but I have on circa early 2000’s that showed all of them with a lot of information on each of them. I’m sure, as MEG2 mentioned, all that’s on their website too.

Coming from Idaho you may not think much of the really small pieces of property that are available to hunt there in MO but I had a decent amount of success on deer on similar tracts of land in SE NE on state-owned WMA’s that were a lot less that 160 acres. Don’t overlook the fun of small game hunting too. There’s dumptruck loads of squirrels and rabbits on all those areas as well.