missouri public land diy help

[pawhitetail]

I'm looking to hunt did in Missouri for a rifle deer hunt. I'm specifically looking at hunting the cedar creek tract of the mark twain. Possibly the Rolla tract but my primary focus is the cedar creek tract. Was wondering if anyone here could give me some info on the type of pressure these tracts see or what kind of deer numbers to expect and if there's any other places close by that are worth a look as well. Also looking for a place to stay that may accomadate deer hunters. A reputable butcher possibly. Any info at all will be appreciated thanks.

 

[Elite7]

Pawhitetail,

I am from Missouri, but am fortunate enough to hunt private land. As for public land hunting I couldn't be much of a help. I would suggest looking into hunt areas that you either use a boat to access land or float to the area (Mark Twain Lake or Smithville). There are also certain traditional weapons or bow only areas. I would look there if youre looking for a mature deer. There is also a Missouri hunting forum missouriwhitetails that may help generate more information.

 

[iaengineer]

I grew up and lived most of my life in that area. Too bad you didn't go last year. I just sold my land that was surrounded by some of the cedar creek areas. I hunted a lot of the small pieces in the cedar creek tracts every year.

First there is no way I would travel all the way for central PA to hunt the land in the cedar creek tracts. You could get a deer there no problem. It would be tough to get a decent buck. Missouri NR tags are kind of expensive but you can get a low cost doe tag. You didn't say if you are thinking about archery or rifle?

I you do decide to do it send me a PM. You could give me a call sometime. I can recommend some good processors and places to stay.

I agree if you have a boat Mark Twain Lake could be a great hunt.

I don't know much about the Rolla tracts except that I used to trout fish there some. It is some really interesting country but I never saw a lot of deer there.

 

[sigpros]

I live in Smithville. I won't set foot on that public ground during rifle season. Way too many rubes from the city

 

[7mm08mo]

Are you dead set on that area? I don't know much about it but here in the part of the state where I live within 30 mins of my house are 3 public areas ranging from 1500 acres to 7000 acres. I could help get you started, and have known guys that have taken 140" deer on them. Also I don't think $225 is bad for a non resident tag when Kansas is 325 and Illinois is 410, Iowa is 551 with licence. Missouri is over the counter for and either sex tag and no hunting licence just the deer tag.

 

[blb078]

I can help you out. I live in MO and hunt both private and public. Are you planning on hunting rifle or bow season? Bow season you get 2 tags and 2 turkey tags. As for public hunting like anywhere else rifle is going to be more crowded than archery and weekends will be more crowded than weekdays. You can go at different parts of archery(or muzzlelaoder) and thousands of acres to yourself. Also what time of the year are you coming. I suggest avoid the Oct lull, yes you can get some nice deer just like you can anywhere anytime, but statistically speaking it has a lower chance or harvesting a big buck. North of hwy 70 is what most people consider "big deer country" and for the most part that is true but you can still get nice deer anywhere in the state. Truman Reservoir generally has more deer taken than anywhere in the state, it's also a very large area(about 100,000 acres manged between MO dept of conservation and Corps of Engineers.)

I'm assuming you are referring to Mark Twain Nat'l Forest which is in the southern part and not Mark Twain Lake which is up north. The National forest is more of a hilly type country not very big hills compared though, it's also a little thicker. That area also has been where some elk are have been re-introduced so you might even be able to get a chance at seeing one. If archery hunting maybe even checkout reform conservation area, it's archery only. It's where a nuclear power plant is at and the area around it is owned by Ameren UE but they allow our conservation department to manage it for public land use which include hunting via archery only the total area is about 6000 acres. The one nice thing about all of our conservation managed lands is that if it's farm able they will farm it, so you can be hunting public land over corn, beans, etc all being farmed(or contracted out for farming)by our conservation department.

p.s. anytime you buy something in MO you are helping out our conservation department. 1/8 of a cent of sales tax goes directly to them. So thanks!

 

[pawhitetail]

For first year planning on rifle season. Missouri is a reasonable drive from me (13 hours) and the rifle season is a couple weeks ahead of ours. If I find an area that's decent to hunt I'd really like to make it an annual trip as the way I figure 2 guys split room, food, and gas plus tags I should be able to do it for about $650-700. That's not a bad cost for a trip with a chance at a nice size buck IMO.

 

[indiana50]

I did my first diy public land trip to MO this fall and was able to kill a 140 in 10 pt during the week right before rifle. I went to NE MO and my expectations were exceeded. I would recommend that part of the state to any one. I was extremely impressed with the management of the CA's I visited and was able to hunt over standing corn, beans, turnips, and clovers while there.

There weren't too many hunters during the early part of my trip but the Thursday and Friday before the campground began filling up with gun hunters and they were all over the place hanging stands. Not to scare you away from gun hunting by any means, just sharing what I saw.

We camped at a primitive camping area on the CA we hunted. With tags, food, and gas 3 of us were able to hunt for 10 days for under $400 a piece!

If there is any way I can help, let me know

 

[Flatland Crusoe]

I went to school in Rolla and hunted Mark Twain National forest once during rifle season in my 5 glorious years down there. I grew up close to the cedar creek track, but never hunted there. Really the best deer hunting in MO is traditionally North of I-70 and really north of 36 is the most coveted. Mark twain national forest gets hammered during gun season and then you won't see anyone during bow season or small game hunting. Missouri has something like 10 deer hunters/square mile statewide and the national forest is worse. You would just see guys down an old field edge like it was a dove hunt on opening morning. Any open ground is going to get hit hard so you are going to need to hunt thick timber. Looking back now there are probably pieces of public we overlooked because we were using USGS topo maps, not gps map chips and we didn't know there were designated wilderness areas right under our noses. The best long term strategy to me would be to drive opening morning checking out which little pieces of ground didn't have trucks, RV's or converted school buses parked on them. I think doing it again on public I would hunt the Big Muddy National wildlife refuge at Rocheport or Arrow Rock.

The best public land opportunities in Missouri are going to be bowhunting the week leading up to the gun season on MDC properties that are actually managed. The national forest is very lightly managed and is basically devoid of enforcement on motor vehicle use. The locals treat the national forest in some cases like their own private ATV track, party hall and dumping ground depending on the area. The deer in southern Missouri are small for their age and good bucks are going to be very hard to find. They are going to be very nocturnal and using very heavy cover. I believe the Cedar Creek Unit is now part of the CWD zone where they lifted the antler point restriction to reduce the deer herd.

Mark twain national forest is one of those places that has many secrets it doesn't give away easily. There are good deer to be had, but I'd consider it to be a long term process.

 

[pawhitetail]

One thing about being a native to Pennsylvania is hunter density. PA has the highest hunter density in the country at over 20 per square mile. First year I'll more than likely be going in blind but would like to do some scouting trips when possible.

 

[pn8hall]

I have been hunting private land near Bucklin Mo for the last 16 years. It is north central and just north of 36 which historically holds great deer. 150 class deer are quite common in those parts. I would definitely suggest you look to the north central to north east part of the state for sure. There is an awesome looking conservation area called Mussel Fork CA near me that I have not hunted but it looks dynamite.Its not huge though I think about 2500 acres. I drive thru it every year on my way home which is usually the Monday or Tuesday after opening weekend and its usually empty. Maybe if you planned to skip opening weekend and arrive on Sunday night or even Monday you would have the place to yourself at least until the next weekend. Just a thought. There are quite a few places to stay in nearby towns but you might want to call and book way in advance because I think they book up with hunters pretty quick. Macon, Marceline, Brookfield, Bevier are a few of the close by towns. There are quite a few other conservation areas around the region so if Musselfork doesnt look promising for you just keep googling areas! The Dept conservation used to put out a really awesome map of the state that had every single conservation area listed on it with a summary of the uses for free.I am not sure if they still do but I am not far from an office and would be happy to check and see if they have them still if you are interested. Let me know and good luck!