The calendar may show Thanksgiving Day as having been only three days ago but many Missouri deer hunters have been thankful for the past two weeks.

Missouri's 11-day firearms deer season began on Saturday, November 14, and ended this past Tuesday, November 24. Hunters were thankful for lots of sunshine and balmy temperatures that made it feel more like spring turkey season than fall deer season.

The end result was that mild, dry weather allowed hunters to gain access to remote hunting areas and to remain in the field for extended periods of time. More time afield increases the odds for success and the state wide harvest numbers seem to bear this out.

Statewide, hunters checked 194,670 deer. This was an increase of 8,218 from the 1997 season. The southeast region of the state accounted for 13,352 of those deer. That is an increase of 3,512 from last year. Virtually every one of the 16 counties that comprise the southeast region saw an increase from 1997.

Bollinger County led the way with 1,823 deer checked, an increase of 567 from last year. Wayne County was next with 1,562 (an increase or 567 deer) followed closely by Ste. Genevieve county where hunters checked 1,508 (+314 from 1997). St. Francois County checked 1,367 (+415); Perry County added 1,315 to the total (+266) while Butler County checked 1,127 deer (+294 from 97).

Other southeast counties provided the following: Madison, 1,076 (+413); Iron, 1,026 (+266); Cape Girardeau, 671 (+1); Stoddard, 626 (+123); Reynolds, 623 (+229); Scott, 238 (+18); Mississippi, 201 (+20); Dunklin, 71 (+5)) and Pemiscot county with 30 deer (+2).

Even though there were almost 200,000 deer tags filled during the regular firearms season, some hunters will have additional opportunities to fill unused tags over the next couple of weeks.

The second portion of the muzzleloading firearms deer season begins Saturday (Dec. 5) and runs through December 13 statewide. To be eligible to participate in this segment a hunter must possess an unfilled Resident or Non resident Muzzleloading Firearms Deer Hunting Permit. The exception to this requirement would be a landowner who hasn't already taken his limit of deer.

Any person who purchased a modern Firearms Deer Hunting Permit may not purchase and use a muzzleloader permit. In other words, if you hunted deer with a centerfire rifle, shotgun or handgun this year, you can't legally hunt with a muzzleloader in the December segment.

As mentioned previously, a landowner hunting on his/her own property is the exception to the rule. Landowners who did not take the limit of deer during the November portion of the firearms deer season may hunt with a muzzleloading firearm during the upcoming December segment but only on the land that they own.

Anyone who kills a deer must immediately attach their hunting permit to the animal with string or wire. The permit must remain attached until the animal has been checked by the hunter (taker) at an established checking station. Only the taker may posess and transport deer and turkey before checking at an established checking station. Deer must be submitted for checking, with head attached, within twenty four hours of take at any established checking station.

The following are allowed during the muzzleloading firearms deer hunting season: a muzzleloading or cap and ball firearm .40 caliber or larger and not capable of being loaded from the breech and capable of firing only a single projectile at one discharge; in lines and scopes are allowed.

Also allowed are multiple barreled muzzleloading or cap and ball firearms and/or muzzleloading or cap and ball handguns are allowed and may be carried in addition to a muzzleloading or cap and ball rifle, but must be .40 caliber or larger. The following are prohibited: any sighting device that casts a beam of light on the game. Anyone hunting on a Muzzleloading Firearms Deer Hunting Permit may not possess any other firearm or bow.

If you were not successsful in November, but are not eligible for the muzzleloading segment in December, you may have one other option depending on the type of unused permit that you have left.

Any hunter with an unfilled Any Deer or Bonus Deer hunting Permit for any unit may take antlerless deer only in any of the open units (Units 1 thru 17, 20, 22, 23, 58 or 59) during the January Extension. This extra segment is limited to those units listed (all in north Missouri) and runs January 2 through January 5, 1999.

For complete details, consult the 1998 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting information booklet available from permit vendors statewide.

Gene Myers is a Missouri Department of Conservation agent in Cape Girardeau County.