Been hunting the Missouri Ozarks for the past 32 years, now have to get up at 2am just to beat all the hunters from Arkansas. Never had a problem with other hunters unlit the last 4-5 years. Even if you are parked and walk a mile on an old road, the Arkansawyers will drive past your vehicle. Times have changed.
It started for us in the mid 90s in Dallas County only these were Louisiana hunters. There was a write up in some sort of publication about the conservation ground that bordered a huge piece of private we hunted.
After that write up the flood gates opened.
Dang shame no doubt, for 12-13 years I never ran into another hunter in the Ozarks. Last year seen 3 guys in one day. All from diff states, Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas. Two of the guys were first class, guy from Arkansas was a total dick.
During the pandemic shutdown, there were people everywhere. not hunters, but idots that had no clue. The best was I heard a shot and watched a turkey fly out and past me by a few hundred yards onto private land. The idiots bumbled out of the woods and asked if I saw a turkey fold. I told them it flew to the next county and was unharmed.
Hunter numbers seem to be dropping a bit, but they will be elevated still due to all the social media out there exposing people.
