Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Anyone here hunt in Missouri?

I am considering buying a small piece of woods (very small) there and would like some info about the hunting.

I live in a county that borders MO in N Arkansas. I drive several miles through S Missouri to get to the place I hunt. The bucks aren't usually very big but there are lots of woods and lots of deer. Quite a bit of public land. In the fall when it is dark you will have to dodge them to keep from hitting them driving. I was driving home one night this fall after hunting. And had to slow stop or dodge 6 different bunches of deer in the road. In 30 miles I probably saw 50. Many people have steel ranch hand type bumpers on their trucks to protect their trucks from them.

That sounds like a great place to be. I’m in Pennsylvania and the deer hunting here is pretty good. 15 years ago, I bought some hunting land in Vermont. I bought it mostly because there was a good grouse population but I have had some good luck on deer but even more years with bad luck. I recently became interested in MO as a halfway point for road trips out west. I also like the idea of deer hunting there and maybe finding some quail. I am thinking about 5-10 acres in the upper Ozarks near public land. I know northern parts of the state are known for bigger bucks and more quail but the land up there is a lot more expensive.

Good friend of mine is selling his 150 acre farm in Missouri. It's in the northern middle part of the state along the Iowa border. It's great hunting property with lots of quality deer. My cousins are just north of the Ozarks, I go there for turkey hunting, no shortage of birds.

I wish I could afford 150 acres and have the time to hunt it. Maybe when I get closer to retirement. I have 130 acres in VT but that’s 6 hrs from home so I can get there enough to make it worthwhile. The taxes are getting too high up there though. I am looking for a small plot of 8-10 acres or so and ideally, for under $15k. I want ot to be close to public land so I have somewhere to hunt more seriously. I want it as a place to build a tiny cabin (no utilities) to sleep in as a halfway point on trips to Colorado. I would hunt in MO probably once every year or two depending on how much time I can get away. I figure a 10ish acre property would be good for a stand or two if it is being used by deer or turkey. If I want to hunt bigger woods I would hit public land. It would be a small amount of money tied up if I cannot get there very often.

The weird thing is that I have found a couple properties that I am interested in. I intended to make an offer on one but I can’t get the listing agent to return a call or email. Maybe it sold or something or the agent doesn’t move very fast. That may be the norm out there. It would cause problems where I am from.

Land for that price would be in the southern part of the state.

In the right place you will have plenty of deer. In the wrong area and you will have very few deer and turkeys.

What county are you looking in?

Personally would not buy unless I saw it in person and was able to walk it.

I have been looking in areas near public land, especially the Twain Natiomal Forest. Specifically, Washington, Iron and Crawford Counties. The property that I was going to make an offer on is in Washington County.

Not familiar with the area but betting on a hunch it's pretty good hunting. We used to hunt Texas county to the SW of there and lots of turkeys in the day.

Get on Missouri department of conservation and you can see kill nbers by county on both deer and turkey. Turkey numbers may be broken down into fall and spring seasons.


https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-harvest-reports/deer-harvest-map

I noticed Missouri has CWD, has it effected the deer herd that much?

Not so much the CWD itself, but it has the local residents spooked pretty bad (I have hunted Chariton County for decades, I grew up there and have family in the area). I know a lot of guys who are pretty circumspect about shooting a deer in Macon or Linn Counties (which border Chariton) because they were the ground-zero of the outbreak (due to a game farm that imported sick deer to the area). I've had my deer checked by MODOC guys trying to find out more about the disease.
Due to family things going on, I haven't hunted for the past few years, but I wouldn't be scared to hunt there. Just bone out the meat, it's okay. We always boned out the meat anyway.

Tn just got it's first positive this last season and has grown to 191 positives in one year. The county I hunt is in the Red Zone and it's going to change the way I hunt for sure.

land is pretty cheap in iron and parts of washington county, but i would avoid those areas. deer numbers are low, poaching, meth, easement issues, and other factors.

id personally try to stay near the I-70 AND I-44 corridors myself.

https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-harvest-reports/deer-harvest-map

here's a link of the 2018 harvest per county

are you planning on archery or firearms hunting?

Thanks. I already made an offer but we will see what happens. If it is declined, I have others that I am looking at. One is in Benton County but is a little bit more expensive than I would like.

Benton County would be a good area. Also right at Truman Lake which has excellent crappie fishing.

I noticed you mentioned quail. I don't know what other guys are seeing, but there just aren't much around. Unless the northern half has a better population. I grew up in central MO, still have family and property there, and haven't seen a quail in longer than I can remember.

A lot of the inexpensive listings either lack road frontage or are part of a subdivision with access through a gated road. I do not want to deal with a homeowners association. The realtor on the Washington County property does not reply to messages so I think I am going to pull the plug on that if I don't hear back soon. I'll take my time trying to find the right spot.

Seems like a lot of money to tie up for such little use. You are looking at a couple hour detour off the interstate, and that small of an acreage isn't likely to provide consistent hunting success unless you are really lucky on the location. Plus you have to worry about thieves and vandals since it will be unoccupied the vast majority of the time.
There is some pretty good public land hunting around Truman lake and some good fishing on the lake, both of which could be enjoyed while staying in a nearby motel or campground. I'm not trying to pee on your cornflakes, just some food for thought.

I would be concerned if I was an absentee owner, The “natives” may be the ones to enjoy your land. They get to hunt, you get to pay the taxes.

Unless you are in an area where year round residents can watch it for you, people you trust such that they aren’t the intruders.

Birthright can be a strong soul tie to a hunting property, often a generational thing. Improvements like cabins, etc can result in even more exposure.

You may not end up with what you bargained for. Devil’s in the details.

DF

That where our place is. Tons of deer and pretty decent population of turkeys to hunt.

You may be right. I gave up on the one location that I was ready to buy. The realtor was nearly impossible to get a response from so I just withdrew my offer. I am going to keep looking but unless I see something really tempting, I may try a hunt in the area from a camp site to get a better feel for what I would be getting into.