The hunt is on in Missouri and Kansas: Here’s what to expect

DEER

Missouri

▪ SEASON DATES: Archery: opened Sept. 15, runs through Nov. 14, then Nov. 26-Jan. 15. Firearms: Urban: Opened Oct. 10, runs through Monday. Youth season: Nov. 1-2 and Jan. 3-4. Main season: Nov. 15-25. Antlerless season: Nov. 26-Dec. 7. Alternative methods: Dec. 20-30.

▪ OUTLOOK: Get ready for another frustrating season.

The only bright spot? At least it won’t be as much of a shock this year.

Missouri deer hunters were caught off guard last fall when they experienced their worst season in a decade. Because of a severe outbreak of hemorrhagic disease the year before, coupled with the effects of years of liberal hunting regulations, deer populations were down sharply in 2013. And it showed during the hunt.

Hunters shot 251,924 deer in the firearms and archery seasons and managed hunts combined. And that was after a 2012-2013 season in which they shot 309,929 deer.

Don’t look for the situation to rebound as quickly as it fell. Wildlife officials say the deer population may have increased a bit, but not drastically.

The Department of Conservation has reacted to the decline by tightening the harvest of antlerless deer. Firearms hunters across much of the state can take only one antlerless deer per season (plus an antlered buck). In recent years, they could shoot unlimited numbers of does in many counties.

“A few years ago, we had too many deer in parts of the state and we had to come up with strategies to reduce numbers,” said Emily Flinn, a deer biologist for the Department of Conservation.. “Now, it’s just the opposite. We’re trying to reduce antlerless harvest so that we’ll have more does to rebuild the size of the herd.”

▪ BEST BETS: Things have come full circle in Missouri. Years ago, the Ozarks were the stronghold of Missouri deer hunting. Then, interest shifted to northern Missouri, where whitetail populations skyrocketed, producing trophy bucks. Now the Ozarks are again producing the state’s best hunting.

While northern Missouri struggles to recover from the effects of hemorrhagic disease and years of liberal hunting regulations, the Ozarks have seen a steady growth in the size of deer herds. Southern Missouri counties such as Texas, Oregon and Howell now are among the state leaders in harvest.

▪ SEASON DATES: Archery: Opened Sept. 15 and will run through Dec. 31. Pre-rut whitetail antlerless: Oct. 11-12. Regular firearms: Dec. 3-14. Whitetail antlereless only: Jan. 1-4 in units 6, 9, 10 and 17; Jan. 1-11 in units 1-5, 8, 11-14 and 16; Jan. 1-18 in units 10A, 15 and 19.

▪ OUTLOOK: The Kansas deer population also is declining … but not as rapidly as Missouri’s.

After three years of drought, large amounts of Conservation Reserve Program land being put back into production (the CRP compensates farmers for idling marginal crop land and providing wildlife cover) and some effects from hemorrhagic disease, there’s little question that whitetail numbers are down.

“Surveys shows that our deer-vehicle accidents are down 25 percent from 1999-2000,” said Lloyd Fox, deer biologist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. “Now I don’t think our statewide deer herd is down nearly that much. But there has been a decline.”

Kansas didn’t get hit by hemorrhagic disease nearly as hard as its neighbors, Missouri and Nebraska. Still, there were losses of deer in counties bordering those states, Fox said.

Kansas still had a respectable harvest last season — 89,664 deer. That was the second-highest total in the past six years. And more impressive, the interest in Kansas deer hunting is booming. Wildlife, Parks and Tourism sold 207,419 permits last year, the highest in history. Fox expects a similar season this year.

Though the deer population has dropped in the last decade, there are still fair to good numbers of whitetails roaming the countryside.

▪ BEST BETS: The eastern third of the state has the most timber and traditionally produces the best deer hunting.

PHEASANTS

Missouri

▪ SEASON DATES: Youth season: Oct. 25-26. Northern Zone: Nov. 1-Jan. 15. Southeast Zone: Dec. 1-12.

▪ OUTLOOK: These certainly aren’t the “good old days” for Missouri pheasant hunters.

Flash back to 1990, when almost 25,000 hunters shot 90,000 pheasants in the Show-Me State, and optimism was running high.

Now time-travel back to the depressing present. In 2012, the latest year surveyed, 6,500 hunters were out and they shot only 19,750 birds. And wildlife biologists with the Missouri Department of Conservation say totals may have gotten worse since then.

Why the drop? Resource scientist Beth Emmerich blames a decline in habitat and poor nesting seasons.

“The areas with good habitat for pheasants are fragmented,” she said. “And that’s had a big effect.”

Surveys don’t present much reason for hope this year. Roadside surveys indicate continued low numbers of pheasants in northern Missouri, the heart of the gamebirds’ range.

“The pheasant has become somewhat of a bonus bird for quail hunters,” Emmerich said. “I don’t know of too many people who go out and hunt specifically for pheasants.”

▪ BEST BET: About the only glimmer of good news for Missouri pheasant hunters is that numbers of birds in the northwest region have improved.

“We’re talking to landowners who are seeing more pheasants than they have in the past,” Emmerich said.

Kansas

▪ SEASON DATES: Youth: Nov. 1-2. Regular: Nov. 8-Jan. 31.

▪ OUTLOOK: Kansas pheasant hunters might be able to climb out of the abyss this fall. Well, partway, anyway.

After two of the worst hunting seasons in Kansas history, there are signs of a comeback.

Surveys have shown that, thanks to a productive nesting season, brood counts are up 70 percent compared with 2013. But don’t get too excited. Last year the pheasant population hit a modern low after three crippling seasons of drought.

The return of precipitation delayed wheat harvest this spring and produced more nesting habitat, allowed for more weed growth and resulted in more insects, important food for pheasant chicks to survive. The impacts were noticeable.

All but one region, the southwest, showed impressive increases in brood counts, according to surveys. And with much more cover than in the drought years, there will be plenty of places for pheasants to hide this year.

Don’t look for anything like 2010-2011 season, when hunters shot almost 900,000 birds. But don’t look for anything like last season, when a record low 190,285 pheasants were shot, either.

This should be a comeback year, where hunters and their dogs won’t have to cover quite as much ground to flush birds.

“We should see an increase in harvest,” said Jeff Prendergast of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. “But will still be below average.”

▪ BEST BETS: Nowhere in Kansas were the increased weed growth and the delayed wheat harvest more beneficial than in the Smoky Hills.

That area in north-central Kansas had a 76-percent increase in brood counts compared with last year. It also had the highest population of pheasants in the state.

QUAIL

Missouri

▪ SEASON DATES: Youth: Oct. 25-26. Regular season: Nov. 1-Jan. 15.

▪ OUTLOOK: Believe it or not, there was a time when Missouri was one of the top states in the nation for quail hunting.

Old-timers point to 1969, when the state set records for hunters (186,019) and harvest (3.9 million).

Now a massive loss of habitat, modern farming practices and many years of poor nesting conditions have resulted in the loss of a tradition. In 2012, the last year Missouri conducted a harvest survey, there were only 15,078 hunters and they took 100,894 quail.

Spikes in quail hunting now are mainly due to favorable conditions during the spring, when the birds nest. And this was one of those years.

Roadside surveys showed the first increase in quail spotted in recent years, encouraging wildlife biologists.

“There is hope this year,” said Beth Emmerich of the Department of Conservation. “It’s not a huge increase, but at least it’s an increase.”

“We’ll take small victories at this point.”

Much of northern Missouri shared in that success. Areas that are being managed for quail especially prospered, propered, proving that good habitat can bring the birds back.

But Emmerich knows that changes won’t come overnight for the bobwhite. It took a while to lose thousands of acres of habitat. Restoring places for the quail to live won’t be easy.

▪ BEST BETS: Northern Missouri has quail again. The north-central region showed the biggest increases from last year in surveys, almost quadrupling the number of quail spotted in a 30-mile route. The northwest region had the second-highest total. But keep in mind that the increases were from the lowest totals on record to present-day levels. There’s still a long way to go, Emmerich said.

Kansas

▪ SEASON DATES: Youth: Nov. 1-2. Regular: Nov. 8-Jan. 31.

▪ OUTLOOK: There’s only one direction for Kansas quail hunting to go — up.

The state’s once-proud tradition hit rock bottom last year when historic lows were recorded for harvest (174,970 birds) and hunters (38,351). And it should be remembered that this crash came less than 15 years after hunters shot more than 1 million quail per season and Kansas was recognized as one of the top states in the nation.

Wildlife biologists place much of the blame on the cumulative effects of several consecutive years of severe drought and a steady decrease in habitat. The recent loss of CRP acres hasn’t helped.

But there is a ray of sunlight cutting through that gloom this year. Roadside surveys this summer indicate a 50-percent increase in quail numbers from 2013. That won’t lift Kansas’ quail hunting to the levels of the 1960s, when hunters shot almost 4 million birds one year. But at least it will make all the walking worthwhile for hunters and their bird dogs in some parts of the state.

▪ BEST BETS: The Flint Hills should produce the state’s best quail hunting this fall and winter. Brood survey indexes were up 127 percent in the region, the highest in Kansas.

The north-central and south-central regions also had substantial increases.

DUCKS

Missouri

▪ SEASON DATES: North Zone: Youth: Oct. 18-19. Regular: Oct. 25-Dec. 23. Middle Zone: Youth: Oct. 25-26. Regular: Nov. 1-Dec. 30. South Zone: Youth: Nov. 22-23. Regular: Nov. 27-Jan. 25.

▪ OUTLOOK: This might be a season to remember for Missouri duck hunters.

As the season approaches, everything is lining up perfectly. A record flight of ducks (49.2 million) will be winging south this fall and winter. And Missouri has the look of an attractive rest stop on that migration.

“With all the rain we’ve had in the last couple weeks, we should have lots of water,” said Andy Raedeke, a waterfowl biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “There should be opportunistic water, in addition to our managed areas. And our duck clubs should be in good shape going into the season.”

The only concern? Some areas may have gotten too much of a good thing. There has been some wetlands flooding, and if that water stays on the marshes too long, it could kill the moist-soil food that ducks feed on.

Still, the overall picture looks good. Now it’s up to the weather. Last season was a perfect example of what can happen. On wetlands managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation, hunters in the North Zone took an average of 3.12 ducks in the early to middle portions of the season. But an early freeze-up cut short some of that success. Marshes in that zone had 26 days of substantial ice, bringing the hunting almost to a halt.

If Missouri can avoid those extremes this year — and +weather+ fronts push the ducks into the state during the heart of the hunting season — you’d better stock up on shotgun shells. You’re going to need them.

▪ BEST BETS: The Grand Pass Conservation Area along the Missouri River still stands out as one of the Midwest’s premier waterfowl areas, attracting peak numbers of 100,000 ducks or more. Because the ducks follow the river on their way south, the wetlands are an attractive rest stop.

The conservation area regularly reaches peaks of 100,000 or more ducks. And it often is at its best when shallower water across the state freezes and Grand Pass’s open water is inviting.

Kansas

▪ SEASON DATES: High Plains Unit: Youth: already concluded. Regular: Oct. 11-Dec. 8 and Dec. 20-Jan. 25. Low Plains Early Zone: Youth: already concluded. Regular: Oct. 11-Dec. 7 and Dec. 20-Jan. 4. Low Plains Late Zone: Youth: Oct. 25-26. Regular: Nov. 1-Jan. 4 and Jan. 17-25. Low Plains Southeast Zone: Youth: Nov. 1-2. Regular: Nov. 8-9 and Nov. 15-Jan. 25.

▪ OUTLOOK: For a change, Kansas duck hunters are going into a season riding a wave of optimism.

Why the enthusiasm? Let us count the ways.

1. In an era that has been dominated by drought, the water is back. Recent rains have put most managed marshes in great shape.

2. There is an abundance of moist-soil food and row crops, which should get migrating waterfowl to not only stop, but also stay longer.

3. The state’s premier waterfowl area, the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area, is in the best shape that it’s been in for years.

We could go on, but you get the picture. Kansas is poised for a good duck season if the weather cooperates and pushes birds into the area at the right time.

“If we get the fronts that push the ducks into the state, we should be able to hold them this year,” said Tom Bidrowski, a waterfowl biologist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

“One thing that will be interesting is that Nebraska has some good conditions, too, and that might keep ducks from getting down to Kansas until later.

“But with the high number of ducks flying south, we should still pick up our share.”

Last season was an example of what good habitat can do. With good water in many marshes, Kansas hunters shot 235,335 ducks — the highest total in the past five years and significantly higher than the long-term average of 183,585 ducks.

▪ BEST BETS: Cheyenne Bottoms is the heart and soul of Kansas duck hunting. When the huge wetlands complex has good water and food, it can attract large numbers of ducks, geese and sandhill cranes. This is shaping up as one of those good years. Hunters at Cheyenne Bottoms already enjoyed an outstanding teal season, where they averaged 4.2 teals per man daily. Now the regular season is underway and ducks are pouring into the wetlands.

CANADA GEESE

Missouri

▪ SEASON DATES: Oct. 4-12 and Nov. 27-Jan. 31.

▪ OUTLOOK: It has become a trend in Misssouri. Just about the time hunters start worrying about the lack of Canada geese, it turns cold and the honkers stream into the state in impressive numbers.

That’s why the Missouri Department of Conservation several years ago shifted the dates of the hunting season to take advantage of the late-arriving geese. And it has worked out well.

Hunters shot 92,625 geese in the 2013-2014 season, and most of that kill came in late December and January. That total was the highest since 2010, and there are signs that hunters could be in store for more of the same.

Production of giant Canada geese from Manitoba, Minnesota and Iowa, plus the geese from the Eastern Prairie Population — the birds that make up the bulk of migrants into Missouri — was similar to last year, which was considered good.

Now it’s up to the weather. If some early winter storms push geese out of the northern United States — and Missouri still has open water — look for big things.

▪ BEST BET: Kansas City area hunters don’t have to travel far to get in on some of Missouri’s best Canada goose hunting. The corridor from Pony Express Lake to Smithville Lake has developed into a prime hunting area. Big water and big feed fields are the key. The Truman and Montrose lake areas can hold large numbers of Canadas as well.

Kansas

▪ SEASON DATES: Nov. 1-9 and Nov. 12-Feb. 12.

▪ OUTLOOK: Kansas is emerging as a goose-hunting state.

Since 2010, when 75,800 total geese (including whitefronts and snows) were taken in the Sunflower State, the harvest has steadily climbed. In the 2013-2014 season, hunters shot 151,837 birds, far above the long-term average of 106,850 birds.

Because wildlife biologists say that 70 percent of the total goose harvest is made up of Canadas, that indicates that hunting for the big honkers is definitely on the upswing.

As in Missouri, the highest percentage of geese are taken in the heart of winter.

“Our goose numbers are real dependent on where that snow-ice line is,” said Tom Bidrowski of the Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. “When it gets nasty in the states to the north of us, we get a big push of geese into Kansas.

“In mid- to late January into early February, we can build some good numbers.”

▪ BEST BETS: With Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge serving as oceans of good waterfowl habitat, central Kansas can attract tens of thousands of Canada geese late in the fall.

Glen Elder Reservoir attracted impressive numbers of geese last year and the field hunting was outstanding. The Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge and reservoirs such as Cedar Bluff and Sebelius in western Kansas also can attract large flocks of Canadas. And don’t overlook the south-central and southeast parts of the state.

TURKEYS

Missouri

▪ SEASON DATES: Archery: opened Sept. 15 and runs through Nov. 14 and Nov. 26-Jan. 15. Firearms: opened Oct. 1, continues through Oct. 31.

▪ OUTLOOK: Missouri turkey hunters couldn’t have picked a better time to get some good news.

Survey numbers show that the poult (young turkey)-to-hen ratio that biologists use to gauge the strength of spring reproduction is up 25 percent from the 10-year average. That’s welcome news after a 2013 fall season in which hunters took only 5,928 birds, the second-lowest total in the 33 years Missouri has had autumn hunts.

That means there are more of the young birds that hunters target roaming the woods this October. The change should be especially noticeable in the northern counties, because that region was most affected by the downward trend in nesting success since the early 2000s.

Don’t expect anything like 1987, when almost 50,000 hunters took 28,139 birds. Hunter numbers have since dropped to 13,736, mainly because of the increased popularity of other outdoors sports, such as archery deer hunting and the downward trend in turkey populations.

But biologists expect more hunters to be out as they spot more birds. “The fall hunt is very opportunistic,” said Jason Isabelle of the Missouri Department of Conservation. “If landowners and others see a lot of birds, they’ll go out and buy fall tags.”

▪ BEST BETS: This could be a comeback year for the north. Traditionally known for their excellent turkey hunting, northern counties had fallen off in recent years because of poor nesting success and habitat loss.

But the birds are back, if surveys conducted by the Department of Conservation are any indication. The northeast had the highest nesting success in the state, and the northwest wasn’t far behind.

Kansas

▪ SEASON DATES: Oct. 1-Dec. 2 and Dec. 15-Jan. 31.

▪ OUTLOOK: The Kansas fall turkey season has faded into the background.

With the increasing popularity of bow hunting for deer and a dropping turkey population, the autumn hunt has lost much of its luster.

As recently as 2005, there were 10,182 hunters in the woods for the fall season, and they shot 6,236 birds. But hunter numbers have dropped below 8,000, and the fall harvest is about half of what it was in 2005.

So what happened? Jim Pitman, small-game coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, blames several consecutive years of poor nesting.

“Turkey numbers have been down quite a bit in far eastern Kansas,” he said. “It’s been a cumulative thing. We’re seeing the effects of several years of poor production.”

In light of those declines, Wildlife, Parks and Tourism has reduced the fall limit from four turkeys to one in the south-central, southeast and northeast units. The north-central is the only place where the season limit remains at four.

There is a bit of good news, though. Surveys this year showed that turkey production was up. So at least there will be more young birds in the woods than in the past several years.

▪ BEST BETS: The central and northern parts of the Flint Hills and the eastern part of the Smoky Hills still have good turkey populations and should produce some of the state’s best fall hunting.

This story was originally published October 10, 2014 at 6:13 PM with the headline "The hunt is on in Missouri and Kansas: Here’s what to expect."