When are the hunting seasons for deer in Missouri and Kansas? We’re glad you asked!
Evenings across Kansas and Missouri have turned cool (at times downright cold, even!), and that can mean only one thing ...
OK, it can actually mean a lot of things, but for this exercise, the drop in mercury portends the arrival, or pending arrival, of traditional hunting seasons for Kansas and Missouri deer.
As any hunter ‘round these parts knows, such seasons are finite. He or she well knows, too, that legal game-stalking requires careful adherence to a host of rules and regs. Not to mention a license and ample patience.
Regarding seasons, we’ll attempt here to get you baseline-familiar with some key particulars for deer hunting the Show Me and Sunflower states. The rest — such as purchasing that appropriate license, dressing warmly and remembering to set a particularly effective early-morning alarm — those things are in your hands.
Missouri
Can’t stress this enough: Before you go, be sure to check the latest regs at mdc.mo.gov. As mentioned prominently on the state’s own conservation department website, “(r)egulations are subject to revision during the current year.”
And, equally important, please know exactly what kind of permit you need, as well as applicable bag limits for your state/locality, before you so much as unzip the bag encasing your trusty over-under (or side-by-side, if that’s your jam).
Deer: Firearms: November Portion — Nov. 12-22, 2022: Hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Notes: An antler-point restriction applies in some counties. ... If you harvest a deer from certain counties in the CWD Management Zone during the opening weekend, Nov. 12-13, you must take your deer to a designated CWD sampling station.
Deer: Firearms: Youth — Oct. 29-30, 2022; Nov. 25-27, 2022: Hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Notes: Hunters who are 15 years or younger on Sept. 15, 2022 are exempt from the antler-point restriction during the archery deer season and all portions of the firearms deer season. To participate, you must be at least 6 and no older than 15 on the opening day of the early youth portion.
Deer: Archery — Started Sept. 15, continues to Nov. 11, 2022; reopens Nov. 23, 2022-Jan. 15, 2023: Hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. An antler-point restriction applies in some counties.
Deer: Firearms: Antlerless Portion — Hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Notes: Some counties are closed to firearms hunting during this portion. The remaining counties have limits on the number of firearms-antlerless deer-hunting permits you may fill during firearms deer season (all portions combined).
Deer: Firearms: Alternative Methods — First, what are “alternative methods”? As explained on the state’s website, qualifying/legal alternative methods include: muzzleloaders; certain “cap-and-ball” firearms; centerfire pistols or revolvers using expanding-type bullets (lead or copper, for instance); .40-cal or larger air-powered firearms; crossbows; longbows, compound bows, and recurve bows; and atlatls (spear-throwers) ... just to name a few. The list of prohibited alternative methods is much longer and more detailed, so best to trust the state’s own rundown for the most accurate descriptions.
Kansas
As noted above, be sure to check the latest regs: know before you go. And, equally important, know exactly what kind of permit you need, as well as applicable bag limits for your state/locality.
Deer-Archery: The statewide Kansas archery season for deer opened Sept. 12, 2022 and is ongoing through the end of the year (Dec. 31, 2022). Note that Fort Riley has its own season, with the same dates.
As for the rest of this year’s deer-hunting season details, here is an exhaustive rundown, and we do mean exhaustive, as pulled directly from the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks website ...
Deer Extended Season-Firearms: WAO (6, 8, 9, 10 and 17). Date: 01/01/2023 - 01/08/2023. Location: Units 6, 8, 9, 10, and 17. January Deer Season - Extended Firearms Whitetail Antlerless Only.
Deer Extended Season-Firearms: WAO (10A, 12, 13, 15 and 19). Date: 01/01/2023 - 01/22/2023. Location: Units 10A, 12, 13, 15 and 19 only.
Deer Extended Season-Firearms: WAO (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14 and 16). Date: 01/01/2023 - 01/15/2023. Location: Units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, 16.
Deer Season-Archery: Date: 09/12/2022 - 12/31/2022. Location: Statewide.
Deer Season-Muzzleloader: Date: 09/12/2022 - 09/25/2022. Location: Statewide. The following permits may be used during this season in units specified on permit, using muzzleloader or archery equipment: resident or nonresident Muzzleloader Either-species/Either-sex Permit, resident Any-Season White-tailed Deer Permit, nonresident Muzzleloader White-tailed Deer Permit, Hunt-Own-Land Permit, Special Hunt-Own-Land Permit, Antlerless White-tailed Deer Permit, and Antlerless Either-Species Deer Permit. Hunter orange clothing is required
Deer Season-Pre-rut Whitetail Anterless-only: Date: 10/08/2022 - 10/10/2022. Location: Statewide. Any permit that allows the harvest of a white-tailed antlerless deer is valid during this season. Equipment and unit restrictions on permit imposed. Hunter orange clothing is required. Fort Riley is CLOSED for Pre-Rut Season.
Deer Season-Regular Firearm: Date: 11/30/2022 - 12/11/2022. Location: Statewide.
Deer Season-Youth and Disability: Date: 09/03/2022 - 09/11/2022. Location: Statewide. Youth 17 and younger, who possess a valid deer permit, may hunt during this special deer season only while under the immediate supervision of an adult 18 or older. Any person who possesses a valid deer permit and has a permit to hunt from a vehicle pursuant to KAR 115-18-4 or a disability assistance permit issued pursuant to KAR 115-18-15 may also hunt during this season. All resident and nonresident permits are valid, and equipment restrictions designated on permits apply. Hunter orange is required.
Deer-Firearm - Smoky Hill: Date: 11/30/2022 - 12/11/2022. Location: Smoky Hill. Smoky Hill ANG Firearms Deer Season.
Deer-Fort Leavenworth Archery Deer Season, Extended: Date: 01/23/2023 - 01/31/2023. Location: Ft. Leavenworth.
Deer-Fort Leavenworth Firearm Deer Season (1st Segment): Date: 11/12/2022 - 11/13/2022. Location: Ft. Leavenworth. Ft. Leavenworth Deer Season (in addition to DMU 19 season dates).
Deer-Fort Leavenworth Firearm Deer Season (2nd Segment): Date: 11/19/2022 - 11/20/2022. Location: Ft. Leavenworth. Fort Leavenworth Deer Season (in addition to DMU 19 season dates).
Deer-Fort Leavenworth Firearm Deer Season (3rd Segment): Date: 11/24/2022 - 11/27/2022. Location: Ft. Leavenworth. Fort Leavenworth Deer Season (in addition to DMU 19 season dates).
Deer-Fort Leavenworth Firearm Deer Season (4th Segment): Date: 12/03/2022 - 12/04/2022. Location: Ft. Leavenworth. Fort Leavenworth Deer Season (in addition to DMU 19 season dates).
Deer-Fort Leavenworth Firearm Deer Season (5th Segment): Date: 12/10/2022 - 12/11/2022. Location: Ft. Leavenworth. Fort Leavenworth Deer Season (in addition to DMU 19 season dates).
Deer-Fort Leavenworth Firearm Deer Season, Extended: Date: 01/01/2023 - 01/22/2023. Location: Ft. Leavenworth.
Deer-Archery - Fort Riley: Date: 09/12/2022 - 12/31/2022. Location: Fort Riley.
Deer-Archery by Special Authorization, Fort Riley (1st Segment): Date: 09/01/2022 - 09/11/2022. Location: Fort Riley.
Deer-Archery by Special Authorization, Fort Riley (2nd Segment): Date: 01/01/2023 - 01/31/2023. Location: Fort Riley. Fort Riley Special Authorization.
Deer-Firearms - Fort Riley (1st Segment): Date: 11/25/2022 - 11/27/2022. Location: Fort Riley.
Deer-Firearms - Fort Riley (2nd Segment): Date: 12/17/2022 - 12/23/2022. Location: Fort Riley
Deer-Firearms - Fort Riley (3rd Segment): Date: 12/26/2022 - 12/27/2022. Location: Fort Riley.
Deer-Fort Riley - Youth & Disability (1st Segment): Date: 09/03/2022 - 09/11/2022. Location: Fort Riley. Deer - Fort Riley - Youth & Disability.
Deer-Fort Riley - Youth & Disability (2nd Segment): Date: 10/08/2022 - 10/10/2022. Location: Fort Riley. Deer - Fort Riley - Youth & Disability.
Deer Extended Season-Archery WAO (DMU 19, 10A): Date: 01/23/2023 - 01/31/2023. Location: DMU 19, 10A (Fort Leavenworth). The following unfilled permits are valid during this season using archery equipment only for antlerless whitetails. Resident and nonresident Archery Either species/ Either-sex permit, nonresident Archery White-tailed Deer permit, resident Any-Season White-tailed Deer permit, Hunt-Own-Land Permit valid for Unit 19, Special Hunt-Own-Land permit valid for Unit 19, and Antlerless White-tailed Deer permit. A 2022 hunting license is required, unless exempt by Kansas law. Unit 10A is Ft. Leavenworth and is open only to military personnel.
This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 10:56 AM.