Missouri deer hunters on target

Things continue to look up for Missouri deer hunters.

They shot 189,933 deer in the 11-day firearms season that ended Tuesday. That was a whopping 23,556 more than were taken in 2014 and an increase of 32,661 from 2013.

“Good weather and plenty of deer activity likely are the reasons why there was an increase...,” said Jason Sumners, deer biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Texas was the leading county, with 4,544 deer checked in, Howell was second with 4,046 and Franklin third with 3,707. Callaway (3,124) and Laclede (3,011) rounded out the top five.

In the Kansas City area, Cass was the leading county with 1,432 deer checked in. Jackson ranked second with 554, Platte third with 524 and Clay fourth with 469.

There were five non-fatal hunting accidents, all of them self-inflicted firearms incidents.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Missouri deer hunters on target."