Deer season is coming up and consists of different portions. The following laws and regulations apply to the firearms portion of deer season in Missouri. The firearms portion opens up November 14th and closes November 24th.
Education Requirement:
Missouri law requires anyone born on or after January 1, 1967 to complete a hunter’s education program and have a verifiable card. Anyone under the age of 11 is not permitted to obtain a hunter’s education program card. However, they may obtain a regular firearm hunting permit and must hunt in the immediate presence of a licensed person.
Safety Regulations:
Hunter orange cap and hats must be worn during the firearm portion of deer season. In addition hunter orange coat, vest or shirt must also be worn during the firearm portion of deer season. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation camouflage orange does not count. The hunter orange must be visible from all sides. Also for those using a blind hunter orange should be tied to each side of the blind for safety reasons, even though this is not a legal requirement.
Prohibited Hunting Methods:
Missouri has a few prohibited methods of deer hunting. First off baiting an area is strictly prohibited in Missouri.
It is also illegal for a person to bait an area so as to make another people violate the baiting law. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, salt blocks, scents and minerals are allowed as long as they do not contain food additives. When it comes to baited areas the area is considered to be baited and hunting is prohibited in those areas for up to 10 days even after all the bait has been removed for said area.
There are also restrictions placed on the calls and decoys that can be used to hunt deer in Missouri. The use of electronic calls and electronic activated calls is illegal. A hunter may not use any live decoys to hunt deer in Missouri.
The use of dogs to take deer is also illegal in Missouri.
Deer may not be hunted while in any body of water in the State of Missouri.
The hunting of deer in an area with a fence greater than 7 feet high is prohibited. The exception to this rule is when hunting in licensed hunting preserves.
Last but not least it is illegal to hunt deer using a motorized vehicle. Also a boat with a motor is considered illegal as well. Deer may not be hunted while in any body of water in the State of Missouri.
Land Trespassing:
It is illegal to hunt deer on any land that has a “no trespassing” sign put up. An alternative to the no trespassing sign is purple paint. A land owner may place purple paint on trees or posts to mark their property. This purple paint is to be treated the same as a no trespassing sign. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, purple paint is bound by a court of law as a legal method of informing hunters of no trespassing.
Removal of Deer:
When removing deer from the area it is illegal to put any part of the deer carcass in any body of water. It is also illegal in the State of Missouri to leave any commonly edible part of a deer behind. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, a hunter may use leashed dogs to hunt a mortally wounded deer after they have exhausted all other options of tracking the deer. However, hunters are restricted to the fact that they cannot be carrying a firearm or a bow while tracking said deer using leashed dogs. In addition, no hunter may trespass to retrieve a mortally wounded deer by any means; to do so is a violation of Missouri hunting laws.
Sources:
Missouri Department of C (2009). 2009 Deer and Turkey Regulations. Retrieved September 8, 2009, from http://www.mdc.mo.gov/hunt/deer/genregs.htm
