Outdoor Living

Archers basking in season of turkey and deer

As the leaves begin to change their color and footballs fill the air, Missouri archery hunters are in the woods after whitetails and turkey.

The archery season for deer and turkey that opened early this year on Sept. 15, has attracted another record number of archers as Missouri bow hunters celebrate the 57th anniversary of their sport.

It was 57 years ago when the first archery season opened for deer hunting with 73 permits sold. It was a three-day season with only one county (Crawford) open and bow hunters could only hunt bucks.

No deer were harvested that first season. It wasn't until four years later that a deer was taken, that was a deer shot by Hugh Collins in Taney County. There were 64 archery permits sold that year. Today, archers number around 100,000 and have a statewide season that started Sept. 15 and runs through Jan. 15 except for the short firearm season in November.

Archers harvested more than 20,000 whitetails last year and this season promises to be even better as the state's deer herd has reached record numbers.

Bob Lewis, an avid archer who has bagged 14 deer with his bow and arrows, said, "There are many more deer in the state today than I thought possible when I first started hunting. Last year I only hunted eight times and saw 42 different deer. I got off two shots but I am still waiting for a monster buck I saw. I passed up some easy shots of does that came right up to my stand and stayed around for up to 15 minutes. It's always great to be in the woods in the fall."

Lewis, like most serious archery deer hunters, starts getting ready for the season weeks before the actual opening day. He said, "When I am out hunting squirrels in late August or ealy September, I find some scrapes that are usually made by dominate bucks. I know they won't move out so they will be in the area on opening day. I carry a bottle of doe-in-heat lure with me and pour it by the scrapes as often as I can, usually every week. When its time to hunt, I set up a tree stand if possible and wait. This kind of hunting is good all day, not just the first few hours or the last two because during the rut the buck will check the scrapes at any time so you need to be ready."

Of the 14 deer Lewis has taken, 12 of those were within 40 yards of scrapes he was watching and had "doctored up" prior to opening day.

"You aren't going to see a lot of sex-crazed bucks running up to your stand because they are still cautious; and if you aren't ready you won't tag any of them. However, if you stay with the basics by proper scouting and locating the stand carefully, it will pay off. It always has for me," he said.

Jim Parker is another archer who has shot deer from Stone to Schuyler county in Missouri. Parker has set a goal for the 57th anniversary of bowhunting in the state. He wants to take a big buck he has watched for several years.

"This buck is a lot larger than any I have ever seen. Last year I came within 60 yards of him but couldn't get off a shot. Several other archers have told me they had watched the big buck, but they never got a shot because something always went wrong. I first spotted him three years ago while I was dove hunting near a cornfield. He walked out of the timber and I thought it was an elk, it looked so big. For me, nothing would be a better way to celebrate the 57th anniversary of bowhunting in the state than to bring home that big buck," he said.

Whenever hunting seasons open, the world is a better place in every way, and so it is with the long archery season. With the good population of both deer and turkey in the state, this fall should provide archers plenty of targets.