First Time Hunting Missouri

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Wolfie417
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First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby Wolfie417 » Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:32 am

Hello fellow beasts, after living my entire life in the great state of Minnesota I will be moving to Missouri in the beginning of August. I went down there earlier this year and scouted some public land and was quite shocked to how different it is.

Looking for advice on the state. Not places to hunt or anything specific, but more so how you beasts who have hunted there go about your scouting, hunting, ect.
I will be located in central Missouri, but plan to try and hunt all over the state on both private and public if possible.

Some specific things I've noticed is that access is everywhere, meaning that there is almost always a road or a walking trail I can see from aerial maps which kinda throws my typical style of "going deep" out the door. How do you guys stay away from other hunters?

Is the public land packed with people during season? Here in Minnesota it's pretty easy to get away from the crowd.

Do people tend to keep stand up year round like they do in MN?

Is it tough to gain access to private to your knowledge? In Minnesota it's not very hard, but we have so much public land I have not hunted my private locations at all last year.

I have watched Dan's hill country DVD, but curious to how other hunters navigate, scout, and hunt the hilly areas.

Any advice appreciated.


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<DK>
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby <DK> » Tue Jul 09, 2019 12:47 pm

Welcome! There are a few great MO hunters on here to learn from.

Dont be too discouraged about the access. It will vary every property. Send me a PM if you want to talk about the area youre moving. I don't think youll have a problem where youre headed.

I hug alot of property lines. Like anywhere, the best properties will have people there. There is a map on google showing hunting pressure per state and I think we were mid tier. Our biggest fault is rifle season in peak of the rut. Terrain can be pretty tough in some places.

Gaining access on private can be tough but that varies too. Just the other day i saw a guy posted a flyer in the gas station searching for land to lease. Not a single phone number tab was taken from it.

Good luck
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby jporcello » Tue Jul 09, 2019 2:33 pm

Tons of Public land to hunt and great deer numbers IMO. hunted Missouri last two deer seasons and will hunt there again this year. I learned a lot this last season on deer sign and how is can change from 1 week to another. I did eat my tag both years but i did let a lot of bucks walk. my goal was a 140 and greater. I did see a monster and just blew. We defintely saw more hunters this past season and i would recommend having several options of public just incase you pull up to 5 trucks in the parking lot and that seams like a lot and you want to hunt elsewhere. I learn more and more and my encounters have doubled now that im using Dans style of hunting. boots on the ground and hunt the sign. Good luck this year!!
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:09 pm

burkhart wrote:One thing you ll learn real fast is the conservation dept love their walking trails :lol: With that said don’t let it bother u most will hang heavy presets in the typical places and won’t carry that stuff very far. Stay light And stay mobile you’ll be fine


x2

I'm back in MO after being in Illinoyed a few years. Central/south-ish and would talk deer with you if you want. Paul
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby Rmallen » Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:27 pm

I also just moved back to Cameron Mo from a 5 yr tour in Iowa. There’s big deer everywhere just have to find them. Don’t have much intel on how to hunt other than don’t overlook anything! Some of the best leads so far are areas that are overlooked/wAlked by.

Question for the group how do you go about finding or knowing if it’s something you want to shoot. When trail camera are prohibited in McD area?
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby hambone » Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:55 pm

Welcome to MO! Being in the center of the state creates a lot of opportunity for you on area land. MDC land is definitely overloaded with parking areas and walking trails. So outwalking anybody on most areas is out of the question. I try to find places other hunters avoid, such as too wet, too steep, too thick, too close, etc..
Having gun season during the rut is hard on the buck population. There is a lot of pressure around here, on public during gun season. Early and late bow season pressure isn't too awful bad. It's no secret that the majority of the areas get pressured most from Oct. thru late Nov. I try to hunt "bow only" areas, mostly.
There is a Management Hunt application form on the MDC website, if you are interested. The application process began July 1st. There is a list of areas up for draw. The website is very thorough. You can find everthing you need to know about MDC areas, laws, rules and regulations on the site. It is pretty user friendly.
I've lived here all my life (save a 4 yr stint in SW Alabama). Until 1993 I had so many places on private to hunt that I couldn't properly hunt them all. Today, all the private I have to hunt is our place, but I refuse to kiss but or pay, so... Not saying that you can't get permission. But I would plan on putting a lot of work into it, if your desire is to hunt private. Who knows you could get lucky right out the gate!
Our bow season starts Sept. 15th. :dance: On conservation ground you can leave your stand for the season. They are supposed to be removed by Feb 1st after the closing of bow season on Jan. 15th. Unfortunately, you will soon discover that there are a lot of people who don't abide by this rule. I try to leave nothing on public but my foot tracks and hopefully a gut pile, so I always pack in and out. Missouri has a wide array of outdoor activities to enjoy. I hope you enjoy your stay.
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby Dmking33 » Sat Jul 13, 2019 1:15 pm

Welcome to MO! Definitely a lot of great public areas to hunt. Like everyone has said, MDC loves walking trails and gun season gets slammed with a high number of people. I’m up in the NW part of the state and we have some good river bottom and hill country pieces. A lot of crop fields on most of public around here & Definitely get a good mix between all bedding types.I would focus on the overlooked spots and be mobile..I try to keep about 3 areas that I’ll hunt throughout the season just in case one is getting to much pressure or lack of movement. Gaining access on private is hard to come by around here. If you’re ever up this way maybe we can meet up and Hunt a few spots I know!
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby Dmking33 » Sat Jul 13, 2019 1:37 pm

Rmallen wrote:I also just moved back to Cameron Mo from a 5 yr tour in Iowa. There’s big deer everywhere just have to find them. Don’t have much intel on how to hunt other than don’t overlook anything! Some of the best leads so far are areas that are overlooked/wAlked by.

Question for the group how do you go about finding or knowing if it’s something you want to shoot. When trail camera are prohibited in McD area?



Welcome back to MO! I’m pretty close to you (St.Joe) but to try and help you answer your question is I’ve found observation sits are best. Helps get a look at what deer are in area and how they are moving. I do some summer glassing also but as we all know that the deer will shift some so that’s when your observation sits come back in play. Safe to stay just keep being mobile
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby DhD » Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:42 pm

Mo is my back up plan if I tag my first buck early in Nebraska, gonna have to keep an eye on this. I was just looking at some of that river bottom area in the NW today. I would guess that at least some of it is under a bunch of water. I was thinking South Dakota, but the new regs on non-residents hunting south dakota public have me irritated.
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby Dmking33 » Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:01 pm

DhD wrote:Mo is my back up plan if I tag my first buck early in Nebraska, gonna have to keep an eye on this. I was just looking at some of that river bottom area in the NW today. I would guess that at least some of it is under a bunch of water. I was thinking South Dakota, but the new regs on non-residents hunting south dakota public have me irritated.


Yes sir, pretty much all of the bottom ground has been flooded out for awhile now. Good hunting tho. My favorite hunting area is along there and will be some tough stuff this year
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby Rmallen » Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:30 pm

burkhart wrote:
Rmallen wrote:I also just moved back to Cameron Mo from a 5 yr tour in Iowa. There’s big deer everywhere just have to find them. Don’t have much intel on how to hunt other than don’t overlook anything! Some of the best leads so far are areas that are overlooked/wAlked by.

Question for the group how do you go about finding or knowing if it’s something you want to shoot. When trail camera are prohibited in McD area?

That’s part of the fun!!! Standard application of scouting
Applies. This time of year glassing in secret is a good option or my typical approach is to mark suspected areas and scout stand on back during season


I know but I’m boarder line millinial and kind have that I want to know righr now attitude! Yet one the exciting things to me is it a box of chocolates sometimes.

Ok I’ll try just missed a good feeder moon for glassing though. Lol
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby Wolfie417 » Fri Aug 30, 2019 7:35 am

Thanks for all the advice guys! I have been doing a lot of glassing and the areas look promising so far. I work a lot more hour than I thought I would so I'm not sure how much I'll get to hunt the state till later in the season. Gonna apply what you all have said and might message a few of you later tonight.
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby PK_ » Fri Aug 30, 2019 11:04 am

There were 52 pickup trucks in the spot I hunted last year for opening day of gun.

Fifty. Two.

:lol:
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Rich M wrote:Typically, hunting FL has been like getting a root canal
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Fri Aug 30, 2019 1:15 pm

PK_ wrote:There were 52 pickup trucks in the spot I hunted last year for opening day of gun.

Fifty. Two.

:lol:



They probably didn't have a chance once you came on scene. You can get get things DONE!

Was that in Florida by chance or a road trip?
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Re: First Time Hunting Missouri

Unread postby PK_ » Fri Aug 30, 2019 1:42 pm

justdirtyfun wrote:
PK_ wrote:There were 52 pickup trucks in the spot I hunted last year for opening day of gun.

Fifty. Two.

:lol:



They probably didn't have a chance once you came on scene. You can get get things DONE!

Was that in Florida by chance or a road trip?

That was in MO. We were the first truck in and when we got my dads buck back to the truck at 11 we could not believe how many trucks and guys were there. And this was not a major parking access point and really not a huge piece of public. This was a little hidden end of a dirt road that only the locals know about. It’s not marked on the map. I was blown away.

MO has a lot of gun hunters. Getting completely away from people just wont happen.

But the deer were still there. And some good bucks if you know where to look.

Image
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Rich M wrote:Typically, hunting FL has been like getting a root canal


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